The snow is just about gone from Bell Mountain, which as unscientific as it may sound, pretty accurately predicts when the creeks and rivers around Aspen are nearing peak flow. This morning it was verified.
The Monday morning run up Hunter Creek was more challenging than usual. At 7am it’s pretty cold and when I asked Christy to run through a second time to get a better photo she, not unexpectedly, turned me down.
We found further support for the Bell Mountain Theory up on Independence Pass where the Roaring Fork was living up to it’s name.
Lincoln Creek Road is open and where the narrows of the Roaring Fork run along side it, the water was cranking.
And cranking it was at the Grottos too. In September you can sometimes hop across on dry rocks here. Not today.
Over the course of a day, peak flow actually occurs in the middle of the night because it takes several hours for the melt water from the afternoon heat to make it’s way down to the major outlets. I wondered if this little sapling had a chance of making it through the night.
Not much action at the Devils Punchbowl, at least as far as swimmers go.
A one second exposure of some flooding over a dead tree, Lincoln Creek area.
And while we’re on the subject of big water, I thought I’d pass along this video Bryan Long (the passenger) put together after running the Yampa recently– unknowingly as a crash test dummy. Apparently Aron thought he could run the rapid known as “Warm Springs” right down the middle, and flipped when he hit the big wave head on. Funny.
Nice one, Aron.
If you’re in the river these days, be careful because it’s big right now.
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