{"id":797484,"date":"2019-07-10T06:37:08","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T12:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=368592"},"modified":"2019-07-10T06:37:08","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T12:37:08","slug":"with-blue-river-flows-near-all-time-highs-summit-daily-sports-editor-rides-the-wave-train-with-kodi-rafting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/with-blue-river-flows-near-all-time-highs-summit-daily-sports-editor-rides-the-wave-train-with-kodi-rafting\/","title":{"rendered":"With Blue River flows near all-time highs, Summit Daily sports editor rides the wave train with KODI Rafting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8292682926829\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-368592-512\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-2-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy KODI Rafting | Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting&#8217;s Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy KODI Rafting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-3-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy KODI Rafting | Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting&#8217;s Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy KODI Rafting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-3-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy KODI Rafting | Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting&#8217;s Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy KODI Rafting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy KODI Rafting | Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting&#8217;s Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy KODI Rafting<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Raft-SDN-071019-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting's Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/with-blue-river-flows-near-all-time-highs-summit-daily-sports-editor-rides-the-wave-train-with-kodi-rafting\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/with-blue-river-flows-near-all-time-highs-summit-daily-sports-editor-rides-the-wave-train-with-kodi-rafting\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>SILVERTHORNE \u2014 I drive each day past the 6-mile stretch of the Blue River north of Silverthorne that is guided by whitewater rafting companies, and I\u2019ve been keeping an eye on the river to time a trip during this season\u2019s highest water.<\/p>\n<p>So when I walked into KODI Rafting\u2019s Frisco outpost Saturday and saw \u201c1,960,\u201d scribbled onto a whiteboard \u2014 referring to the cubic feet per second flow of the Blue River that day \u2014 I knew it was time to hit the high water.<\/p>\n<p>That number, 1,960 cfs, might not seem like much compared to flows more than twice that down near Buena Vista. But to put it in historical perspective, it\u2019s slightly higher than the 1,910 cfs peak on the Blue River below the Dillon Dam the last time it ran this fast in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>By Tuesday, the number on the whiteboard had crept down to 1,690. A prideful part of me wanted to raft the Blue at its mightiest, but my guide for the day, Donny MacLachlan of Silverthorne, reassured me the slightly lower water level would be just as fun \u2014 if not more so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce we get down to 1,700, waves start to come up a little bit more,\u201d KODI owner Dave McGrath said. \u201cThe hits get to be a little bit bigger because the volume is not washing through the rapid as fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A year to remember<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been quite the year for High Country rafting companies. Back in May, guides such as KODI\u2019s Jay Chambers of Frisco \u2014 a dude that\u2019s been guiding the river for 22 years \u2014 went out on their initial inspection runs with the river running at 390 cfs. Then May\u2019s low temperatures delayed higher flows before the water spiked in June.<\/p>\n<p>Scouring his cfs log back to 2015 \u2014 the last big year guides remember on the Blue \u2014 Chambers said nothing crept above 1,400. That means at the Blue River\u2019s peak over the weekend, it was running at least one-third faster than 2015.<\/p>\n<p>The KODI crew explained Tuesday how high flows don\u2019t necessarily equate to more fun. Rafting high water is speedier, for sure, but it\u2019s also easier to navigate down the river considering such obstacles as Booger Rock are flushed with water over the top.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s basically like putting the boat at the top of a water slide,\u201d Chambers said.<\/p>\n<p>At higher water levels, there is an increased danger of a rafter being ejected from the boat. The river will carry a rafter much faster than the 700 to 900 cfs range, which is where the Blue topped out last year during a two-week rafting season.<\/p>\n<p>Considering this concern, KODI and Performance Tours Rafting consulted each other about increasing their age and weight requirements for rafters. Kevin Foley, owner of Performance Tours, said that meant the companies went from their minimum age of 7 on the Blue up to 8, then 10 and even up to 12 for a short period of time.<\/p>\n<p>Foley said Saturday\u2019s 1,960-cfs reading is, without question, top five all-time for the Blue \u2014 maybe better.<\/p>\n<p>Down on the faster water of Brown\u2019s Canyon, the Royal Gorge and The Numbers rafting routes near Buena Vista, Foley said stronger safety requirements had to be instituted. Looking at the decreasing flows Tuesday afternoon, Foley was hopeful his company could open up rafting on the Royal Gorge on Wednesday. He added that his company also started guiding again on The Numbers on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>McGrath said he expects to raft the Blue River into early or mid-August, potentially two months more than last year. Beyond that, McGrath said he is hopeful flows will stay in the quadruple digits for most of July.<\/p>\n<p>As for down near Buena Vista, Foley said rafting in a spot like Brown\u2019s Canyon should linger into mid-September.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Barreling down the Blue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, I joined the Houlberg family of Atlanta. As we dropped in just north of Silverthorne\u2019s town limits, I peeked at the Ute Pass summit through the trees alongside the river. Just 12 hours earlier, I hiked through snowfields lingering near the mountain\u2019s 12,303-foot summit in the Williams Fork Range. It\u2019s that snow that is making this river roar into July.<\/p>\n<p>As Debbie, Sam and Maddie Houlberg and I were guided by MacLachlan early on, we enjoyed the sights and smaller thrills along the first half of the 6-mile raft route, which is void of any huge waves. After we passed the Blue River Campground, we approached a final 3 miles of continuous waves, starting with the snowmelt from the Gore Range rushing in via Boulder Creek at river\u2019s left.<\/p>\n<p>Once we hit the first portion of rapids, the 3,000-meter stretch after Boulder Creek, the Houlbergs and I were drenched by walls of water cascading over our helmets. Booger Rock was about two-thirds of the way down this rapids portion.<\/p>\n<p>With the water almost 300 cfs lower than peak, the Houlbergs and I were treated to one whitewater blur after another. The final rapids portion known as Pipeline is named after the pipe rafters duck under when the water is this high.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Summit 360: Rafting on the Blue RIver\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"about:blank\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-rocket-lazyload=\"fitvidscompatible\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sWC5mxFLNug?feature=oembed\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><noscript><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Summit 360: Rafting on the Blue RIver\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sWC5mxFLNug?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Once through this stretch of consistent waves, we got off the raft and hopped back on the bus. Reflecting on the soaking-wet day, I asked MacLachlan what his focus was guiding on a near-peak day on the Blue River.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPretty much to hit all the big waves. You know, I asked you guys, but we were going to hit them regardless,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n<p>Donny, thanks for throwing us into the thick of it.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/with-blue-river-flows-near-all-time-highs-summit-daily-sports-editor-rides-the-wave-train-with-kodi-rafting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday morning, guided by KODI Rafting&#8217;s Donny MacLachlan on a portion of the Blue River roaring at 1,690 cubic-feet-per-second.Courtesy KODI Rafting Summit Daily sports &amp; outdoors editor Antonio Olivero rafts with the Houlberg family of Atlanta, Georgia on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-797484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 18:31:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797484\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}