"Upper Upper Taylor"
Located in the echelons of the canyon above the standard, commercial "Upper Taylor", there is a short blast of class III+ (-IV at higher water) that is kinda junky and doesn't see anywhere near the traffic as it's most classic brother downstream. There are some different names being tossed around for this section so I don't really know what goes but there does seem to be a few names emerging from the pile. But it's short length, awkward feel, and blast rock character makes this a random and obscure run more than anything else.
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The run can start one of two ways. The first is to put on at the fishing access just below Lottis Creek C.G., where you can put on just above the big chunky drop you can see from the road. The other option is to put in on Lottis Creek itself where the Taylor River Road crosses it. The creek is swift and terrifying single track through the bushes before emptying into the larger Taylor, just above the aforementioned chunky roadside drop. The chunky roadside drop is awkward, full of big rocks and laterals and pillows. I have heard this rapid called "Corner Pocket" and "Lottis Slide", so both work well. Below this, the river drops around a corner and into another long rapid that is fairly straightforward but full of holes and boulders to scoot past. It's fairly steep and might be one of the steepest sections of the river between the Dam and Almont. I have heard this section referred to as "Taylor Falls" before but only by a couple of groups so I don't know if that's official.
Below the steep section, there are some fun rapids that are reminiscent of some of the drops on the class Upper Taylor downstream. There are also some wider sections in here where the gradient goes on one side of the river, with some large boulders in the middle of the river amongst the shallows. Towards the bottom, the gradient slows down and all too soon the fisherman at the access across from Lodgepole appear, signaling your take out.
Crystal Creek #2
Starting just below Lodgepole C.G., and stretching to the put in at New Generation, the subdivision officially known as "Crystal Creek #2" is a group of a dozen and a half houses stretched around a large meadow and in the trees surrounding it, all owned by people who live elsewhere most of the year and spend a month or two in their summer homes on the Taylor River. These people have long had a different view of river running and water rights than what others have. Currently, Colorado law allows boaters to continue downstream on a waterway provided they don't touch any rocks or logs or the streambed. However, the owners of the houses in CC#2 have felt like they own the river itself and that if they don't want people to boat through their property, that they could close the river and stop everyone from going through.
Of course, this didn't sit well with the boating community, so many people kept pushing the issue and running this stretch. To be honest, it's a fairly shitty stretch of river and not worthy of boating on most days, with lots of diversion dams and shallows to overcome. But, it's worth fighting for in order to establish a precedence for future problems on other rivers and in other situations.
Things took an awkward and scary turn in the early 2000's, when one homeowner decided he had had enough of the boaters ruining his view, so one day he went down into his field with one of his favorite firearms and shot in the air across the front of the boaters several times. The boaters paddled away quickly and that was that. A very scary situation. His brazen act resulted in numerous years of probation, and a ban from owning firearms for ten years. He responded by building low bridges over some of the diversion dams so the boaters couldn't get through (which he later had to alter so they could), and then he built a gigantic castle in the middle of the beautiful park that is way out of place from everything in the rest of the canyon. And so it continues.
Should you choose to boat it, it is a shitty run full of diversion dams and low bridges and lots of tension, and the whole section has been called "Check Dam Hell" in honor of the numerous features. It doesn't take that long, but do use caution when portaging and scouting and try to be discreet as hell. It would behoove you to not have to deal with the county sherriff, as even though he may be somewhat on your side, it's gonna be a shitty afternoon. So bottom line: stick to the river.
Of course, this didn't sit well with the boating community, so many people kept pushing the issue and running this stretch. To be honest, it's a fairly shitty stretch of river and not worthy of boating on most days, with lots of diversion dams and shallows to overcome. But, it's worth fighting for in order to establish a precedence for future problems on other rivers and in other situations.
Things took an awkward and scary turn in the early 2000's, when one homeowner decided he had had enough of the boaters ruining his view, so one day he went down into his field with one of his favorite firearms and shot in the air across the front of the boaters several times. The boaters paddled away quickly and that was that. A very scary situation. His brazen act resulted in numerous years of probation, and a ban from owning firearms for ten years. He responded by building low bridges over some of the diversion dams so the boaters couldn't get through (which he later had to alter so they could), and then he built a gigantic castle in the middle of the beautiful park that is way out of place from everything in the rest of the canyon. And so it continues.
Should you choose to boat it, it is a shitty run full of diversion dams and low bridges and lots of tension, and the whole section has been called "Check Dam Hell" in honor of the numerous features. It doesn't take that long, but do use caution when portaging and scouting and try to be discreet as hell. It would behoove you to not have to deal with the county sherriff, as even though he may be somewhat on your side, it's gonna be a shitty afternoon. So bottom line: stick to the river.
All photos copyright Kit Davidson unless otherwise noted.