# Roaring Fork below Basalt



## wlennox07 (Aug 20, 2013)

Park is under construction, was supposed to open by the end of March, but not sure of that detail.

Put-ins:
Wingo Bridge, if headed up valley, pull off on the right side of highway 82 just after a bridge over the river. There's a ramp, but usually you can't drive down.
Hooks bridge off of "Original" way. Very small eddy in high flows, possibly kayak only.
Catherine Store Bridge, more of a kayak put-in.
"Pink", below Hwy 133 bridge in Carbondale, at intersection of Hwy 82. Go ~1/2 mile further north on 82, take the first turn-off towards the river (no stoplight), and follow upriver to put-in.
Have fun!


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## Ty Tanner (Mar 27, 2009)

wlennox07, Thanks for the info.


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## skideeppow (Jun 16, 2009)

Park is done. I am going to head over there in the next couple days. There are two features. One is steep and looks good for kayaks and short surf or sup boards.
2nd feature is pretty mellow.

There is no gauge in that area, so i am going off the Emma gauge.


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## Rufus Sr. (Jul 27, 2016)

Please let us know how it is. Thanks!


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## mikesee (Aug 4, 2012)

skideeppow said:


> Park is done. I am going to head over there in the next couple days. There are two features. One is steep and looks good for kayaks and short surf or sup boards.
> 2nd feature is pretty mellow.
> 
> There is no gauge in that area, so i am going off the Emma gauge.



Care to share your range from the emma gauge? What's worth coming up for, at what level does it blow out, etc...?

Thx.


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## mkashzg (Aug 9, 2006)

mikesee said:


> Care to share your range from the emma gauge? What's worth coming up for, at what level does it blow out, etc...?
> 
> 
> 
> Thx.



Since it's brand new maybe you can show up and figure that out and report back to us!?


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## mikesee (Aug 4, 2012)

mkashzg said:


> Since it's brand new maybe you can show up and figure that out and report back to us!?



I live 2+ hours away. My request was an attempt at establishing what's worth making the drive for, and what isn't, for those of us that don't have a play park in our backyard.

Maybe you intended your response to be tongue in cheek, but it came off as snark.


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## mkashzg (Aug 9, 2006)

mikesee said:


> I live 2+ hours away. My request was an attempt at establishing what's worth making the drive for, and what isn't, for those of us that don't have a play park in our backyard.
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe you intended your response to be tongue in cheek, but it came off as snark.



I apologize but I'm not sure what part you found snarky as the post states it is brand-new and has not been run yet. Seems as though people do not use the search function's or read previous posts and expect everyone to answer things for them.


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## mikesee (Aug 4, 2012)

mkashzg said:


> I apologize but I'm not sure what part you found snarky as the post states it is brand-new and has not been run yet. Seems as though people do not use the search function's or read previous posts and expect everyone to answer things for them.




Soooooo, you're telling me I should search for information that you've *just* said doesn't exist?


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## watermonkey (Aug 11, 2009)

The Emma gauge is several miles downstream from the confluence of the Fork and Pan, so you'll need to estimate the park flows (above Pan confluence) by using the Pan @ Ruedi flows and Emma gauge reports. 

I use the Emma gauge, and generally find floating from Willits (hooks bridge launch) down to Cdale good to go around 350 cfs+ in a 14" fishing rig, without hanging up on diversion structures or gravel bars.

Heard tell of a strainer somewhere between Willits and Catherine store, but haven't floated or heard other reports yet.


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## mkashzg (Aug 9, 2006)

mikesee said:


> Soooooo, you're telling me I should search for information that you've *just* said doesn't exist?


Nooooo, was just suggesting you read what has already been posted. It is new, ie... there is no beta.


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## onefatdog (Oct 25, 2003)

The Basalt "Park" hasn't looked worth paddling yet even living 5 minutes away.
Nor is the stretch you're asking about. Maybe late May or June something will happen there. But it looks pathetic as built with current flows.


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## neilonthesnow (Jun 5, 2015)

*Basalt Water Park*

I've been checking the waterpark almost daily. It is running at about 300cfs
This is an educated guess from adding the Toothache section gauge + the snowmass creek flow.

If my picture uploads you can see that we need about 1-2 feet more of water
before it is surfable by kayak.
I estimate this will be about 600 cfs?

Can't wait to surf this wave!
Neil


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## eklars (Mar 28, 2006)

Anybody been by the new park yet? flows are coming along.


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## skideeppow (Jun 16, 2009)

Funny you should ask. I have been surfing for the last week. Second feature is ok, first is unrideable in either a yak or sup. It is just a pour over, with no wave feature. The second feature seemed to pick up once the emma guage hit 1100 cfs. 
Now for government at its best.


THE PARK IS CLOSED. That is right, closed. You have two counties and city that did not seem to work out the parking. So you can not park anywhere near the river. Only access would be to drop your boat off at the "ramp" then drive your car down to the fishermans lauch, to the east. I talked to the chief of police this afternoon. They will probably start ticketing down there if you park your car. The site has also been fenced off

You can not park on site because it impedes the flow of traffic. Chances are this is not going to be straightened out any time soon.

Luckily it is not the Glenwood Wave.


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## T-Boss (Sep 17, 2008)

So you can not park anywhere near the river. Only access would be to drop your boat off at the "ramp" then drive your car down to the fishermans lauch, to the east. 

Here's a ballsy idea, you could put down the bag of funions and large frosty, park at fisherman's parking lot, walk with boat across road and enter said boat and then said river current, float down to said surf wave, surf and rally some sweet tricks, exit river when you are satisfied, and then....here's where it gets tricky, stick with me....walk up "ramp", then up the road for to where you parked in the parking lot. 

Or you could drop your boat at top of "ramp" and walk/hitchhike the couple stones throws back to your whip and drive down and load your boat...if you need to get back to frosty before it melts. 

Yes there needs to be improved parking and all the rest of it but... C'mon man!


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## skideeppow (Jun 16, 2009)

I'll post some pics tomorrow smart ass. The entire Ramp area is fenced off. There is no access. They are claiming it's a parking issues. They are claiming they want it closed so the grass can grow. They have lots of excuses. 
There is no way to get to the river with you boat or your board without tossing it over the construction fence. 

The fence goes from the rover all the way to the road, then runs along side the road going up river.


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## onefatdog (Oct 25, 2003)

I can confirm what pow says. It's Basalt at it's finest. They spend about 1,000,000 to make the park and beautify the river then close it so it cannot be used. I spoke with the head excavator, he says the police chief thinks it's unsafe for some reason. The landscaping part, not the river. 
There is a nice ramp and parking at the end of the ramp. But the access is fenced off. You can simply step over the fence and head down there, but no guarantees you won't be ticketed for parking in the obvious parking at the top of the ramp. 
The upper hole looks bad so far, the lower looks dinky.


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## T-Boss (Sep 17, 2008)

Have to be smart to be a smart ass, right?... mr. deep pow, you said you've been surfing for the last week, I can only assume you found a way down to the river for a whole week no problem without getting ticketed before you decided to post about how shitty the situation is. What's the rub? 
Dog fat... I'd love to know your source that told you basalt ponied up 1 mil for this park. Thought we covered this on the Dolores trip. It's a Pitco project, (good on them they have done more to preserve your lifestyle than you, I, or skiSUPOW ever has) and pay attention to this bottom line... there now sits 2 recreational play features in river where there used to be none. Both of which are absolutely legal to access and utilize with a can do attitude. 
If y'all would have come to community gatherings before construction you would have learned that this project was spearheaded by a RICD, right wrong or indifferent is undeniably a benefit to all recreational river users. 
I'd love to eat my cake and have it to drool at after as well, but turns out there are more fingers on the table than a SUP all star and a curmudgeon. With way more money. 

Although maybe you're right, we should have told everyone they are stupid, they suck, waste money, and suck at building play waves and don't bother, let the ranchers take all the water so we can all bitch. 
Oh sorry, forgot we will all bitch regardless...apparently. 
I threw in the RICD nugget to bait moderator to school us all, please speak up Logan I'm sure you know enough about this to correct everyone including my self righteous ass. 
Sick of entitled do nothings bitch about the cake being vanilla when they wanted chocolate. Grab a spatula homes! 

BOSS, over and out! 
See you on the street fatdog 


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## onefatdog (Oct 25, 2003)

Umm, Yes it's a Pitco project, and the price tag was in the local paper. And it's the Basalt Chief of police that's has the access shut down. Therefore it's Basalt and Basalt's planning and poor foresight that has failed, once again, to provide and open public recreational areas to the public, who btw, pays for it.
There is no defense of the indefensible. Basalt town, flat out, does not know how to plan, build, operate a park. Look at the debacle that is the the Pan and Fork project. Right in town center and can't be used by the public, yet the public has funded it. We have a right to use it and we pay the town management to fiddle fuck and get absolutely nothing done. How many years now? When will it be open?
Word on the street is the that the road above the play park may need to move and we'll probably not have park and play access this season. WTF! Show me another river play park in the state that doesn't have foot access and parking. 
Only in Basalt!


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## T-Boss (Sep 17, 2008)

I don't see how you can say the wave is not accessible. Park at Fishermans, float down, and walk out. I have done it myself, without getting arrested. Its not ideal but it works for now until future improvements happen. The project was fast tracked to get completed before the RICD rights expired. If everyone had waited to build the waves until the slow wheels of govt. had solidified parking and flowers, it would not have gotten built. This project has solidified mandatory base flows for all future, which is a good thing. Bottom line is the wave can be used, you might have to walk a bit. 
I'll reserve my comments on the pan and fork site to avoid hijacking this thread even further than I already have, except to say it can be used by the public and there will be improvements made this summer, starting next week.


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## skideeppow (Jun 16, 2009)

T-Boss said:


> Sick of entitled do nothings bitch about the cake being vanilla when they wanted chocolate. Grab a spatula homes!
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


You can go fuck yourself, and on that note i'd happy to meet up with you since you seem to be such a tough guy. See how tough you are down there at the park.

Entitled? I had been calling Pitco for three years, the attorneys office up there to lend any help i could with this project. Never a return call from them. During the "comment" period i wrote 2 separate recommendations on what i envisioned as a successful park. No, i was not at the meetings, maybe because my entitled self was too busy working my full time job plus the 700 volunteer hours i put in as an EMT, Fire and Swift water rescue tech with Basalt Fire. 

As for getting in over the fence, in the week prior they only had a small fence which i walked around. Then they ran the fence down to the river. And i run a 6'6" 117 litre carbdon board. No, i am not floating that down the river to the park. I sink that board.


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## T-Boss (Sep 17, 2008)

I volunteered 701 hours....


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## knumbskull (Jun 9, 2009)

skideeppow said:


> You can go fuck yourself, and on that note i'd happy to meet up with you since you seem to be such a tough guy. See how tough you are down there at the park.
> 
> Entitled? I had been calling Pitco for three years, the attorneys office up there to lend any help i could with this project. Never a return call from them. During the "comment" period i wrote 2 separate recommendations on what i envisioned as a successful park. No, i was not at the meetings, maybe because my entitled self was too busy working my full time job plus the 700 volunteer hours i put in as an EMT, Fire and Swift water rescue tech with Basalt Fire.
> 
> As for getting in over the fence, in the week prior they only had a small fence which i walked around. Then they ran the fence down to the river. And i run a 6'6" 117 litre carbdon board. No, i am not floating that down the river to the park. I sink that board.


Here, I reworded that for you:

What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the River Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on private land, and I have over 300 confirmed swims. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top paddle boarder in the entire US river forces. 

You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of river spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life.

You’re fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my paddle board leash. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States River Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. 

If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.


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## onefatdog (Oct 25, 2003)

Oh yeah...It's on now!
I'll see all you puny wannabes at the park where i'll be throwing massive Macho Moves over your weak asses.
Oh wait, The wave doesn't work yet.....


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## skideeppow (Jun 16, 2009)

Just an fyi, this was just issued to us.

"A local very experienced white water boater just alerted me that at current water levels the new water features have created recirculating waves that can be extremely hazardous. If boaters do not punch through the feature boats are getting stuck in the holes and maytagged. He was thrown from his one man cat oared raft and flushed out by the current, but his boat spun in the hole until a second boat came through the feature and punched it out then rescued him. Because of the change in elevation boaters approaching the hole from upstream cannot see boaters or boats in the holes until they are on top of them. There is little or no access on either side of the features for boaters to exit or rescuers to approach, plus additional rapids immediately below the features. He further stated that he spoke with some experienced kayakers on site who had the same experience. The condition may get worse with rising waters.

Use extreme caution if we get any calls to the new feature. We need to set up a pre plan now."


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## jamesthomas (Sep 12, 2010)

Man. that had to be one of the best rants on the buzz in a long damn time. Nice work.


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