Kayaking on the Colorado River, Topock Gorge to Castle Rock

November 14, 2010. Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge
Yesterday we had a kayaking adventure on the mighty Colorado River. Actually, I guess it's not so mighty where we were!
Stan, the Assistant Refuge Manager here at Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge had once suggested that we kayak from Topock Gorge down the river. Not knowing the area, we invited him to come along as our guide! So this past week he made arrangements to borrow a couple of Kayaks for himself and his girlfriend, Nicky. Yesterday, Joyce and I met them at Stan's house and loaded the borrowed Kayaks in our truck. We then dropped off our Jeep at the final destination at Castle Rock just north of Lake Havasu City. Next we all traveled in my truck north on Hwy. 95 and then west on I-40 to a boat launch at exit 1 inside The Havasu National Wildlife Refuge.
Joyce and I pumped up our inflatable Sea Eagle 370 Kayak while Stan and Nicky made their preparations in their individual kayaks. It was windy and the temps were in the lower 60's when we launched. Stan advised the water temperature was about 59 degrees. In the picture below Stan and Nicky are in individual kayacks although it looks like they are in the same boat.

We launched near the California border not far from Needles, California. Within the first mile we passed under a series of bridges some of which, looked like pipe bridges for what we assumed were for propane.

Topock Gorge stretches 20 miles along the lower Colorado, from the Topock Bridge spanning Interstate 40 to the upper end of Lake Havasu. It is part of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1941. The refuge protects 30 river miles and 300 miles of shoreline from Needles, Calif., to Lake Havasu City.

The narrow gorge cradles a writhing, twisted section of river, one cursed by riverboat captains back in the days of big paddle-wheelers, which explains how an especially treacherous bend ended up with the name Devil's Elbow. The cliffs of Topock Gorge, carved into oddly leaning hoodoos, jagged spires and keyhole arches, enhance the drama of the journey.

Floating through Topock Gorge was just beautiful. The water was very clear and we could see the bottom.The gorge protected us somewhat from the wind. We floated at about 5 mph which was slower than I had anticipated.

We stopped for a lunch break and an opportunity to stretch our legs on a small beach in the gorge. By now we had all warmed up and shed our outer layers of jackets.

Nicky and Stan

Our Sea Eagle 370

Somebody was having fun!

The Needles Mountains

Floating through the gorge was a lot of fun requiring only minor course corrections and paddling. 

After about 4 hours we were all getting a bit tired/stiff. We had moved into the more open/wider part of the river and were occasionally buzzed by boats and jet skis. 

The water was rougher now that it was exposed to the affects of the wind and the motorized vessels.

Although we kept moving at about 4- 5 mph, in the open river buffeted by 20 mph winds it was difficult for us to keep the Sea Eagle on a a straight course and often paddling just made it worse. We found ourselves drifting sideways pushed by the wind unless I used the paddle as a rudder to keep us pointed in the right direction. Because our craft is inflatable, the open water and wind pushed us around like a bobber or a rubber ducky! I was not impressed with the performance of our SeaEagle in those conditions. Granted however, that even the traditional style kayaks were feeling the affects of the wind. On the other hand our Sea Eagle is very portable folding down and into a bag about 3ft. x 2.5ft.

After over 5 hours on the river we finally made it to shore at Castle Rock which is also part of The Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. We loaded up the Sea Eagle and as luck would have it WACKO Kayak outfitters, the group that Stan and Nicky had borrowed kayaks from was at Castle Rock picking up a group. So we timed it just right and they loaded up the two kayaks. 

We were home by 6:30 and Maggie and Rico were still happy to see us even though we had left them home alone since 8:00 that morning. Our dogs are always something that we have to worry about! We had a wonderful experience, one that we will always remember!

Trip up the Bill Williams River

September 26, 2010 Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge
It continues to be warm here near Lake Havasu, Az. Temps are still over a hundred with 109 expected today. Generally it's been a little cooler in the evenings and overnight. The bad thing about the cooler temps is that it brings out the rattlesnakes. One of the biologists here at the refuge told me that the snakes like 76 degrees give or take 10 degrees, so we can expect to see them when the temps are 66-86. Yesterday morning, I saw a very large rattlesnake at the back door of the tool building I work out of. Not a reassuring sight!
A couple of days ago, Joyce and I decided to take out our Sea Eagle 370 for a ride up the Bill Williams River. Below is an older picture of our Kayak.

The launch at the refuge for kayak, canoes and other non-motorized watercraft.

The Bill Williams River is in western-central Arizona in Mohave County; the river proper is the northern border of La Paz County which it drains in the north, as well as areas of far western Yavapai County. It is a major drainage westwards into the Colorado River of theLower Colorado River Valley south of Hoover Dam/Lake Mead, and the drainage basin covers portions of northwest, and west central Arizona. The equivalent drainage system paralleling the east-west lower reaches of the Bill Williams is the Gila River which flows east-to-west across central Arizona from western border New Mexico and joining the Colorado River in the southwest at Yuma; (it also collects from the drainage just east in northwest Arizona, to add to the total 60 percent of Arizona-half or more desert washes !). The Bill Williams River confluence with the Colorado, is north of Parker, and south of Lake Havasu City.

A couple of Egrets.

In the picture below, you can see how clear the water is in Lake Havasu. 

A couple of Koots swimming along. They feed on the mats of aquatic plants in the lake.

 A Cormorant.

The two tributaries to the Bill Williams are the Big Sandy River and the Santa Maria River. Alamo Lake is a major fishing and recreation region on the Bill Williams River. The Colorado River confluence region and the Bill Williams River Delta and the entire riparian environment has state parks and wilderness areas, (Buckskin Mountain State Park, Cattail Cove State Park; also Gibralter Mountain, Swansea, and Cactus Plain Wildernesses).

Named after an early explorer of the region, Bill Williams is a relatively short but scenic and interesting river in a little-known area of Arizona - it flows from Alamo Reservoir through the wild Buckskin Mountains in the west central part of the state and joins the Colorado River at Lake Havasu, just above Parker Dam.

The lower stretches of the Bill Williams River, reachable by road, are wide, and the river meanders across a tree-lined valley, protected as a National Wildlife Refuge mainly because of the many species of birds found there. The upper part is rather different as here the waters flow through a narrow, pathless canyon where sheer cliffs and rocky terraces alternate with sandbanks along the edge while deep pools and occasional small cascades are found along the streamway, and so exploring the river can involve an easy walk around the NWR or a rather more strenuous hike through the Sonoran desert scenery of the upper gorge.

There was very little breeze on our trip up the river and the virtually no current in the river. We got a late start and weren't on the water till 8:30. After a few hours it was getting hot and we turned back. We had a good time and spent most of our time on the water paddling. Our Sea Eagle is better suited for going down river with a good current. Out on the lake, we were pushed around a bit by the very calm breeze.

Yesterday and today (Saturday and Sunday) we are back at work in the refuge two days into our 3 days on and 3 days off cycle we work about 4 hrs. each day. Over the weekend after cleaning off the paved trail and emptying garbage cans around the refuge, we worked inside the office buildings. No one is the offices on the weekends. Joyce cleaned and I did minor maintenance tasks, hanging signs, replacing exit sign batteries, filling holes with expansion foam, replacing outlets, etc.

Kayaking on The Suwannee River

January 14, 2010.  Not a very active day.  Moderate temperatures and our last night of sub-freezing temps. Apparently Tallahassee and the surrounding area had broken a record with 14 nights of consecutive sub-freezing temps.  A record held since the 60's.

We went to Live Oak for lunch and shopping.  I picked up my prescription glasses.  Let me just say that I won't be wearing them regularly!  We went to a local restaurant, the Brown Lantern and had a good late lunch.

That evening I spoke with Ranger Dylan Shoemaker and made plans to kayak The Suwannee River the next day.  I pumped up our Sea Eagle 370 and prepared for our kayak adventure.  That night we watched the movie Inglorious Bastards that we rented from a Red Box.  This was the first time we had used a Red Box.  The movie itself was gory but interesting.

January 15, 2010.  Overnight temps were in the 40’s, but it was warming fast and expected reach 74. I continued to make preparations for our river adventure and thus I didn’t have time to update the blog.  Dylan showed up around 10:00.  I followed him over to Stephan Foster Folk Culture Center where we parked his car for the return home after our kayak adventure.  We picked up a park kayak for Dylan from the workshop and brought it back to Big Shoals in my truck.

By 12:00 we were on the river having launched from the Big Shoals Canoe Launch, which is really a set of steep wooden stairs into the river.  The river level was 53.5 feet above mean sea level which is considered low.  The river wasn’t flowing very fast perhaps only 2-3 mph.

As we approached The Big Shoals on the Suwannee River, we made our planned exit at the portage location just upstream.  

The river was too low to safely cross The Big Shoals due to the exposed rocks.  Just a couple of weeks ago the river was at least a foot higher.

We did successfully navigate over The Little Shoals and a series of other small rough water areas.

However, we all got stuck on different boulders in shallow white water just before this shot below.   We started to go sideways, much managed to rock ourselves off the limestone boulder.  It would not have been fun to take a dip in the cold water.  The Sea Eagle did well as we didn't experience any punctures.

There's a lot of deadwood logging going on in the Suwannee River.  Loggers are removing logs that were originally floated down the river around the turn of the 19th century from Georgia but for whatever reason sank in the river.  This old wood has become valuable and is often used as hardwood flooring.

We came across several docks along the Suwannee.  Some were very impressive, others didn't look safe to walk on, but have been there for years.

 I guess this rickety old dock is a good gage of the median water level.

We made it to Stephan Foster Folk Culture Center just before 4:00.  After 3.5 hours in the kayak, we were both ready for the trip to end.  Dylan said the river would have flowed faster if the water level was higher.  The river right now doesn't even register on the depth scale at the Stephan Foster Canoe launch below.

We deflated our kayak and loaded it into Dylan's car for the ride back home. By far, this was one of our best days at Big Shoals State Park. The weather cooperated after weeks of cold temps. We are not sure if we will get another chance to kayak on the Suwannee River as we plan to move on the first week of February.  So if you ever come to visit this area be sure to take a trip on the Suwannee River.

Cold Damp Shopping Day, Introducing our Sea Eagle 370

January 8th, 2010.  We awoke to morning rain and temps in the mid 40’s.  After working on this blog, it was still damp and dreary out although it had stopped raining.  The temps seemed to be stuck in the upper 40’s.   We decided it was a good grocery shopping day.

First we stopped at The Corner Cafe for lunch, one of three  restaurants in White Springs.  (Refer to an earlier post on the Telford Hotel).  The Corner Cafe is Joyce’s favorite of the three.  We have yet to post on my favorite, Fat Belly’s!   Anyway, the Corner Cafe is an old two-story house that was converted to a first floor restaurant that seats about 20-30 people.  It doesn’t have a large menu, but the food is good if not average.  Joyce had the vegetable beef soup special and I had a burger and fries.

Once we finished lunch we drove to the Walmart in Live Oak for grocery shopping.  We also looked for life vests for our Sea Eagle 370 inflatable kayak that we bought each other for Christmas.  I believe you are suppose to be able to assemble and inflate the kayak with the included foot pump in about 20 mins.  It took me about an hour the first time. It should be much more seamless next time.

We launched it from our steep canoe launch and went up stream and down stream for about a mile each way. I'm told the Suwanne only flows at about 3-4 MPH in most spots.  We just wanted to get the feel of it.  We enjoyed the ride, but we would feel more comfortable with life vests.   I'm sure we are going to get a lot of use out of this boat.  Because it's inflatable, it's easy for us to store and transport. Since that first launch December 29th, the weather has been too cold or we’ve been too busy with other matters to try it out again.  However, we plan to do a longer day trip with Ranger Dylan Shoemaker before we leave in February.  We purchased the boat on-line from Inflatable Boats For Less.  Walmart didn’t have life vests in stock and I was told they are a “seasonal item”.  Thus, I’ll have to expand our search our buy vests from Inflatable Boats For Less.

When we got home we did a few rounds in the park and I made our freeze preparations again.  Afterwards we stayed indoors as the temps were dropping and it was a damp cold.