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Tango looking for a way out |
CFS 400
Class 5
Gradient 240 fpm at best
Length 6 miles
Driving into the Cheeseman Canyon is a little eerie, the forest burnt to the ground only a few years back and as far as you can see it is burnt trees, baby aspens, and a lot of bedrock. The team, Mike Hagadorn, Casey Tango, Riley Frakes, Jeff Flora, Tom Dohdray, and myself; many of us had never boated together and it was going to be a testing adventure.
Up to the put in; Mike had already contacted the caretaker of Sportsman’s Paradise; (Bill 719-748-3212) we drove through the gate and met Bill. We slowly followed him through the property and arriving at the far property line we handed Bill a six pack of cold beer. What had arguable been the nastiest river access in CO had just been taken care of with a six pack and a smile. Bill locked us out on the far side of the gate, there was only one way out of the canyon from here.
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Bill locking us into the Canyon |
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Tom in Let’s Make a Deal |
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Mike Hagadorn on Let’s Make a Deal |
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Mike in the hart of the Parfait |
My ankle was already swelling and I couldn’t put any weight on it; after a quick conversation, a decision was made. The easiest way to get me out of the canyon was to get back in my kayak and paddle another four miles of class five rapids to the take out. I crawled back in my kayak and we headed down stream.
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Mike at the top of Punji Sticks |
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Riley avoiding the undercuts and sieves in lower Punji Sticks |
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Mike Sliding for Life |
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Riley giving Tango a hand going through a flat water sieve |
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Nothing like a cold one at the take out |
Chris Baer
WhereIsBaer.com