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| Lower Salt River - Sheeps Crossing to PhonD, AZ | | -
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| | Lower Salt River - Sheeps Crossing to PhonD, AZ | | | |
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Lower Salt River - Sheeps Crossing to PhonD, AZ
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| Kayak | 6.46 Miles |
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| | Kayak | 6.46 Miles | 1 Hour 44 Mns | | 3.73 mph |
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| no partners | | Got invited to join a group for a nighttime paddle down the salt starting launching right at sunset to observe the moonrise on the water. Flows were just over 1100cfs, and a large group was congregated at the starting point. I'd seen a fair bit of chatter about paddles this weekend to coincide with the full moon, so I wasn't surprised, but I felt compelled to quickly gain some separation once we launched.
With twilight upon us, the nighthawks and bats were out in force busy hunting for their meals. Saw a number of wild horses along the shoreline, along with a few heron and ducks, though the light was too far gone for photography. As the moon climbed overhead, there was more than enough light to be able to navigate, especially since I have enough working knowledge of the river from being on it so frequently of late. Temps were nice for the initial part of the float, though eventually the prevailing breeze turned warm and felt slightly like a convection oven.
We were greeted by a friendly skunk out for a forage at the take-out point, and things quickly became congested with numerous people arriving all at once. Was glad I was close to the beginning of that wave of arrivals to be able to beach and haul out without worry of accidentally bumping anyone.
Overall, a nice experience that I'd consider doing again. I think I still prefer nighttime paddles on flatwater over the river - and paddling the Salt at night definitely carries more risk than paddling on one of the other lakes/reservoirs in the area. One of the folks I went with wound up in the water due to a poor line selection that put her into brush. She's an experienced paddler and was able to get back on her board without any trouble, but limited visibility was a high contributor to her inadvertent plunge. |
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Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually  |
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