# Bridge Strainer - Crystal River, 1 mile South of Carbondale



## watermonkey (Aug 11, 2009)

Extreme danger - there is a whole tree across both bridge pylons at the Highway 133 bridge at the Crystal River, just south of town. It is submerged just under the surface, off the bottom, not visible from upstream. By now, most of the branches have probably been broken off leaving an evil pungee stump. There is not a public access portage option anywhere near this bridge. The only way under the bridge is to go directly over this full width log. Until this is cleared, I would not float the Crystal from BRB to the Roaring Fork Confluence. I will contact CDOT today and will post when it has been cleared. No shit, this thing is scary.


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## Chaser (Apr 22, 2008)

at the CRMS Bridge?


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## watermonkey (Aug 11, 2009)

Not the CRMS bridge. Its at the first bridge over the Crystal, South of town on 133, just past the fish hatchery. The yellow tack indicates which bridge.


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## watermonkey (Aug 11, 2009)

CDOT is in the process of removing the tree now (Thursday 6/16/11, 11 am) should be clear in an hour or so.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

Is the Crystal currently good to go from BRB down?  I haven't been on this section before, only from CRMS down.


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## watermonkey (Aug 11, 2009)

The Hwy 133 bridge is clear. At these flows, and they're coming up (it was 63 degrees up on Schofield yesterday) the BRB bridge is looking pretty short. I'm not sure I can get my oar rig under it. Kayak should be OK. Does anyone know if you can launch rafts on river right immediately below the BRB bridge? I would be the easiest launch, but might be private.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

I sit up pretty high on Supercat so it sounds like it might be tight. I had to get off my seat three times to go from Basalt to Carbondale last weekend.


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## Ole Rivers (Jul 7, 2005)

watermonkey said:


> The Hwy 133 bridge is clear. At these flows, and they're coming up (it was 63 degrees up on Schofield yesterday) the BRB bridge is looking pretty short. I'm not sure I can get my oar rig under it. Kayak should be OK. Does anyone know if you can launch rafts on river right immediately below the BRB bridge? I would be the easiest launch, but might be private.


To check if the specific put in/take out location is private or public, contact your county roads and bridges, rights of way or engineer person and/or county commissioner's office to confirm the bridge width right of way via a survey or other confirming documentation. This info may also be found via an online property search at your county assessor's web site map/database. The public county bridge ROW is probably 60' wide, which may mean 30' for the bridge width itself, then 15' on high side and low side. If so, the 15' on either side is part of an existing public ROW and, as long as public travel of any type (bike, walk, boat, etc) is done within it and county is ok with it, everyone knows what the score is and it should be good to go even with a fence abutting the bridge itself. Park in a safe place to avoid bridge and road travel, pass the boat over or through the fence and put in/take out within the ROW. Essentially, this is what the 2009 Montana Public Bridge Access ("gated fence") law clarifies. Public access already exists within the county ROW, it just needs to be clarified here in Colorado so that there's no further need to contact county for confirmation.

To be very clear about it, also contact sheriff department.


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## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

Gremlin said:


> I sit up pretty high on Supercat so it sounds like it might be tight. I had to get off my seat three times to go from Basalt to Carbondale last weekend.


Really?!?!
Whatcha running Sunday?


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## jeroland (May 19, 2009)

I ran Avalanche creek to CRMS last summer at high water in my 14ft Vanguard with 6 paddlers. No frame, just paddles... I was a blast! It was running 1650cfs that day and we barely cleared the two low-hanging bridges in the Avalanche to BRB section. We all had to pile in the boat to clear the bridge and there was about 8" to spare between the top of the rubber at both ends of the boat and the bottom of the bridge. I figured that 1650cfs is probably the max level that I feel comfortable with, in my boat, on this section because of these low-lying bridges. I definitely don't recommend running it in anything bigger than 14 ft, of with an oar-frame. This is a very fun section at high water but demands that you be vigilante in your abilities and that you pre-inspect all the bridge crossings for clearance and debris/strainers on the drive along the highway to the put in which is just below the turn-off to Avalanche creek.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

pinemnky13 said:


> Really?!?!
> Whatcha running Sunday?


I'm not sure where you put in for that section (you said, "behind City Market)? We launched from the Basalt Fisherman's Park by the HWY82 bridge and all the ducking was between there and the Hook's lane bridge.

Sent a PM about the weekend.


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## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

I always for get the name of the put in but it is right befor the Hooks Bridge across from the Basalt design center


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