In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Friday, 11 July 2025
Today, we woke up to sunshine, a cloudless sky, and no wind. Gary makes waffles and sausage for breakfast, another treat.
We start loading up the boats and by 9:20 are heading back up to Lost Dog and the Black’s Fork Arm. There is quite a crowd of trailers & vehicles at Lost Dog and we are glad we did not choose it as our base camp.
The wind is mild as we paddle into it. We take a break at the same 2017 campsite, taking time to paddle into each of the coves before continuing up the arm. Next highlight is a group of trucks at our camp of September 2017 which was pretty trashed. We pass a couple more coves on lake right but do not explore them.
We group up and decide to paddle till 11:45. On our left is a rock wall; across the way, we see a low beach and head there for lunch. As well pull unto the shore, we note that the water is quite a bit murkier. We wonder how far we are below the delta and assume that the sediment has not had time to settle out of the water.
After lunch, we head back. Gary heads for Lost Dog. We take a break at the July 2017 camp then another at Lost Dog where we catch up to Gary. Then, we all head back to camp, moved along by a nice tail wind. Today’s paddling distance is about 12 miles.
Shepard’s Pie for is on the menu for supper, complements of Gary. Again, I'm pretty much toast; get things tidied up and turn in by 8:45. My eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow and slept well finally!
Before turning it, the clouds across the lake above the ridge were lite up in pinks and blues and purples. Maybe I should have taken a photo but the low sage-covered hills below were bathed in very flat light and I could not think of a good composition. However, I do have this sunset in my memory.
I did have an odd dream though of driving my MG Midget to the Cherry Creek area of Denver, parking it and going into a coffee shop and seeing people I knew. They left; I stayed waiting for my order which never came until I begged. Then I lost my shoes and was walking around outside in the rain in my stockings. I went back to find out my shoes but by the time I got there, I had someone else’s shoes on. Then, I tried to find my car but, despite walking around it was not to be found and wondered if I parked in a tow zone. Then, I decided I had no choice but to call Gary to come fetch me, though he would not be happy about driving to Denver. I walked around looking for my car and wondered if I was in a dream. I woke up not long after and was glad it was a dream!
Birds & Animals:
On Wednesday, coming back from Black Fork, we were thinking we saw elk across from the confluence but later we decided they were antelope. We saw antelope while paddling up Black’s Fork yesterday, as well as terns and cormorants. We did not see gulls in the Black’s Fork Arm. When we arrived on Wednesday, there were lots of gulls along the shore where we camped and they stayed up all night. There don’t seem to be as many today but there is a juvenile gull (smaller and darker). Also, a mother duck or two with a band of ducklings. And swallows, especially the first evening over the tamarisk. I definitely heard grebes the first day but did not see any. There was the bobwhite I heard the first night but have not heard him since.
We also sighted a jackrabbit several times near our camp over the course of our outing.
Flaming Gorge
09 July 2025 – 14 July 2025
Another outing to Flaming Gorge, this to explore the areas the areas near the confluence of the Green River Arm and the Blacks Fork Arm.
This was originally an outing we organized with the Rocky Mountain Canoe Club but no one signed up, so we cancelled it and made it an outing with just Gary and me.
But then, Carol and Werner, who paddled here with us in 2023, joined us.
Wednesday, 09 July 2025
We did most of the prep and loaded the truck for this trip yesterday, so the final packing took about 30 minutes this morning. After a stop in Fort Collins at Whole Foods for supper sushi, we headed north at 11:15 and arrived in Green River at 5 PM.
South of Green River, we drove through a small squall, but it passed quickly. We were turning onto Forest Service Road 11 around 5:30 pm. Carol had sent a text around 5 PM, so I gave them a call. As it turned out, they were already at the end of Road 11, but could not determine where our intended camp was located. It’s about 5 miles from WY 530 to the shore of Flaming Gorge, so we headed that way and joined them and I get out to investigate the various spurs.
From previous trips, I recall that Road 11 dips down at the end and makes a sharp turn to the south. There is a spur that goes into the area where there have always been a handful of trailers though we’ve never seen anyone occupying them. Next, the road next dips into a gully and there is another spur going down to a spit; we might have been able to just skirt the water to get to our camp, but it would have been iffy. After the second spur, the road dips again and the next spur leads us down to a wide field then turns and runs behind a row of tamarisk. This is the spur to our camp.
I walk back to the truck, and we drive down the spur, stopping about midway across the field. At the far end of the field, there is a trailer, but it does not seem to be occupied. Carol and Werner find a level spot for their camper van. We find a flat spot for the tent and start unloading and setting up camp, including the sunshade, tent, table, and stove.
Carol and Werner serve up appetizers. We sit in the shade for a bit but the clouds are moving in. There are 2 different storm cells, one slightly north, another to the south, and flashes of lightening though not cloud to ground bolts. The clouds are dark and ominous.
It starts sprinkling. Gary & I move to just under the sunshade and peer out at the storm while we enjoyed out sushi supper and a beer. A nearly full moon rising to the east, casting its light across the water.
Eventually we turn in. Early on, I think I hear a bob white but wonder if I am dreaming. I wake around 5 AM and it's still stormy and there is still lightning in the distance. I wonder what kind of day it will be and if we'll be paddling at all!
Sunday, 13 July 2025
We are up around 7 and make vegetable and scrambled egg burrito for breakfast. Then load the truck and get the boats on the truck and head to Buckboard.
When Gary was here last summer (I was still recovering from knee replacement surgery) he paddled west from Buckboard Marina, into a long narrow cove; then south from Buckboard a short distance, then west again into a section called "Buckboard Reservoir". Our destination today is to paddle into both these coves.
It doesn't take long to get past the marina. There are lots of trailers pulled down to the shore on both sides of the cove where the marina is located.
I look ahead and assume we would shortly run out of water, but soon the way becomes clear. There is a VW camper parked in what appears to be a wash but in fact it is a peninsula connected to the north. We pass to the left into more open water and the cove opens up again. Up a head on the right is a rock wall with two sections filled with cliff swallow nests. Swallows are swooping around as are a couple of nighthawks (Carol & Werner mentioned seeing nighthawks at camp).
We continue paddling back. I am struck by how quiet it is, a different world from the put in. Soon we reach the end and retrace our steps back to the marina. We stick to the south side of the cove and pass more & more trailers then finally reach the end of this spit of land and torn south. Lots of trailers and lots of people about, though it is Sunday. We pass cove after cove, and I wonder when we’ll get to the entrance to "Buckboard Reservoir".
We turn into a large cove and find a place at the back for lunch.
Once lunch is done, Carol and Werner head back; Gary and I continue south seeking Buckboard Reservoir. We round bend after bend and finally there is a large body of water and we head there. Suddenly, we've left behind the numerous trailers, boats, jet skis, and people and find ourselves in a large bay. Along the way are Franklin Gulls, Canada geese and a group of three 'rails’; overhead are cormorants. We paddle toward a group of cows at the far end. Beyond the cows, we see cars on the highway, so we are almost there.
The water gets shallow, and I am stuck. Gary spies a channel on the far left we push ourselves in that direction. Not only is it a channel but a moving stream! We paddle up and around a bend and paddle up some more. We decided to go one more bend... but the source is still not in sight.
We turn, paddle back and back again to the marina and camp, 8 miles in all.
Turns out this is our last evening. Chicken marsala is supper. Carol + Werner provide eskimo pies, what a treat!
Monday, 14 July 2025
On Monday, we wake up early. We discuss another paddle as there is a cove directly across from camp to explore. We’ll get everything packed first and then decide. We have a leisurely breakfast, ample coffee and do dishes. Then break down the tent and pack up. In the end, we don't have the energy to take down the boats & paddle across, so we call it a trip and head home.
In summary, a great trip! I had forgotten how cool Flaming Gorge is even though it was hot!
I would not do the outing from Buckboard on a Sunday, that area was much too crowded.
I would consider doing the "drive-to" outings first and do remaining outings from camp.
Saturday, 12 July 2025
We woke up around 7 but both of us are whipped! Carol & Werner are good with a rest day too.
Around noon or so, we loaded up the boats and crossed the lake to the east side and paddled leisurely up-lake, keeping close to the short and going in and out of coves along the way. In one cove, there was a huge school of tiny fish along the shore.
On prior trips, I noted a large cove across from the confluence that we have not explored and that is today's goal, though it is hard to tell which cove it is. We turn into one, and it does go back and back, though not too far and we end at a drainage. Along the way back there was a dove on the bank. I had thought I'd seen a dove in a tree a bit north of our camp this morning. And, as we paddled back into the cove, it seemed like the bird songs changed. It was quiet back there.
Out again. I continue up lake to see if there is another bigger cove but there is not. Carol & Werner head back to camp while Gary and I head across the lake for a pit stop at Last Dog. At the point of the confluence, there are a group of three ‘rails’ along the shore. Lost Dog is hopping! Again, I am, again, glad this was not our base camp!
After, we head across Blacks Fork then down the west side of the main lake to our camp. A good day, nearly 5 miles.
Carol and Werner made supper, chicken with tomatoes and zucchini, fresh and tasty. We were treated with a visit from a pygmy faded rattlesnake. Eventually, Gary catches him on a paddle and walks him far away (whew!).
Later, the evening light across the way dazzles me and I take a couple of photos.
Thursday, 10 July 2025
When we wake up just after 7 with the sun is shining; it is just a bit cloudy but is looking like a good day for a paddle.
After breakfast (scrambled eggs with vegetables, cheese, and salsa in a burrito), we get the boats down to the water, load up & paddle away at 9:30.
We head north, toward Lost Dog and the Blacks Fork Arm. It’s a bit windy but not intimidating. We take a break just short of where we camped in July 2017. The wind has been behind us and seems to be picking up so we turn around and head back. Now we are paddling into the wind; at one point I stop paddling and almost immediately are pushed backward. We stop at our camp for a lunch break, then get back into the boats and head south toward Buckboard. We paddle into each cove along the way – many of the coves would make a nice camp.
I begin to wonder if we’ve reached our 2023 camping spot. According to the GPS, it is not far, so we continue to paddle and pick it out. It was at that camp where Carol & Werner had a pygmy (or midget) faded rattlesnake outside their tent in the morning; Carol dubbed this spot “rattlesnake flats".
We turn and head back to camp with a nice tailwind, park and unload boats. We paddled nearly 10 miles, a nice day out.
Pizza is on the menu for supper. One of the doughs has gotten partially waterlogged so I set it out to dry. Gary starts coals, I assemble the pizza. He has a new trick that includes having a charcoal-fuel-soaked briquette at me bottom of the starter chimney along with a couple sheets of newspaper. The briquettes light right away, a big improvement over newspaper only. The first pizza comes out great, the 2nd, not so good due to me fact the remaining coals do not provide enough heat to crisp up the dough and cheese. Carol and Werner bring over a spinach salad, a real treat!!
I am running out of steam so quickly tidy up and crawl into bed and sleep well to start until 2 AM and sleep only fitfully after that.