Colorado Voices - Hank Hotze

Hank is a flyfishing and rafting guide from Montrose and a life-long resident of Colorado, minus 10 years in New York City. He recently sold Gunnison River Expeditions, a company he started and ran for 25 years. Hank is also a rancher. He speaks to the quality of the fishery in the Gunnison River where it flows through Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park as well as to the recreational values of the protected wilderness lands (Gunnison Gorge Wilderness/National Conservation Area) that extend 12 miles below the canyon. In parts of the interview not chosen for production, Hank describes the multiple recreational uses of land in the county and the adjacent Curecanti National Recreational Area (Blue Mesa Reservoir, ORV routes, picnicking, etc.). He describes how "normal people" can enjoy the wilderness area viewshed from the canyon rim, while "world-class athletes" like himself climb the canyon walls and navigate the class VI whitewater below; he also talks about how the more user-friendly miles of river below the canyon complement the canyon's extremely rugged character.

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People & Blogs

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• colorado
• coloradovoices
• rafting
• whitewater
• arkansasriver
• wilderness