Today was a study in contrasts.

At about 9:30 am, Gary and I began to ride the river as it wound its way toward the southwestern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park.

We encountered three distinct types of obstacles in the ever-widening channel, which account for the contrasts referenced above.

For the first fourteen miles, the last we will travel within this National Park, the obstacles were natural: trees that had fallen in the river’s path. Immediately downstream, and for the next three miles from the Park we had to negotiate obstacles of a very different type: many barbed wire fences stretched from one shore to the other; there were also several major diversion dams each of which noticeably diminished the flow.

Meanwhile, the sky was providing obstacles of its own. It was clear and sunny when we started, but Clouds soon rolled in. By noon wind, lightning and thunder had given way to rain and hail. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, but the temperature didn’t make it over 60 degrees the rest of the day.

For the next three miles, the gradient changed dramatically-what had been swift and calm water became rough, continuously white and very fast. It grew more and more turbulent until it entered a major drop in a boulder field strewn with downed trees-third flavor of this day’s obstacles.

After a very short portage, we were within sight of Colorado’s largest natural lake. On a trip like this, what would such a lake be called? Grand Lake.

By 4:30 we had entered the lake which, thanks to a dam built in the late 1940s, is actually a reservoir called Shadow Mountain. Again, the rain began to fall as we paddled to a point near the dam.

During the day, we had rapidly (pun intended) descended between 400 and 500 feet and again saw deer, moose and elk along the way. The high mountain vistas were breathtaking as we traveled in excess of 20 miles. We would like to have gone farther but the rain continued to fall and we were tired.

Of course, once we decided to stop, the weather became clear. Story of my life!