# Cable Alert (and Trees) Upper Rustic - Poudre



## jtnc (Aug 9, 2004)

If you're running either upper or lower Rustic this year keep alert, there are lots of big trees down and a new cable to watch out for.

If you are running Upper Rustic and putting in at mm 86 to run White Mile, be very alert for a cable across the river ~0.5 miles down from the put-in. This is just after the river bends left around the corner. There are several houses on river left. On 5/29 at ~3.5 on the Rock, you could probably pass over it on river left. We were all river center/right and had to duck/lift the cable over head. It isn't the easiest to see until you're on it, especially if it happens to be raining. Once you see it, it is not too hard to avoid/move. FWIW It looks like it used to be greater than 20 feet up and strung across the river, but the road side connection broke. 

Wood wise, like I said there's lots of big trees down in the river. We counted about 10 of them today (5/29), more than I've seen in the last 15 years up there. All were avoidable although a couple were close and one required you to run a raft through a line that is guaranteed to stick you (this one is a couple miles below White Mile). Water was ~3.5 on the Rock, though the flow felt closer to 3.25 on White Mile. Definitely a bigger deal for rafts than kayaks.

The majority of these were on Upper Rustic, so if you're just running lower (Highway 14 bridge down) you will only have 2 major ones to avoid (both ~1 mile above Century Park) plus a couple minor ones. 

Not sure where/if the wood will float away as water goes up, a good chunk of them still seemed anchored on shore. 

John


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