Colorado
02. Gore Canyon
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportGood flows for rafts and kayaks at 1250 cfs for Gorefest 2025. Minimal carnage in Tunnel all day with the hole flushing hard and fast. Lots of Toilet Bowl carnage with the middle seam catching rafts and kayaks alike providing some swims that required throwbags to get folks out of the hole. Above 1200, the boof at Applesauce is good to go straight over the middle in almost any craft, but a slight right angle should be preferred as the left side remains bumpy even at higher flows.
Creating trip report for photo updating for Pyrite and Tunnel as there isn't currently a photo of Pyrite and updating the Tunnel photo to better show the rapid in its entirety.
Creature Crafts exiting Gore Canyon
I am comparing mileage markers for Gore Canyon rapids to measurements I am making on Google Earth and finding significant discrepancies. The AW info lists Applesauce Rapid at 5.0 miles while my measurements say it is at 4.0 miles, and the markers for other rapids below Applesauce are also off, but not by the same amount.
Does anybody have any actual GPS waypoints for where each of these rapids begins so that correct measurements can be made?
Paddle out of Gore Canyon
Near side is sneak, middle is professor, far side is the meat or far left move.
Sneak Line at Gore Rapid
57 year old, Bob Booth, River Sharks, drops in at the put in.
Rio Expeditions pulls big water to make the first move at Gore Rapid
Rio Extreme gets swamped in the first hole.
The intro rapids to Tunnel Falls can get pushy and make last second adjustments neccessary
Over the edge on Tunnel. Get ready to paddle hard, as this rapid can be very sticky at the bottom.
Rio Extreme gets wet on the bottom of Tunnel
At this level, it's awfully tough to stay upright in the hole at the end of this one. Something like 9 out of 10 paddlers got their heads wet in this sneakless wonder that day; fortunately, there's a pool below to collect one's equilibrium (and possibly one's gear).
Craig I probing the manky right channel
Charlie McArthur turbo-ing through Tunnel Falls. He had the fastest time in the '04 Gore race at 21:21.56
Charlie McArthur turbo-ing through Tunnel Falls. He had the fastest time in the '04 Gore race at 21:21.56 Check out the BIG photo here.
A good line thru Tunnel. This rapid gets worse the lower the water is. At 850 there is a very fine line between the meat of the hole and the big rock on river left.
Tom Campbell executing a perfect meat line in Tunnel Falls.
The small version of this photo...
Big Tom
This is the sneak line
This is the smaller version of this photo...
Sneaky Brian