Checking Out Outdoor Activities

HI!

Got the bike out the other day, and Deb's not here right now, so I decided to check out some of the biking around the Denver area.

The bike's in good shape. This trip was time to test the other equipment ...... helmet, shoes, bike rack, backpack, camera, etc.

That's me all decked out and ready to go! Finally got smart and learned about "layering" - light weight hydrophilic materials that attract water and wick it away from the body. Works really well, and in today's temperature - about 62 degrees - it keeps me warm.

The waters of the South Platte River flow through the "South Platte Collection System" - a series of reservoirs (Dillon, Antero, Eleven Mile Canyon, Gross, Cheesman, Strontia, Marston Forebay, Platte Canyon). Waterton Canyon is located below Strontia Dam and ends where the South Platte River enters the Kessler Underground Storage at Marston Forebay. 

The ride up Waterton Canyon isn't very exciting even though the scenery is great, running alongside the South Platte the whole way. It's a road, and it's slightly uphill for 6.2 miles where it ends at Strontia Reservoir Dam.

For about two miles below Strontia Dam, the waters of the South Platte River are very, very good trout fishing waters - flyfishing only with a catch limit of 2 fish over 16". I'm not used to anything like that quality from waters in California!

Even though the flow of the South Platte is low, the stream bed is narrow enough and there are enough boulders so that deep pools and shallow riffles are formed - prime water for trout, both Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout. I'm looking forward to getting my Colorado license so I can fish this area.

Funny thing ...... there's an absolute TON of snow in the mountains this year, and pretty soon the "runoff" begins. Probably around May 1 the Water Managers for Colorado will begin moving water stored right now throughout the South Platte Collection System through the South Platte River channel in Waterton Canyon to the reservoirs closer to Denver. This draw down of reservoirs is in anticipation of the snow melt. When the runoff from snow melt begins, the upper reservoirs fill up and spill over. There's so much spill over that the South Platte between the reservoirs becomes unfishable - usually until early July. So I fish now ..... or wait until July!

Waterton Canyon is famous around here for the herds of Bighorn Sheep. Each time that I've been in the Canyon, the sheep have made an appearance. This time I brought my camera with the longer lens and captured a couple shots of them. 







Cheers!!

Phil