As we crawled over Cottonwood Pass the heavy Spring rain turned to sleet then snow. It piled on the road, turning the black top into a nice slushy mess. We slowed to a snail’s pace, sliding sideways at the slightest tap of the brakes.
The tone for the weekend was set, brisk evening temps and intermittent rain turned the raging Oh Be Joyful creek into a trickle. Unperturbed, we charged ahead with the race. Paul Raymond’s excellent coordination, combined with cooperation from the BLM, Forest Service, and volunteers made things go off without a hitch. A full roster of 40 boaters turned out to race. @Jackkayaks was deemed too young to compete. That didn’t slow him down a bit as he laid out his own self timed goPro lap.
My second lap was considerably delayed by a sticky situation. I got greedy coming into the corner above the 23’ waterfall, pitoned the wall, and ended up pinned, perfectly perpendicular to the river. I furiously rocked back and forth, pushed against the rocks and was considering walking across my boat out of the river when Daniel (long time OBJ race safety lead) came to my rescue. He un-chalked my boat as easy as taking candy from a baby.
That stunt lost me a few spits in the race but I won the coolest prize of all, the WhiteOut Belt.
I cannot thank Paul Raymond enough for all the work he has done to keep the best race in Colorado going. Thanks to all the sponsors for the race and Miss Julie for the Glizzy water!
