# Ark melt?



## Id725 (Nov 22, 2003)

Anybody along the river this week see anything clearing up? It was close to 70 in Canon City yesterday; has me wondering if there's any chance to paddle anywhere on the Ark this weekend?
If you've got a visual on Pine Creek, Parkdale, or anything in-between in the next day or three, please post what you see. Is it all still ice?


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## treewell (Mar 20, 2006)

Drove along ark on a few days ago. Solid ice through Pine Creek. Small channels here and there in numbers. Its gonna take a major warm spell to melt this.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

What Tree said. The BV playpark has a "runnable" channel through it if you don't mind major ice shelves. Logan said the Milk Run is "open". I'm gonna look at some of the Fractions at the end of today. We're planning on getting on something on Sun. Will keep you in the loop, Id.


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## Jahve (Oct 31, 2003)

In my opinion from the #'s to town is not safe as there are a ton of ice bridges. I would think something further south had to melt out as it is 51 here in BV today.

The only reason that the upper river was open the past couple of years was the change in the way water is moved.. In 2009 or so where the fisher folks wanted any extra water released or moved in the winter so you would see 100+ cfs of "warm" water getting released out of Twin in Jan - Feb - early March. This in turn allows the river to be kept super low in May (or until natural run off starts) for the fry to emerge.. It is also done so that fisherfolk can ensure good fishing during the caddis hatch that happens every year in late April / early May. 

Needless to say there is not much extra water in the system this year so I doubt you will see any release of "winter water" to melt the ice. With out this water getting released I would bet from Piney to town will be frozen for at least another month or so.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

RDNEK said:


> In my opinion from the #'s to town is not safe as there are a ton of ice bridges. I would think something further south had to melt out as it is 51 here in BV today.
> 
> The only reason that the upper river was open the past couple of years was the change in the way water is moved.. In 2009 or so where the fisher folks wanted any extra water released or moved in the winter so you would see 100+ cfs of "warm" water getting released out of Twin in Jan - Feb - early March. This in turn allows the river to be kept super low in May (or until natural run off starts) for the fry to emerge.. It is also done so that fisherfolk can ensure good fishing during the caddis hatch that happens every year in late April / early May.
> 
> Needless to say there is not much extra water in the system this year so I doubt you will see any release of "winter water" to melt the ice. With out this water getting released I would bet from Piney to town will be frozen for at least another month or so.


Noted and agree. I'll still be checking though...


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## Jahve (Oct 31, 2003)

I know you will phil! 

As I have said you are flat crazy for paddlin this time of year .. 

All kiddin aside - Parkdale has to be ice free as that used to be the go to run in years of the past when the #'s would be frozen for 3 months straight.

Good luck in your search man!


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

Parkdale is probally iffy. I was down the canyon a week ago and it was pretty much locked up. If I get a chance to run down that way, today or tomorrow, I will see if I can get a current look.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

The best option for just getting on the water that I have seen in the last 2 days is the middle of Rincon. You could put in just below Bear Creek rapid and boat down to just above the typewriter wave. There is one small ice bridge shortly above Spider rapid, but it didn't have any current above it, and it looked to me like you could paddle up onto it and push across... you would have to take out before the corner above the swimming hole because it was still totally iced over and the shelves on the sides were like 4-5 ft glaciers collapsing into the water. From below Bear Creek to the campsites river left above the typewriter wave only be 4.5 miles of class II, but I don't see any other feasible option.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

I would be game to ride down to the Racecourse with you if you wanted Phil, but work has been slow lately, so I don't have a lot of $ to work with...


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## Id725 (Nov 22, 2003)

Thanks, guys -
My buddy walked Waterton today and said much of it is doable. We may do that Sunday.
If I don't hear from anybody who sees Parkdale tomorrow, I will drive down and look on Saturday.
A couple of us would be willing to go to the Race course on Sunday, but the weather forecast isn't so great for Taos.


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## adgeiser (May 26, 2009)

Would love to know how boatable Waterton is.


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## Riverboat Works (Apr 15, 2009)

This is the most ice I have seen since I have lived in the Ark valley. Still major ice shelves and with the recent warm weather it is breaking up and making ice dams. I have been watching this happening between Big Bend and Town. It is happening and changing daily with this warm weather. My advice scout your run first. Have fun be safe, and keep doing your snow dances.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

Riverboat Works said:


> This is the most ice I have seen since I have lived in the Ark valley. Still major ice shelves and with the recent warm weather it is breaking up and making ice dams. I have been watching this happening between Big Bend and Town. It is happening and changing daily with this warm weather. My advice scout your run first. Have fun be safe, and keep doing your snow dances.


Yuh, that's why I like road side runs when dealing with ice. How many years have you lived in the Ark valley? I got spoiled the last couple winters...


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## Riverboat Works (Apr 15, 2009)

Phil U. said:


> Yuh, that's why I like road side runs when dealing with ice. How many years have you lived in the Ark valley? I got spoiled the last couple winters...



Moved here is 1997, and have been coming here to run the Ark since 1980. What a great place to live and a great river. I think I'll wait a few more weeks to let the ice disappear. Of course I'm probably a little older than you and not as excited about paddling ice cold water.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

Riverboat Works said:


> Moved here is 1997, and have been coming here to run the Ark since 1980. What a great place to live and a great river. I think I'll wait a few more weeks to let the ice disappear. Of course I'm probably a little older than you and not as excited about paddling ice cold water.


Cool. I hope you're not (much) older than me cuz I'm older than dirt as they say. I was balking at the thought of low 50s air temp and ice in the rio for this weekend and then I remembered I'm from Maine and that would be good conditions for spring creeking back home. We have mutual friends, I'll stop in and bother you one of these days.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

Nothing happening in BV and above. There is a small channel through the lower part of the playpark that you could get through but this is a poor section for ELFing. Beautiful under the full moon last night. Looking like a road trip to NM.


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## Id725 (Nov 22, 2003)

Parkdale is ALL ICE.
Not boatable at all.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

We are planning to leave early tomorrow and head to the RC. Nice small little crew. It's going to snow for a few days, so I will let it soften back up a little more and hit the slopes again on Monday... Cheers to boating in the Southern Rockies in January!


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## cadster (May 1, 2005)

Anyone have a recent look at Parkdale?


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

I drove thru both Friday and Monday on Presidents Day weekend, there was still ice bridges on Friday but after two days of 60 degrees they were all gone on Monday. Don't know what the latest rounds of snow did but I'd think its probably still clear ......


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## psu96 (May 9, 2006)

Drove thru Saturday Clear channels


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## joey11 (Jun 12, 2008)

Where on the ark is clear? Pine creek???


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

joey11 said:


> Where on the ark is clear? Pine creek???


Pine Creek and the Numbers are locked up tight.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

I'm thinking Parkdale might be open.... or really close.

I drove down to Texas Creek on Monday for work and it looked like the river had been clear, but was in the process of icing back over. I saw 2 river-wide ice jams still. One was at the Loma Linda fishing access between Cotopaxi and Texas Creek. The other was at the swimming hole just above Rincon.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

the one spot there MAY have still been a bridge that I saw was in sharks tooth.....everything else from P Rock to P Dale was good to go


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## adgeiser (May 26, 2009)

any body going up today for a look, please post and let us know what it looks like.
Thanks.


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

The temps up here, since Sunday have been below freezing. Right now it is only 21 degrees in Salida so it is still real iffy.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

Boated BV to Johnson Village on Saturday and it was completely clear of ice except for Silver Bullet. The boat chute was frozen over still and the rapid on river left looked to be unrunnable because of a combination of low water and ice shelves.










Kayaked the Miracle Mile (Fractions) yesterday. For the most part it was clear, but we did have to make a couple of portages....one of which was probably 100 yards or more.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

Great weekend. So glad to have a posse to paddle these kinds of conditions with.


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