Paddling at the Pueblo Chile & Frijole Fest

Mark your calendars for the Pueblo Chile & Frijole Festival September 21-23rd.

This is the second year that the Pueblo Paddlers have organized a paddling event at the Pueblo Whitewater Park in conjunction with Pueblo's second biggest event (after the state fair of course). The Chile & Frijole Festival is a great reason to visit Pueblo all by itself, as local farms line the streets with chile roasters and tents selling their Anaheim and Pueblo Chiles (the Pueblos are the hot ones).

There is also a lot of music to listen to, food to eat along with activities for the kids. The water levels may have dropped to end-of-summer levels (with the exception of some rain flows) but there is still enough water in the PWP to make it enjoyable.

Organized events are scheduled for Sunday leaving Saturday open to boaters and boogie boarders to enjoy the park on their own. Sunday will mark the second annual Pepper Plunge raft race where contestants build their own rafts and race them over the first drop in the PWP for top honors and carnage! Each raft should have a pepper theme to it and be made of just about anything other than an actual raft!



Contact Bob Walker at the Edge (719) 583-2021 for additional info. (Click on the image at the left to see the raft race info!)

There will be a laid-back low-water rodeo with divisions for all levels of boaters. Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each class.

This year the "Extreme" rubber ducky race through the PWP returns. Buying a duck supports the Pueblo Paddlers and gives you a chance to win the jackpot.

And last, but certainly not least, there will once again be free raft rides through the PWP for anyone who is interested. It is a great way to get non-boater family members to get a taste of being on the river without having to get in a kayak.

So set a day or two aside to make the drive to Pueblo to enjoy some great food, friendly people and one of the best whitewater parks in the state. SYOTR!

Pueblo Whitewater Park is still runnin'!

It may be August, but there is still good playboating in the Pueblo Whitewater Park.

Flows have recently fluctuated between 900 and 1,400 cfs through the park. Due to recent rains upstream and the movement of leased water from Lake Pueblo we have been treated to some great play water for boating and boarding.

Several of the features are producing some amazing play. The big news is that drop number seven is in!

The above photo shows Pueblo Paddler, Charlie Vial, surfing drop seven. The wave that was once a sticky and feared drop has become a double play feature. The inital drop provides some steep surfing allowing spins and tricks from atop a foam pile that is approximately 4ft tall. Then there is the steep secondary wave that has a great potential for air loops and other aerial moves!

I don't know how much longer these levels will hold, but for now there are no complaints from boaters and surfers in the Pueblo Whitewater Park.

A successful paddle-a-thon

The Pueblo Whitewater Park hosted the first Pueblo Paddle-A-Thon this past Saturday July, 7th. The Pueblo Paddlers event was designed to raise money for First Descents a kayak camp for young adults with cancer. (see www.firstdescents.org)

Seventeen paddlers (the majority being Pueblo Paddlers Kayak Club members) took to the water and raised approximately $4,100 for the camp which gives young adults with cancer an opportunity to learn to paddle and enjoy the outdoors. It costs $1,000 for each camper to attend the camp so this event made it possible for four young adults with cancer to go to camp.

Paddlers in the Pueblo Paddle-A-Thon were treated to free Gatorade and cookies. Each paddler who raised $50 or more qualified to win a portion of the $2,000 worth of donated paddle accessories (ie paddles, helmets, a sprayskirt, and even a drysuit).Corporate supporters were, Palm/MTI, AT Paddles, Seven-2 Paddles, Voz Sports, Shred Ready Helmets, Keen Footwear, The Edge, Smitty's Greenlight Tavern, The Pueblo Firefighter's union, The Summit Company, WRSI helmets, and Snapdragon Sprayskirts. A HUGE 'Thank You' for your support!

The Summit Company provided a very cool shuttle.A John Deere-esque trailer pulled by a hefty pickup truck saved the feet, legs and shoulders of the paddlers. Thanks Summit!

A portion of the proceeds will be earmarked to send a Pueblo-area young adult with cancer to the 2008 camp.

All in all a very good event and we look forward to being able to make use of the PWP to make a difference in the lives of young adults with cancer again next summer.

PWP GETS MORE NATIONAL ATTENTION

Local Pueblo Whitewater Park surfer, Logan Gogarty, appeared in the July/August issue of Paddler Magazine. Gogarty, 18, has spent countless hours on a surfboard (and an old knee board) in the Pueblo Whitewater Park this spring and summer. His efforts have not gone unnoticed by others who came to surf the park.

Pueblo Whitewater Park desinger, and avid river surfer, Mike Harvey, of Salida, commented that young Gogarty was really tearing it up in the park.

The photo of Gogarty shows him attmepting a handstand on his surfboard while riding the wave in drop number three in front of the "River Reaper". The reaper proved to be a popular background with editors as it also was in the background of a photo of Pueblo Paddler Jeff Mara which appeared in the Canoe & Kayak Magazine annual whitewater publication.The magazine is produced annually by Canoe & Kayak and is not part of the regular subscription. You need to get this issue either online or at a newsstand that carries Canoe & Kayak. Unfortunately I was not able to find it sold locally so I got mine online.
Not only has the reaper proved popular, but the background of the levee itself has also gotten some attention. As chronicled in an earlier post, Jeff mara paddled past the mural of Bob Marley in a photo that appeared in the Canadian publication "Rapid".
New murals are being added to the levee from time to time so there is an ever-changing landscape of art to paddle in front of at the Pueblo Whitewater Park. Maybe you have an idea for a new mural? If so, I can point you in the right direction to make it happen...just let me know.

EJ PADDLES THE PWP!

Four-time world champion freestyle kayaker, Eric Jackson, sits in his boat next to drop number 7 in the Pueblo Whitewater Park this past Sunday afernoon.

Jackson, who comes to Colorado each June to compete in several whitewater events made a stop at the Pueblo Whitewater Park as part of an instructional clinic sponsored and organized by the Pikes Peak Whitewater Club as well as American Whitewater.

PPWC vice president, Greg Horton, said that the group was originally going to hold the event in Salida, but when they ran into obstacles in usiing the Salida feature the idea to come to Pueblo came up. Now the group hopes to hold more events of a similar nature in the PWP. Horton also said he looks forward to organizing events in the park in conjunction with the Pueblo Paddlers.

The flows were running between 2,300 and 2,900 cfs during the event and Jackson had nothing but good things to say about the Pueblo Whitewater Park. The Pueblo Paddlers treated paddlers to pizza, Gatorade, and water during the event.

The Pueblo Chieftain was on hand to do a story on the visit by Jackson. The story and accompanying photo ran on the front of the sports section in the paper Monday morning.

EJ is truly the number one ambassador of the sport.


















(Jackson and participants in the clinic surf in hole number 6.)

A big "Thank you" to EJ and Jackson Kayaks for taking part in the AW and PPWC clinic and helping get the word out about the PWP!

Pueblo Paddle-A-Thon July 7th!

Click on the poster to get all the info you need to help us out with the Pueblo Paddle-A-Thon to benefit First Descents.

I would be happy to send you the pledge sheets if you want to come take part or I can take you pledges if you can't be there and still want to do something. Just remember if you raise money you are eligible for the awesome giveaways! You can see some of it at http://pueblopaddleathon.blogspot.com

Help us make a difference in the lives of young adults with cancer. Come paddle with a purpose.

GI-NORMOUS WATER!

The flows in the Pueblo Whitewater Park have been "Hooooooge" of late.

A combination of warm weather and rainfall upstream has made for some major water days in the Pueblo Whitewater park. The flows have been growing since late Monday and early Wednesday. Monday's 850 cfs peaked at approximately 3,500 cfs! This some pretty amazing stuff to the park.

The features are transformed into waves and offer a very good opportunity for aerial maneuvers should a boater have the strength, skill and cahones to even get into the feature. There is little or no eddy service at this level, yet there is a great deal to chose from should you be able to climb aboard any of the 8 features.

I was at the park this morning prior to going to work. I photographed local paddler and fire fighter, Mike Hammond, as he paddled the park. I have to admit I would have like to been able to spend some time in the park as well, but I just didn't have the time. Mike attempted to paddle into several of the features with limited success.

Drop number three and drop number 6 offered the best chance to do some surfing. I have to tell you that if I had the skill to loop this would be the time to get in the water as the foam piles grew and the water in the drops got deeper and faster. Perfect conditions to loop. That is, if I knew how.

As of this post the flows are beginning to subside and the water has already dropped into 2,800 cfs range. I am sure that we will have surges like this again due to increased snowmelt and rains upstream. Keep your fingers crossed.

Now if we could just get the city to finish placing rocks and do some more grouting on the bank river right to help fight the erosion that occurs at this level.