Phantom Canyon River Adventure Days
The mission of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is to preserve plants and animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The mission of Trout Unlimited/Rocky Mountain Flycasters (TU/RMF) is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. Both of these organizations achieve their mission by engaging communities effectively through conservation and education programs and partnerships. In 2008, TNC and TU will host four River Adventure Days at Phantom Canyon Preserve. River Adventure Days will be dependent on river conditions (flow and temperature) and weather.
River Adventure Days
Each River Day will begin with a guided natural history program lead by a locally renowned expert, and supported by TNC staff or volunteers. The second part of the day will be allocated to catch-and-release fishing, guided by trained TU/RMF and TNC river guide volunteers. River Days will be advertised on the TNC website (www.nature.org/colorado), in local media, the Phantom Phlyer, and on the TU/RMF website (www.rockymtnflycasters.org). Each River Adventure Day will have a theme, such as aquatic insects, fish biology and habitat, and hydrology and riparian plants. Members of the public will sign up for each River Adventure Day in the same manner as all other events hosted at Phantom Canyon Preserve. Register by emailing phantomcanyonevents@tnc.org leave your name, email address, street address, phone, number of participants, and trip name.
Registration will commence April 1st, 2008. River Adventure Days will have a limit of 12 participants; that is 2 persons per reach, except for the Learning to Fish by Reading a River trip which will have a limit of 2 units per reach—a unit being an adult parent or guardian and a beginner who is at least 12 years old. All River Adventure Day participants will provide their own fishing equipment. About 2 weeks prior to each day, TNC will provide participants with a map, trip expectations, and a list of what to bring, prepared in cooperation with TU. River Adventure Days will be dependent on river conditions (flow and temperature).
River Adventure Day Descriptions:
Rivers and Riparian Zones: Saturday, May 24th, 10am to 6pm
Learn how rivers shape the stream-side plant communities as a scientist/naturalist guides you into the upper reaches of Phantom Canyon and the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River. Be prepared to wade in and out of the river multiple times as you hike upstream. Limit 12. More...
Learn to Fish by Reading a River: Saturday, June 28th, 11am to 7pm
Have you always wanted to share the experience of learning to fish with a close friend or family member in a friendly and intimate learning environment? Or have you always wanted to learn to fish better by knowing how to “read” a river? Then come along with a local naturalist and explore the upper reaches of Phantom Canyon and the North Fork. A limit of 2 units or pairs per reach (4 reaches) -a unit or pair being an adult parent or guardian and a beginner who is at least 12 years old. Limit 8 people (4 pairs: angler and learner.) More...
Know Your Aquatic Insects: Saturday, August 23rd, 11am to 7pm
Learn about the intricate world of aquatic insects at Phantom Canyon. An internationally renowned entomologist, Dr. Boris Kondratieff, and a researcher who completed his graduate work at the preserve, Dr. Bob Zuellig, will give an introductory slide show and then lead a guided hike to the river where you’ll explore searching and catching a diversity of bugs, learning about their habits and habitat. Limit 12. More...
Fishy Habits and Fish Habitats: Sunday, August 24th, 11am to 7pm
Ever wondered how fish use rivers and where to find them? Ken Kehmeier, Fishery Biologist from the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and his research crew will introduce you to fish communities and fish habitat on the North Fork. First, you’ll learn about fish habitats and fish biology as you explore the upper reaches of the river below Halligan Reservoir. You’ll also get to see how researchers monitor fish populations using electro-shocking equipment. Limit 12. More...
Additional activities
After each Adventure Day learning session, you’ll explore the river through Phantom Canyon Preserve as you fish using catch-and-release techniques coupled with your new-found knowledge from one of these Adventure Days. River guides will assist. Bring a sack lunch, drinking water, hiking gear, wading staff, fishing equipment, and spare dry clothing. Long pants and long sleeves are recommended because of stinging nettle and poison ivy.
TNC hosts many other activites in addition to their River Adventure Days. Visit Colorado Nature Conservancy Events to find out more.
Trail Maintenance—Phantom Canyon
River Trail: Trout Unlimited Volunteers
Submitted by Dave Piske. Photo by David Coulson.
Early in August, Heather Knight, The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Project Director at Phantom Canyon, advised Scott Baily, her prime RMF contact for volunteer support to the Phantom Canyon Preserve, that there were several areas on the river trail where vegetation had grown up and needed to be cleared. With the third and fourth River Adventure Days scheduled for September 8 and 9, it was important that this be attended to soon.
Scott and Heather scheduled a work day for Saturday, August 25. Scott recruited 9 RMF TU members who volunteered to do the work. As many of you know, Scott is temporarily unable to participate in such physical work because of recent orthopedic surgery. As a result, Dave Piske stepped in to organize the on-site efforts.
The other volunteers were: Richard Bader, Frank Cada, David Coulson, Bob Holmes, Jim Lilly, Guy Turenne, and Phil and Logan Wright. For four of this group, it was their initial trip into Phantom Canyon.
Maintainence Briefing
The group was greeted at the gate to the Preserve at 7:30 AM by Jenni Mullins, the TNC Outreach Intern this summer. Upon reaching the visitor center, the volunteers formed into two teams, one to do trail clearing on the downstream reaches, the other to do the upstream reaches. Frank Cada lead the downstream team and Dave lead the upstream team. Each team took the necessary tools that had been prepared and laid out by Jenni, and then headed down the canyon trail, accompanied by Jenni who joined one of the teams until noon when other duties required her to return to the visitor center.
On reaching the river trail, both teams found there had been abundant growth of riparian vegetation, including the infamous poison ivy in certain areas. They proceeded to vigorously clear the overgrowth, especially near stream crossings. Having been warned of active bears being recently sighted along the river, precautions were taken to give plenty of warning about the teams' presence. As it turned out, the bears had completed their harvest of choke cherries and other berries. They seemed to have departed for other territories, leaving only a plethora of tree branches pulled down and broken to facilitate their stripping of fruit. It was obvious that, had the workday taken place a week or two earlier, there would have been encounters of a different kind.
Trail clearing was completed about noon, with the RMF volunteers having contributed about 40 man-hours of work. Their labor was then rewarded by the opportunity to fish for the next several hours. The river water was on the verge of being too warm and was quite turbid from rains earlier in the week, so conditions for catching were not ideal. But some trout proved willing to take large attractors on the surface or woolly buggers and bright nymphs subsurface.
Regardless of the physical work involved and the less than ideal fishing conditions, simply inserting ourselves into the rugged beauty of this pristine canyon produced a refreshing adventure.
You can contact Scott Baily with our message form.
Last updated: 13 March 2008
Other Phantom Canyon
RMF has been doing train maintenance for some time. Other reports can be found on the Phantom Trail page.