Headwaters - Sources
Henson Creek starts above 12,000 feet, in the high mountains west of Lake City, CO. From high 13,000 foot peaks, snowmelt accumulates in small tarns, tiny lakes above treeline, before coalescing into tiny streams, ribbons of white cascading down the high mountain ampitheatres. The creek is paralleled by the Engineer Pass Road and can basically be followed from it's beginnings amongst the high thirteeners surrounding it's headwaters down to it's confluence with the Lake Fork of the Gunnison.
The highest "origin" of Henson is probably just below a high mountain cabin called "Thoreau's Cabin". This is a rentable accommodation that sits next to the confluence of two high mountain streams. Below here the creek rambles over a couple of small but beautiful waterfalls. It then runs through a steep mountain valley, alternating between steep gorges with ugly drops interspersed with open meadows. I haven't explored this section as much as I'd like to yet, but stay tuned, I will explore more.
The highest "origin" of Henson is probably just below a high mountain cabin called "Thoreau's Cabin". This is a rentable accommodation that sits next to the confluence of two high mountain streams. Below here the creek rambles over a couple of small but beautiful waterfalls. It then runs through a steep mountain valley, alternating between steep gorges with ugly drops interspersed with open meadows. I haven't explored this section as much as I'd like to yet, but stay tuned, I will explore more.
Eventually the walls close in and the canyon gets somewhat narrow. The creek consolidates itself into a narrow chasm and pours through several chunky and hairy rapids before dropping 10' into a really short slot canyon, with a 20' falls with an awkward landing and an extremely narrow lip being the exit of the tiny box canyon. This falls is called "Whitmore Falls" and can be seen quite well from the road.
Middle - Mountain Valley
The next section of Henson Creek simmers down a bunch and meanders across the large meadows of Capitol Flats. There is a small canyon just after Whitmore Falls but then it opens up. Capitol Flats is a beautiful meadow surrounded by large canyon walls and towering mountain peaks. At the eastern end of the meadows the river gathers itself again and drops into another canyon, going over some nice rapids in the creek in the process. Eventually it reaches the confluence with Nellie Creek, and starting just a short ways down here is when things begin to change.
Lower - The Gorges
Pretty quick after passing Nellie Creek, Henson pushes into it's lower reaches, where the natural landforms, as well as man's impacts, have a dramatic impact and effect on the creek. Nature has allowed the creek to cut several dramatic and deep gorges in this section, with some sections having vertical walls on both sides, creating hallways of whitewater with 100+ foot high walls.
There has also been a heavy influence from man here, in the form of mining debris. The area around Lake City was hit pretty hard during the mining rush of the late 1800's and early 1900's. There were mines everywhere, in every valley and ravine, and this area was especially rich. In the area around what is known as the Ute Ule (pronunced "yoot yoo-lay") the most dramatic of the man made influences can be seen in the form of two dams that used to block the creek. Though the bottoms have fallen out and the creek flows free underneath them, they are still there and quite dramatic. On the sides of the canyon and the gorge are numerous old mines and mills. While sometimes you may have to deal with the occasional piece of mining debris such as rebar or wood in the channel, but otherwise it should be mostly natural obstacles.
In amongst the gorges there is one awful, junky rapid that should be portaged if kayaking. It is a mess of a drop and usually full of logs, and there are no clean lines anywhere. Ugly.
There has also been a heavy influence from man here, in the form of mining debris. The area around Lake City was hit pretty hard during the mining rush of the late 1800's and early 1900's. There were mines everywhere, in every valley and ravine, and this area was especially rich. In the area around what is known as the Ute Ule (pronunced "yoot yoo-lay") the most dramatic of the man made influences can be seen in the form of two dams that used to block the creek. Though the bottoms have fallen out and the creek flows free underneath them, they are still there and quite dramatic. On the sides of the canyon and the gorge are numerous old mines and mills. While sometimes you may have to deal with the occasional piece of mining debris such as rebar or wood in the channel, but otherwise it should be mostly natural obstacles.
In amongst the gorges there is one awful, junky rapid that should be portaged if kayaking. It is a mess of a drop and usually full of logs, and there are no clean lines anywhere. Ugly.
Once the gorges peter out there is a couple more tight spots in the canyon where some bigger drops have formed. One of the biggest single drops of the run is in here, and it is a scary channel of boulders, drops, and usually wood After the last drops give way, the canyon flattens out and meanders its way down to and eventually through Lake City, before it joins the Lake Fork of the Gunnison.
North Fork of Henson Creek
The North Fork comes roaring down from the mountains to join the main stem in the remains of old Capitol City, the ghost town that used to exist in Capitol Flats. The NF is a true mountain stream, and falls regularly and angrily through a deep, narrow mountain valley from the high alpine flats above. One of the only notable things of the North Fork, besides rocks and falls, is an old dam that still exists about a mile upstream from Capitol Flats. It creates a neat looking 20 foot waterfall, but unfortunately it could give way at any time and cause an awkward landlside and/or debris dam in the creek. Other than that, the NF is basically a non stop orgy of gravity and water for the length of it's course, albeit in a very gorgeous high mountain valley.
All photos copyright Kit Davidson unless otherwise noted.