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| Kayak | 14.73 Miles |
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| | Kayak | 14.73 Miles | 5 Hrs 11 Mns | | 3.15 mph |
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| no partners | | This is a kayak/canoe trip from I-40 to Lake Havasu, down the Topock Gorge. More specifically, we launched at Topock 66 Marina and took out at Castle Rock Bay. See GPS route for location.
On this particular day there were 4 of us. When we got to the boat ramp, I discovered that a hatch cover had flown off my boat on my way. I had recently driven about 5,000 miles with that boat on top of the car, with no problems. But it was my fault--I had not attached it properly. Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
We rigged in the dark and started paddling just before sunrise. We soon reaped the benefits of doing that, because the water was extremely glassy, the light was perfect for photography, and we saw almost no motorboats. I had done this trip 4 or 5 times before, but never so early in the morning. All the shuttling was done after the trip, courtesy of a spouse of one of the paddlers. This also helped us to get going early. All we had to do was park, rig and go.
The river runs kind of slowly through this section because it is being backed up as it runs into Lake Havasu. The notion that it is "just like it was before the river was dammed" is nonsense. Some of the outfitters like to say that, I guess to interest their clients. However, it's very beautiful, especially if you are not dodging speedboats the entire time. Go on a weekday, very early, when it's cold, but on a day when the forecast for the wind is fairly calm. (A late morning breeze of 10 mph or less, from the north, is good.)
We stopped on a sandbar for an early lunch. We saw a few water birds. With such great conditions and good company, we had a nice time, until we got to Castle Rock bay, and I dropped my Nikon into the water. I have since bid on one successfully on eBay, for $65. It is a Nikon Coolpix P530 with a nice zoom lens.
But happily, I found the hatch cover by the side of the Needles Highway, close to where I'm living! (See photo.) |
| _____________________
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life. |
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