Elderhostel Photos of Kayaking Black Canyon
This course featured five days of kayaking. The first day we learned kayaking skills on Lower Lake Mohave, a man-made lake created by Davis Dam at Laughlin, Nevada/Bullhead City, Arizona. Davis Dam is the first dam after Hoover Dam on the lower Colorado River, and this area is all part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. In the photo above, I am learning the "self-rescue" technique, wherein you purposely tip yourself over, then right the kayak and get back in. Except for being in the 46 degree water, it was a fairly easy procedure.
Following the day of practicing on the lake, we embarked on 4 days of kayaking down the Colorado River through Black Canyon, beginning at the foot of Hoover Dam. The scenery was magnificent, we encountered very few motorized craft, and except for one rapid, the flat water and 4 MPH current made for a peaceful, relaxing trip. We camped three nights on beaches and stopped numerous times to explore side canyons. Our guide, Bill Walls, regaled us with local history, lessons on the indigenous flora and fauna, jokes and anecdotes, and even started evening campfires with first bow and drill, and then flint and steel.
The hike up Boy Scout Canyon proved a bit challenging, and only three of us did the upper portion beyond this waterfall. Here Russ climbs the waterfall with the aid of the knotted rope, without which the slippery rocks and force of the water would have halted our progress. Good footwear such as old running shoes or Tevas proved to be valuable gear.
Farther up Boy Scout Canyon, Lisa uses the "chimney" climbing technique to advance to the next level of the canyon. The ultimate reward for these gymnastic maneuvers was reaching a "weeping wall" from which the hot water was emanating, and which was covered inches deep in mosses and algae, etc.
The hike up Arizona Hot Springs Canyon included an assist from a 20 foot metal ladder to get us to the 2 hot springs pools, in which we soaked for a while. A hike of an additional 2 miles or so took us through beautiful slot canyons and to an area with numerous petroglyphs.
The whole crew:
Back row (l to r): Pat, Charlotte, Bernard, Trudi, Sue, Dave, Rattlesnake Bill (our extraordinary leader), Marlene, and Jack;
Front row and kneeling: Meg, Jim, Barb, Russ, Chuck, Carol, Erin (co-leader), Lisa, and Lonnie.