​​In The Shadow of Longs Peak

Gross Reservoir

17 September 2014

We woke up and were out of bed at 7:30.  There was a bright sun and no breeze, though I closed the windows as I do every day lately and today it does seem cooler.  We had breakfast and soon were packing up and moving my boat from the car to the truck. 

I start out with a Chamois shirt thinking it was going to be cool but it wasn’t long before I shed it.  It’s been a nice and unusually warm September…I am not complaining!

We make a quick stop at Diamond Shamrock for Gary’s Pepsi fix then head toward Boulder and up Baseline to Flagstaff Road.  There is a single lane zone where the flood of September 2013 took out part of the road.  There are many cyclists out today;  with the road so narrow and curvy it is always a challenge but we manage. 

It takes pretty much the planned hour but we arrive at Osprey Point, our launching point, around 10 AM.   Along the road that skirts Gross to the east, I look down at the lake and it has that look of glass of extremely calm water.  A good sign!

There others are already there – Brian, Marsha, Jud, Sue.  We quickly unload, pack our boats, and are off, in a counter-clockwise direction.  To our right is a small cove that we explore then continue around and have lunch at the inlet of South Boulder Creek.

A delightful outing!