Colorado

This is the steepest section of the Colorado River and the hardest whitewater in Glenwood Canyon. The run changes significantly based on flows, so make sure to check the level before you head out. There are 3 major rapids within this section: Upper Death, Lower Death, and Barrell springs. From Hanging Lake, hike down the bike path from the parking lot and you will see Upper Death. Upper Death is only runnable at high flows and most people will want to walk this rapid due to the massive, steep, terrifying nature of the drop. If you do decide you want to run Upper death, you can scout it in its entirety from the bike path and put in just below the dam.

Most people put in below Upper Death which marks the beginning of Lower Death, a fairly straightforward class IV rapid. Just run down the middle after you peel out of the put-in eddy and run to the right of the massive boulder on river left. After Lower Death, there is a long section of flatwater and once you see a wooden handrail on the river right bike path, you will know you have reached Barrel. Eddy out on river right and scout from the bike path. This rapid heavily changes character based on flows. Below 2000 CFS the run is class IV creeking. Between 2,000 and 3,000 CFS Barrel is IV/IV+ river running and above 3,000 CFS the run turns into class V big water. Barrel is generally divided into 3 different dops, the crux being the middle drop next to a large boulder on river left that resembles Africa dubbed 'Africa Rock'. The bottom drop is the easiest and at proper flows has an amazing boof at the bottom. Make sure there's enough water because at lower flows it turns into an aggressive piton. After you finish up Barrell some read and run will lead you to the put-in for Shoshone. Most people set the shuttle at Grizzly Creek and paddle through Shoshone to end the lap with some nice class III.

ACCESS: The traditional put in for Barrell is the Hanging Lake Exit in Glenwood canyon, however, due to increased

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