Towing company drags massive log out of Blue River: "Saving rafting season"

In the moments when local rafters believed the rafting season for the Upper Blue River was over (after a tree fell across the river creating a dangerous strainer, liable to flip and eject rafters), it seemed hopeless. 

"I don't think there would be enough tissues in the world, because I would cry," rafter Nina Waters said, after exiting the Blue River earlier this week. "We, unfortunately, had not had it for two whole years."

The stretch of the river north of Silverthorne qualifies as mostly class 3 rapids, available for most people 7 years and older, but after the massive strainer fell across, local authorities closed river access until a plan could be made on how to get the massive tree out of the way, if possible. Having something like that in the river was simply too dangerous to have anyone go down and bump into it around a corner. 

"Majority of the time people don't come back," Brandon Cuillo said, referencing strainers. "That is what scared me the most."

Cuillo was one of many who was absolutely bummed about the turn of events on their local, quick river run. He also happened to be a member of Summit County Rescue Group's Swift Water Rescue Team and was willing to go check out what could be done with the tree. 

In the meantime, local rafting companies had contacted Mountain Recovery towing with a proposition: how much money would it take to have them get a massive tow truck out to the river bank, and to hook up the tow to the log, and rip it out of the river so they could get boats flowing again?

Companies like Performance Tours rely on the shorter season along the Blue River depending on a lot of different conditions like how fast snow melt goes and how much rain we've gotten in a season, but the most detrimental is a massive tree going across the entire river. With it blocking the path, it's game over. 

Mountain Recovery's Charlie Stubblefield took the call, but has his doubts about whether or not the project was actually going to get off the ground. 

"I told them it would be a thousand dollars and hour, and there's a lot of red tape to clear up with the forest service and sheriff's office and other parties involved," Stubblefield said. "I got off the phone and went 'this probably will not happen.'"

Still, considering the close proximity to their Silverthorne office, Stubblefield decided to make a quick trip up to the Blue River to see what the project would even look like. There, he found Cuillo, mingling with the forest service. 

"He goes 'If you guys give me the green light, I'll do it right now for free,'" Cuillo said, referencing Stubblefield's offer. 

Both men knew this was a time-sensitive issue, not only for rafting crews to get back in the black (by getting back in the blue) but even though the river was closed, that doesn't stop everyone from going down... and going past a strainer of this size was no joke. 

"That is a RAFT GUZZLING KILLING MACHINE," Cuillo said. "IT WILL EAT YOU UP."

Somehow, everyone agreed to simply let Stubblefield cook. He got to work hooking up his 50-ton tow truck up to the tree thanks to help from swift water rescue crews shimming across the river and began to pull the tree upstream and out of the way. 

All of this at his own expense, no bill for anyone, including the rafting companies who originally offered to hire him. 

"This is fun, this is not your everyday deal," Stubblefield said, recalling the mission. "I don't want to leave any unsafe situation the same or worse than how I found it."

Thankfully the log was wrenched out of the way and has since freed the Upper Blue to rafters before it drops below subtle conditions.  

Stubblefield has since been named a local hero for his selfless efforts to get the river back open, and potentially saving lives in the process. He was modest when Mountain Newsroom Reporter Spencer Wilson asked him how his recent fame has hit him. 

 "We feel like that is just part of our daily job and we feel really good about it," Stubblefield laughed.