# Old School: High water Arkansas river 1993



## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

Some of you vintage guides from the Arkansas river might appreciate a stroll down memory lane. I'll post 1995 high water later... Remember old Sunshine Rock?!?!

https://youtu.be/hc_0luCW_Uw


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## jmacn (Nov 20, 2010)

Extrie LOOSE, and not just the bow lines!


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## Oc1paddler (Sep 6, 2005)

That was awesome high water footage from 1993. That was the first year I guided on the Ark. I think I ran the Gorge at least 5 days a week after work for the first month. They closed it to commercial traffic for quite a while do to the high water. We had one trip with 4 or 5 rafts filled with guides from all the companies at around 6k. Big fun. Great memories.


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## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

*Old School: High water Arkansas River 1995*

Here's the 1995 high water video.
R.I.P. Sunshine Rock

https://youtu.be/A7BQX8YJQfM


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## riverdoghenry (Nov 18, 2008)

yardsells said:


> Some of you vintage guides from the Arkansas river might appreciate a stroll down memory lane. I'll post 1995 high water later... Remember old Sunshine Rock?!?!
> 
> https://youtu.be/hc_0luCW_Uw


I believe I saw a skinny Chuck in that video.

Yes, I remember the old Sunshine Rock. It had a scary undercut that claimed a clients life in 1992. If I recall, it took 3-days for her to cycle out from under Sunshine Rock.


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## stinginrivers (Oct 18, 2003)

Thanks for posting the 95 footage, that was so much fun.


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## Easy Tiger (Jun 22, 2016)

yardsells said:


> Here's the 1995 high water video.
> R.I.P. Sunshine Rock


What happened to Sunshine Rock?


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## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

I thought it shifted in like 93 and then with the 95 highwater, it moved enough to take it out of the equation. 

I wrapped on that sucker once or twice and since then, I've felt a kinship with that dang thing.


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## Missouri Boater (Dec 13, 2003)

I heard that it was blasted out by some guys from the Air Force Academy.


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## Schutzie (Feb 5, 2013)

If the forecast for snow pack holds this year it will be an epic whitewater season.
Ya'll be extra careful, and have extra fun with it.


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## stinginrivers (Oct 18, 2003)

> Quote:
> Originally Posted by yardsells View Post
> Here's the 1995 high water video.
> R.I.P. Sunshine Rock
> What happened to Sunshine Rock?





> Missouri Boater	I heard that it was blasted out by some guys from the Air Force Academy.


The 95 highwater blew sunshine rock and the rest of the rapid downstream.

Same thing happened to Big Drop and Seidels in Browns.

USAFA didn't blow it up, they only used a cum along pulling downstream to unwrap a boat. They moved the rock a bit downstream when they did that.


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## Missouri Boater (Dec 13, 2003)

Thank you, Sting, for setting me straight on that.


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## riverdoghenry (Nov 18, 2008)

@yardsells

Thanks for the memory flashback. I had moved on before the 95 season. However, I recognized more folks in the 95 film, than I did in the 93 film.

Cheers!


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## Missouri Boater (Dec 13, 2003)

I've got a question about 1993. I open-boated The Numbers the week after Fibark and have always wondered what the approximate cfs was that day. I do know that the gauge on the old Scott's Bridge read about 4'3", but I don't know how that correlates into cfs. I also know that the Parkdale USGS gauge was peaking out above 4,000cfs & the Heckla Junction gauge was running above 3000cfs that whole week. So where would this put The Numbers. Is there a Scott's Bridge gauge to cfs graph somewhere on line? Thanks.


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## jgrebe (Jan 16, 2010)

Missouri Boater said:


> I heard that it was blasted out by some guys from the Air Force Academy.


Maybe a mix up of the original story? Back in the day Sunshine was a low head dam for the water intake at Canon City. You can still see the wooden staves from the pipeline and rebar from the dam. I ran it as late as 1972 (and got caught in the backwash for 30 minutes which wasn't any fun). Sometime after that I recall that two GI's from Fort Carson drowned there and Canon went to a new intake near Tunnel Drive. My recollection is that the explosives demolition team from Ft. Carson was called in to blow it up. I don't remember a separate effort to blow up Sunshine rock but I had moved away by then. Could be wrong - it was a long time ago but that's what I remember


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## Oc1paddler (Sep 6, 2005)

[QUOTE
USAFA didn't blow it up, they only used a cum along pulling downstream to unwrap a boat. They moved the rock a bit downstream when they did that.[/QUOTE]

This is the real story ^^^. They wrapped a boat badly. I think it was there for a couple of days. Anyway they came back with 2 military come/alongs and pulled the raft off. It looked different afterward and its thought that all the pressure they applied actually tilted the rock back. Shortly after a commercial customer fell out at the top of the drop and pinned under water in the crack. Fremont county SR spent several days and tried a bunch of options before deciding that lower water was the only solution to recover the body. About a week to 10 days after the accident the body was spotted floating almost to town and pushed to shore by a safety boater. 
Over the next couple of years you could see the rapid changing as the rock slowly moved. I think after the highwater of 95 was when it disappeared. Assumed to have flipped over into the hole. Forever changing the line thru Sunshine!


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## yardsells (Jul 14, 2014)

I'm pretty sure Oc1 is spot on.

Thanks for the enlightenment.


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## ptwood (May 4, 2004)

93 was the last year I guided full time it was a super fun year lots of buddies in this video. I pretty sure it was 92 when I helped recover a guy that got stuck under sunshine rock we had set up a tyrolean traverse across the river then were able to hook the body and pull him out, pretty sobering stuff.


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