In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Eleven Mile Reservoir
RMSKC trip to Eleven Mile Reservoir, west of Colorado Springs
18 June 2021 - 20 June 2021
18 June 2021 - 19 June 2021
This is the 3rd of 3-in-a-row weekend outings, this one to Eleven Mile Reservoir near Lake George, CO with the Rocky Mountain Sea Kayak Club. I am the coordinator for this trip though my presence was kind of iffy earlier in the week since wrenched my knee last weekend and was on crutches on Sunday and Monday. As it turns out, I am doing the trip but not paddling.
We pulled away from my place at 1 PM, an hour or so later than planned. Gary had originally thought we would go via highway 285 and 9, but we ended up going south on I-25 to Colorado Springs then west on US 24 to Lake George and then accessing the Eleven Mile on County Roads. A big mistake, since we ran into stop-and-go traffic almost from the start, caused by a couple of crashes and general heavy traffic. We do arrive but it takes 4 ½ hours, not the 3 planned hours.
This is a beautiful place and I am glad we came! Another new place for me. And I have not been on US 24 west of Florissant, so new roads too!
Our campsite, #258, is in the ‘D’ Loop and is pretty close to the water. It’s pretty open here so I am glad we bought the sunshade…which was also handy since we had some sprinkles throughout the evening and both Saturday and Sunday call for thunderstorms. It does not have much flat space for tents but it is tucked into the hillside just ever so slightly so perhaps it will provide some wind protection. We shall see.
David was already here, as were Jay and Jane. Not long after, Karen, Lin and Bev arrive as well as Andy so we are all here. Folks come by and say hello. Jay and Jane have spotted a grassy put-in across from their site so we all walk down and check it out. It is indeed an nice put in, and we all agree that will be our launch site in the morning.
Gary and I work at putting up the sunshade and tent which does not take long. Both our small tent and Sue’s tent fit adequately (not spaciously) so that is good. We make supper: gumbo and shrimp with rice and cocktails. It’s dark by the time I crawl into the tent. I had hung the luminaid outside the tent and turned it on and the fly is covered in bugs. Glad everything was zipped up. The bugs are not mosquitos and do not bite and I am happy about that! Jane seemed to know what these bugs are, I need to ask her about that.
On Saturday, Gary is up before me, as usual. I crawl out of the tent around 7:15, head to the bathroom, then back for coffee. Around 8, people begin moving boats to the selected put in. Everyone was ready by 8:50 or so. They head toward the dam, along this side of the shore. And off they go!
I head back to camp, tidy up, do dishes. Then journal about this trip. A good morning. And I pretty sure I saw a mountain blue bird, along with swallows, gulls, pelicans and Canada geese
The rock here is very reminiscent of South Platte Rock near that I climbed on near Pine and Deckers and that outing with Lori many years back. And that rock is very reminiscent of the rock at Vedavoo.
This part for Saturday’s paddle provided by Gary Cage, David Hustvedt and Sue Hughes, as told to Anne Fiore:
We hauled our boats to the shore of the lake between sites 261 and 262. Initially, we thought these might be a good camping spot for next time but only 262 was level enough for 2 tents and there would not have been any protection from the wind from the southwest though it may have been ok for winds from the north.
We followed the north shore down to the dam closure area and practiced maneuvering around the closure markers. Then headed back and had lunch at backcountry campsite #914. Seems like coming back and camping in the backcountry sites would be a pleasant outing. Karen mentioned sites 914, 915, 916, 917 and 923 would be ideal for boat-In outing.
Afterwards, we paddled around a restricted island (meaning you could not debark there and investigate. We named this island “gullapagos” for the number of gulls there. But, besides gulls, the island was crowded with cormorants, blue herons, and pelicans.
This lake is really pretty with lots of little rock and grass islands to explore.
Saturday evening was really windy. Andy and Dave both suffered tent failures in the wind and ended up aborting their stay.
20 June 2021
This part provided by Karen Amundson, for Sunday’s paddle:
Since Dave, Andy, and Sue missed out on Sunday's action, let me tell you our story. 5 of us launched by 9:30 and paddled straight across and around a big island and then along 3 tiny islands. Beautiful, though more arid than Saturday's scenery. The water was like glass, so we headed straight up the middle of the lake toward Spinney, thinking we might see where the Platte came into Eleven Mile.
We were 3/4 of the way there when the wind started, we turned around and hustled back toward camp. This was the toughest water I have done in a sea kayak. Small white caps. Sometime we'd go straight with the waves, but other times we had to take a 45 or 60 degree angle to the right in order to keep away from shore and maintain a bearing to get us into our nice beach landing. I was exhausted for an hour or more afterward.
We left our camp, found a State Wildlife Area called Tomahawk between Hartsel and Fairplay and had our lunch on a nice log there, using the car to block the wind. It was up on a ridge looking down into a valley with the Platte winding around between 2 ridges. That was refreshing. I was so tired that I had to let Lin drive us the last hour into Denver.
Anne and Gary’s post trip wanderings and comments:
Wind:
On Saturday, the wind came up after 12.
On Sunday, the wind came up at 10:30.
Campsites:
We had site 258. There was not a lot of level spaces, enough for 2 small tents though. As it turned out, it was protected somewhat from the wind, though it helped to move the truck broadside so the sunshade was protected.
Sites 261 and 262 had a good boat launch between; 262 was somewhat level, 261 was not level. Neither had much protection from the wind.
Sites 822 and 819 in the Witchers Cove camp area seems like they would be a bit more protected from the wind. 815 and 814 there might work too.
The sites at Lazy Boy seemed like they might be a bit protected and you could carry your boat to the water.
In the Rocking Chair area, sites 610- 613 are flat and in somewhat of a swale so they may be protected from the wind. Also, they were flat and the shore is close enough that you can carry your boats to the water. And they are off by themselves so they would be a nice spot for a group. These would be my first choice for car camping next time.
Seems like coming back and camping in the backcountry sites would be a pleasant outing. Karen mentioned sites 914, 915, 916, 917 and 923 would be ideal for boat-In outing.