Baker's Wonderland

Well...the rains finally mellowed out in the San Juans and the 90' temps kicked in causing the Animas to drop to levels conducive to run Baker's Box - a section of the Animas River upstream of Durango. A granite wonderland of slots, boofs, and holes all tucked away into a deep granite canyon. It's one of the best runs in Colorado and one of the most amazing places I've ever paddled. I went with the Professor and Eric and we had a blast. Guide books refer to the run as Pandora's Box.

The run starts with a cross country hike through ponderosa pines several hundred feet above the river. Land access is a little tenuous at the moment so stealth is the key word. Once at the put in, boats and paddlers are lowered down a sloping granite cliff to the first rapid. When your in...your in. Hiking out would surely suck although there are opportunities downstream.

This put in has seen many an epic descent with a few paddlers taking HUGE diggers here. Constant upkeep and attention has made the effort better and better over the years.

There's quite nothing like the view downstream from the ropes at the put in of Baker's. It's a gut check at first, then smiles across everyone.

The first 5 rapids in the run cannot be scouted and all are stout. The canyon walls rise straight up out of the water making getting out of your boat impossible. Swims here last a long, long time.

The thing about this run is there are sieves everywhere. You want to be online, paddling hard, and in your boat. The lower the river gets, the worse the sieves become. Each rapid has multiple boofs and many lead to slots no wider than your kayak where the full force of the water channels. Fun, fun, fun!!!! Baker's rips, there's just no other way of putting it.

With the Professor and Eric, we cruised the run talking beta and laughing our way down. With temps in the 90's in town, the water temp was warm. I wore a shorty for the first time ever and felt absolutely in heaven.