Saint Vrain, North Fork (North Saint Vrain) - NSV

Cali Section

Rapid Details

Name Cali Section
Class V to V+
Description

This is section that NSV boaters rave about.  The granite domes begin to extend all the way down the river bed and the mileu more closely resembles California than Colorado.  The river will start to steepen.  When you go through a 3-4 foot ledge, this is a good place to get out and scout the crux of this section.  A maintained trail runs parallel to this entire section making scouting mercifully easy.

The crux is a good reminder that you're still in Colorado.  It's a stacked section of high gradient with only a few eddies to break up your descent.  A continuous lead-in terminates in a broken ledge and the river makes a sharp right turn.  An eddy in the corner provides a nice setup for the next rapid, a sloping ledge into a sizeable hole.  The hole can be sneaked in the far right channel.  Negotiate another drop before going down a steep section with two scary looking seived out boulders on the river right bank.  Another series of drops lead to the first bridge.  

The first bridge is frequently portaged.  Scout it carefully.  The next section takes on more of a pool drop characteristic as it runs through some fun drops.  Some are read and run and some require a quick scout, but most are relatively straightforward. 

Scout

Well maintained trail along river left until the bridge and river right below the bridge.

Recommended Flows Minimum:
Maximum:
Length
Elevation Feet
Coordinates Lat -
Long -