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| Kayak | 20.00 Miles |
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| | Kayak | 20.00 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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| no partners | | What do you get when you mix strong winds with a ten mile upstream paddle? Exhausted kayakers and a heck of an adventure!
For my birthday (in January, rescheduled several times), I somehow convinced myself that it would be a good idea to try yak-packing to Goldstrike from Willow Beach. This convincing was not without external influences, either. So I set my mind to it and we got to adventuring. Three of us started from Willow Beach and started paddling upstream. The current obviously wasn't helping us out any, but there were lots of times that the wind was pushing us in (mostly) the right direction. We worked hard but also took time to appreciate the surroundings. We got to see a lot of ducks (they were following us), and even a family of mountain goats. The goats allowed me to get pretty close, maybe within 15 feet of them, while they drank water. We checked out Emerald Cave (which is smaller than anticipated), and the catwalk too.
We made our first real destination Arizona Hot Springs, which I'd never been to before. The ladder in place is super solid, and the hot springs were nice and hot! We soaked for a little bit and then headed back down, spotting another mountain goat and her baby. So cute! Then on to the most difficult part of the day: getting past Ringbolt Rapids.
I'd remembered from the previous trip that the rapids had a beach next to them, so just sort of planned on using the beach if needed. We definitely needed it. Adam's boat got whisked away with him in it, so we pulled over to the shore and figured out a path. The "path" went through tall grasses and plants, and over rocks and boulders, and then finally onto a nice beach above the rapids. It was a lot of work portaging the kayaks, the smallest of which is 12 feet and 41 lbs when empty (but of course we were packed up with camp gear), and the biggest of which is 16 feet and probably a thousand pounds when empty. I might be exaggerating a little, but we were a bit pooped from all the paddling. We got above the rapids and continued onward. Adam pointed out a little cave that went about six kayaks deep into the rock. We paddled into it and hung out. It was pretty cool!
The final slog up to Goldstrike seemed to take an eternity. It was now getting later in the day, and the water levels were rising with a swifter current. We pulled into Goldstrike just as the last bit of daylight left the sky. With a little help from the hiking crew (Jbeans, Clairesy, and Jbeans' coworker) we managed to get all of our camping gear up to the camp spot. We relaxed with lots of beverages and lots of foods, and even took a bit of a dip in the steamy pools. Most of us were up into the wee hours of the night, just talking and laughing. When it came time to go to bed, I discovered that the rock under my tent had been heated from below by the hot springs, so cowboy camped under the glorious Las Vegas light pollution. Haha.. it was actually pretty perfect, with a slight breeze making its way up the canyon and over the campsite.
In the morning, we packed up our own gear, and as much of the hikers' gear as we could. They had three dogs and three people, which can still be a lot of work for a canyon hike. We set out just as a group of about ten kayaks and canoes pulled up -- perfect timing!
The next stop was Moonlight hot springs, but the wind tried its hardest to prevent us from getting there. We paddled hard and then pulled over at the canyon entrance. The springs are just a bit of a walk up the canyon, and are scorching hot. Beyond the springs, there's another bigger pool with a waterfall. This pool is nice and warm, and won't take your skin off. Plus it's nice to "shower" in the waterfall. We bypassed the hot springs and hung out for a bit in the waterfall pool, drinking and demonstrating the principles of fluid dynamics.
Back at the kayaks, we were glad we'd tied them up. The water level rises fairly quickly out here. We rode the current out over Ringbolt and battled giant waves and headwinds. Eric had a big lead over us, but Adam and I opted to stop for a quick nap on one of the beaches. We woke up refreshed, and continued onward. Eventually, the marina came into sight. We were overjoyed and pulled in, just minutes behind the hikers' arrival.
Definitely an awesome trip. It was sad that Liz couldn't join us also, as it had been planned as a joint birthday adventure for the both of us. If we did it again, it would be nice to start at the top.. but that requires money and lots of planning and actual commitment, and that's all hard to come by in my group of friends.  But a SUPER AWESOME adventure nonetheless!!! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
(if you disagree, ask those people waiting in line if they would be there if they didn't have a camera). To each their own I guess. 
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But we still have Omega Liz(zard!).
