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| Lower Salt River - Waterusers to PhonD, AZ | |
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| | Lower Salt River - Waterusers to PhonD, AZ | | | |
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Lower Salt River - Waterusers to PhonD, AZ
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| Kayak | 9.13 Miles |
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| | Kayak | 9.13 Miles | 2 Hrs 47 Mns | | 3.28 mph |
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| no partners | | Hit the river for a mid-week sunrise paddle, trying to take advantage of flows before the season winds down. Releases for this trip were at 830cfs.
Met up with the others at the take out with less than a handful of other vehicles in the lot before sunrise. Shuffled the gear and made our way up to the put in - was surprised to find a couple folk there inflating kayaks similar to mine. Compared notes on the model differences before we separated to get our day started.
As usual, saw plenty of heron (great blue, green, and black crowned night varieties), egret, and mallards. There were a few more shorebirds present - possibly the lead end of some of the migratory birds. Also saw several kingfishers and some high flying bald eagles, though didn't manage to capture any of them on camera. We were joined by a curious otter just above the bridge for a bit, and below the bridge we were graced with a couple bighorn sheep high on the walls above us. Further downstream, we passed a pair of extremely large committee meetings of turkey vultures....it smelled like there might be a carcass hidden somewhere along the bank in the area, but if there was one, it wasn't visible from the river.
The rest of the paddle was quiet and uneventful. We caught up to a handful of other paddlers close to the end of our float after not seeing anyone else the entire way, making the take out slightly congested. I suspect the season will be winding down soon - though I haven't yet managed to find a firm date for when SRP plans to cut the releases from Stewart Mountain Dam. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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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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