Lake Creek

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Lake Creek

Run Length	8 miles	Average Gradient	137 fpm
Difficulty	Class V+	Recommended Flow	200-650 cfs
River	Lake Creek	Location	Buena Vista, Colorado
Author	Nick Wigston	Current Level
Drainage	Arkansas	Elevation	10470ft to 9445ft

Cauldron

Paddler:Mark Olsen Photographer:Jed Selby

Description
Lake creek is a classic Colorado Creek run. It flows from the two biggest mountains in the state, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. The scenery in this area is nothing short of spectacular. Wildlife sightings are common around Lake Creek.

If you want to do this run from top to bottom, be ready for a long hard day. The creek runs parallel with HWY 82, so it is possible to use alternate put-ins. However, much of the land is private property, so be careful.

The first two thirds of the run is fairly easy class V whitewater. There are several significant rapids in this section. The first rapid is Tombstone. It is a narrow slot against a wall, with little gradient. The sketch factor can sometimes outweigh the fun factor on Tombstone. It is easily portaged.

NIMBY (Not in my backyard) is next. There is a house on river right which you can see from upstream, so scout on river left. NIMBY has a long entrance which leads into a fairly tight left turn. After the turn there is a small drop with a sticky hole. NIMBY is a long fun rapid. The difficulty increases with more flow. The next few miles are pretty mellow with a few rapids here and there until you reach Snyder falls.

Snyder (aka Toaster) is a six foot drop with a gnarly undercut on the right. You know you are at Snyder when you see a large, almost river wide, log-jam. Scout from either side. The drop should be run by charging left off the lip to avoid the undercut. UPDATE 7/06: The log jam that blocked the right channel, backing the water up and forming a falls was blown out due to recent high water years. The new configuration consists of a drop into a moving pool which exits through a narrow slot on the left. Scout the slot for wood as it was clogged before.

Difficulty
- Low V-/V(VI)
- Medium V/V+ (VI)
- High V+ (VI)

Special thanks to our partner Huckin Huge!

Disclaimer

	Put-In From Leadville, head south towards Salida and turn right on Highway 82 towards Independence Pass. The put-in is about nine miles up the road at mile marker 69 (roughly). There is a dirt road that leads to the river. There is a sweet FREE campground here as well.
	Take-Out Check for the take out on the way up. Look for the gorge that starts with The Brain rapid. 8 miles down from the put-in of Hay. 82

Add Rapid

	Uncharacteristically high, proceed with caution.
	Powerful, pushy and unforgiving.
	Ideal flow conditions.
	Boney with potential for boat abuse.
	Not enough water to float a boat.
	Please let us know.
	No gauge, visual required.