Cache La Poudre River - Big South

Paddle across the reservoir and hike down the hill.

Before the gate is opened you can paddle across Barnes Meadow Reservoir and hike across the obvious saddle on the map. This drops into the canyon at the bottom of Prime Time Gorge. The Big South trail is on the south side of the river for those wanting to hike up and run Prime Time.

The normal put-in for when the gate is open.

Corral Creek trailhead provides access to the Big South if Weird Creek is too low to run or you do not want to break your boat. Hike about a mile and put in at the confluence of Weird Creek and Cache La Poudre.

When it looks like Weird Creek starts to fall off the face of the earth, you’re probably in Pinball Wizard.  It’s anyone’s guess where exactly the rapid starts and stops.  Stick with the normal plan of action on Weird Creek and keep the boat as straight as possible and try not to pin.

Many people walk this junky rapid, but I’ve never been able to figure out why this rapid is much different than the rest of Weird Creek.  The rapid has a slightly steeper entrance and requires a move to the right to avoid some logs. Swims here tend to be unpleasant.

This is where the real goods begin.  There’s plenty of time to get nervous about the run, so don’t do it yet. Starter Fluid is all about fun.  A class III-IV entrance leads to a 10 foot horizon line with an easy and quality boof. Try to drive up on the right corner of the center channel for the best vertical. 

These two drops go together like peanut butter and jelly.  The first drop, Bouncing Betty, involves boofing through a narrow slot to avoid pinning on the downstream rocks.  A small pool separates it from Taco Bobs.  Ferry back to the river right and keep the boat straight through the next slot.  A death occurred here in 2009 when a boater pinned on the downstream side of the slot on Bouncing Betty.

A horizon line in the right channel signals Barroom Brawl.  At the center of the horizon line, take a big sweeping left stroke to keep yourself off the undercut left wall at the bottom and hold on for the ride.

Immediately after Barroom Brawl a large pool above another significant horizon line starts Fantasy Flight. Choose between the ugly looking left line and the ugly looking right line. The left line is nice at higher flows, but I prefer the less popular right line at lower levels.

A class IV boulder garden separates Fantasy Flight from Cool World.  Don’t get lulled into the innocuous looking entrance to Cool World.  Scout on river left and take a good look at the “lobster trap” and some subtle undercuts that lurk below before committing to this rapid.  It usually goes better than it looks, but the consequences of a blown line can be bad.  If you portage this drop, at least enjoy the 8 foot ledge at the bottom.

A small horizon line with a boulder splitting the channel starts Bonk. Take the left channel and try to keep from getting shoved into the left wall, else your boat might go, “Bonk!”

Wood ebbs and flows from this rapid making its runnability vary at different levels.  While technically not that difficult, be sure to scout the deadly sieve in the middle of this drop before committing.  Portage higher and farther to the left than you think you want to.

After the long section of flatwater, the gradient picks up again starting with this rapid.  Look for a great boof at the end of this boulder garden rapid.  

After passing through some fun boulder gardens, the best boulder garden awaits as it enters a snall gorge.  Depending on the level you'll either navigate around boulders, holes, or both until the river pinches through a fun boof and into a still pool in a gorgeous mini gorge. 

This is one the Big South's signature drops. The river cascades about 40 feet over two 20 foot tiers and terminates in a river wide hole that can best be described as, impressive. The top drop has lines down the left, center, and right. The bottom portion is a steep sloping curtain requiring a delayed boof stroke to propel you through the massive hole at the bottom. What's so great about this rapid is that even though it's large and scary, it's clean and boaters generally win or lose based on the execution of their run, rather than chance. The bottom hole is a great place to set safety.

Don't be the pin in the pincushion.  This innocuous looking horizon line drops straight into a nasty block of rock that has pinned boaters, caused swims and pitons, and generally put boaters in uncomfortable situations.  Fortunately, the move is relatively easy.  The money move is to rock slide the flat boulder on the left side of the tongue leading into it, however I've found that as long as you land with your bow facing left, the results are satisfactory.

This is my favorite rapid on the run because it combines almost all the disciplines of kayaking into one rapid.  Run a boulder garden at the top, boof a 4 foot ledge through a small hole/seam that wants to feed you into a dangerous slot on the left.  Next, charge a glorious 8 foot spout boof and eddy out on the right.  Ferry back over to a small eddy on river left and set up for the last ramp into a sticky hole. 

The character of this rapid changes significantly at different flows, but is always fun.  At high water this rapid can get rowdy.  At lower flows, squeeze through a slot at the top and punch the various holes below and boof off the ledge in the center or ride the ramp down the river right side.

Most boaters take out before this rapid or near the beginning of this rapid and walk to the takeout, but if it's clear of wood and you're still in want of more action, drop into this last steep section of whitewater, but scout and most likely portage Curtain Call, a seived out rapid near the very end of the run.