My buddy Marek Uliaz and I have spent a fair amount of time paddling together along the North Platte River in Wyoming. We used to race in a 50-mile Memorial Day weekend challenge for a few years, and when that was cancelled, we continued to make trips to boat different lengths from 10-miles, all the way to 120-miles in length. The North Platte was even the stage for my first Big Moo Canoe for Heifer International back in 2008 when I paddled 250-miles over three days along sections of the river. I have completed trips with friends, solo, with my kids, and in almost every imaginable kind of weather. The river and the surrounding landscape is absolutely spectacular but neither of us had paddled the upstream stretches in Colorado where the river begins, until now.
We had actually only planned to boat a couple of small stretches of the river near Walden, CO and then intended to head to Saratoga, WY to enjoy a quick run and a dip in the hot springs. But once we got to scouting, we found that the entire area was inundated with high water from melting snows and heavy rain fall. It became obvious that if we wanted to run the upper reaches of the North Platte River that this was the weekend to do it.
We had actually only planned to boat a couple of small stretches of the river near Walden, CO and then intended to head to Saratoga, WY to enjoy a quick run and a dip in the hot springs. But once we got to scouting, we found that the entire area was inundated with high water from melting snows and heavy rain fall. It became obvious that if we wanted to run the upper reaches of the North Platte River that this was the weekend to do it.
A different kind of weekend calls for a different kind of craft
Now when I say run, I generally mean "boat" because that is the normal mode of transport, however "run" in this case meant traveling by inflatable stand-up paddleboard (or iSUP). I was on my blue 10' 6" Boardworks SHUBU (Show Up and Blow Up) and Marek was riding his red 11' 6" Boardworks Badfish MCIT (Multi Chamber Inflatable Technology). We had also never paddled our SUPs for longer than 15-miles and so this journey was going to be a really fun one to remember.
Day 1 - Warm up: Grizzly Creek Run (14 miles)
When we left Fort Collins Saturday morning we'd assumed that after scouting we'd only have a few hours to paddle. So we decided to run the bottom part of the river (about 6-miles) from Cowdrey, CO to the entrance of Northgate Canyon. For this trip we'd stop short of the canyon with its steady Class 3, 4, and 5 rapids. Now we're pretty good on our boards but not that good, especially in high water.
However, once we got looking around the water was very high all across the entire valley and so we decided to start at Grizzley Creek where it crosses Highway 14. Grizzly Creek is the main tributary of the North Platte River and we would paddle down to where it meets Little Grizzly Creek, and to the confluence where the main river officially forms. From that point forward, the North Platte River stretches 716 miles and crosses 3 states before joining the South Platte River in Nebraska (which also has it's source in Colorado).
The paddling day was estimated to be about 8-10 miles (a great warm-up run) but after what felt like hundreds of curves it turned out to be 14-miles from put-in to take-out. We saw lots of animals during the paddle including hawks, sparrows, yellow headed blackbirds, and eagles - to cows, deer, and even a beaver. I also got personal with the river when I went for an impromptu swim. While paying too much attention to my photography instead of watching out for clumps of grass under water, I was catapulted right off the front of my board.
The biggest issue of the day was the very sever storms that were circling around us within just a few miles. We had been experiencing heavy thunderstorm activity in previous days along the Front Range and the mountains were getting their fair share of weather, as well. What had been a warm sunny day early on turned very ominous as the storms began to brew around us. We managed to finish just minutes ahead of the heavy weather and lighting. In fact, after getting off the water on day 1 it rained steadliy until about 3:00 AM. Day 1 pictures and details are below.
Day 1: 13.8 miles in a time of 2:50 hours
However, once we got looking around the water was very high all across the entire valley and so we decided to start at Grizzley Creek where it crosses Highway 14. Grizzly Creek is the main tributary of the North Platte River and we would paddle down to where it meets Little Grizzly Creek, and to the confluence where the main river officially forms. From that point forward, the North Platte River stretches 716 miles and crosses 3 states before joining the South Platte River in Nebraska (which also has it's source in Colorado).
The paddling day was estimated to be about 8-10 miles (a great warm-up run) but after what felt like hundreds of curves it turned out to be 14-miles from put-in to take-out. We saw lots of animals during the paddle including hawks, sparrows, yellow headed blackbirds, and eagles - to cows, deer, and even a beaver. I also got personal with the river when I went for an impromptu swim. While paying too much attention to my photography instead of watching out for clumps of grass under water, I was catapulted right off the front of my board.
The biggest issue of the day was the very sever storms that were circling around us within just a few miles. We had been experiencing heavy thunderstorm activity in previous days along the Front Range and the mountains were getting their fair share of weather, as well. What had been a warm sunny day early on turned very ominous as the storms began to brew around us. We managed to finish just minutes ahead of the heavy weather and lighting. In fact, after getting off the water on day 1 it rained steadliy until about 3:00 AM. Day 1 pictures and details are below.
Day 1: 13.8 miles in a time of 2:50 hours
Day 2 - The long haul: Upper Stretches to Northgate Canyon (31 miles)
The next morning we returned to where our day ended previously, and the water had risen a bit and was moving much faster. The weather was also a bit different and had become overcast with heavy clouds covering all of the high peaks. Once nice change on day two was that the river, though still twisty, began to be a little more straight in places and was carrying more volume throughout the day, so the paddling was a bit less strenuous. Being lower in the valley there also seemed to be a lot more wildlife and we saw two large groups of elk and chased a moose and calf around for a few miles mid-day. We did have several dams to cross on day two and numerous barbed wire fences that crossed the river in places. None of them were too difficult to manage and we made good time, even paddling as fast as 9 MPH. We paddled for half of the day in overcast skies but by early afternoon were caught by heavy downpours and even a bit of hail. It thankfully didn't effect our paddling too much but we were forced to our knees a few times due to high winds. Either way the day ended in success at the Northgate canyon take-out and we had officially paddled the upper stretches of this awesome river. Day 2 pictures and details are below.
Day 2: 31 miles in a time of 6:49 hours
Day 2: 31 miles in a time of 6:49 hours
Trips maps
The way home: Great views and a wonderful drive.
The best part of tripping in Colorado are the amazing views. With scenery like this you just can't be anything but delighted to be alive.