DESTINATION Imperial Refuge Wilderness Traverse 1 Photoset
2023-03-16 | | -
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| Hiking | 5.50 Miles |
725 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.50 Miles | 4 Hrs 12 Mns | | 1.49 mph |
| 725 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | 6 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I camped overnight at the Taylor Lake campsite in Picacho State Recreation Area on the California side of the river, straight across from the Imperial Refuge Wilderness. I had rented a kayak in Yuma, and the Taylor Lake sites are right at the boat launch, so I could get an early start in the morning.
It is a jungle on both sides of the river here. It really helps to plan your kayaking route with the aid of recent aerial photographs. This was very helpful at finding the tiny channel out of Taylor Lake, as well as the landing spot on the Arizona side. Someone keeps the weeds cut so it is passable for boats. I talked to the ranger at the Imperial Refuge Visitor Center, who indicated my landing spot was kept clear to allow boats in for wildlife surveys.
I landed straight across the river, and pulled my boat up on shore at the end of the channel in the weeds. Since the river water temperature was in the 50s, I wore my wetsuit, and just decided to hike in it. It was a cool day, and I did not overheat. I carried water and essentials in a dry bag over my shoulder. This was a fine plan, but I forgot my lunch in the kayak with my hiking clothes, so I was a little hungry when I got back.
From aerial photos, I had identified burro trails all the way across the wilderness to the far border, and I just followed my GPS almost to the boundary. At the very end, it got a little dicy on the scree, so I turned around just a little short of the boundary.
Returning to my boat by more or less the same route, I noticed that the burro trails were a little harder to spot in the midday light. As I passed an unnamed pond, I saw a couple of fishermen in the pond, fishing from what looked like inner tubes or very small inflatable rafts. They ignored me as I passed by. When I got back to my boat, I saw how they had arrived. Their aluminum motorboat was now totally blocking the channel I came in. So after I had eaten some lunch, I ended up walking through their boat, carrying mine, to get to the water again.
The wind had picked up some, and was blowing in the same direction as the current, so there was no hope of paddling upstream for any further exploration. I just headed back across the river to Taylor Lake and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at my campsite.
This was a pretty good first foot exploration of this wilderness. If I had a power boat, I would head to Nortons Landing / Adobe Lake. This is a mile or two upstream from where I landed. I understand there is a little museum on the private land there, and an old road leads into the wilderness from there that could be explored at leisure. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Beavertail cactus is in bloom. Not much of anything even grows here. |
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