Trailblazers at Butcher Jones Beach. [photo by Ron]

Ron, Barbara, Norma, Vicki, and Chuck.

9:00 A.M. on a beautiful Monday morning in late February as five Arizona Trailblazers gather at Butcher Jones Beach for a day of kayaking. Its warmer than normal for this time of year, with a forecasted high of 82 degrees for today and 90 degrees later in the week. Let’s hope we’re not facing yet another record-breaking summer this year, but 90 degrees in February is certainly not getting off to a good start. We start moving our kayaks down to the edge of the lake, but due to a couple of unforeseen circumstances don’t actually slide our five kayaks into the clear waters of Saguaro Lake until almost 9:45 A.M. Only the slightest of breezes are wafting across the calm lake waters under clear blue skies, punctuated by scattered wispy cirrus clouds. This looks to be a perfect day for kayaking in the desert.

We start paddling south from Butcher Jones Beach. [photo by Vicki]

Vicki, Chuck, and Norma continue paddling. [photo by Ron]

Norma, Barbara, and Ron. [photo by Vicki]

Norma and Chuck are at a dead heat. [photo by Ron]

A Great Egret patiently waits for breakfast to swim by. [photo by Ron]

Our first goal of the day is Shiprock, the lakes iconic landmark 2.5 miles southeast of Butcher Jones. Lying almost in the middle of the channel, Shiprock is a large basalt rock formation wider than it is tall and rising to about 50 feet in height, with a rotating light beacon at its highest point that serves as a hazard warning to night boaters on the lake. We start paddling south past Peregrin Cove and eventually southeast towards Campers Cove, with its own wide stretch of sandy beach. We glide past Razorback Point, continue paddling east, round several more points on the lake, and soon find ourselves approaching Elephant Rock, another prominent landmark on Saguaro Lake. You have to really use your imagination here.

These lake buoys are the perfect perches for cormorants and egrets. [photo by Vicki]

Ancient volcanic plug? [photo by Vicki]

The rugged landscape surrounding Saguaro Lake. [photo by Ron]

Barbara observes a flock of birds near the shoreline. [photo by Vicki]

Vicki is busy taking lots of pictures. [photo by Ron]

After 2.5 miles of steady paddling, we come face to face with Shiprock, skirt around its west side, and continue paddling another mile north towards the Bagley Flats area. On the far western shore across from Bagley Flats lie several wide sand and gravel beaches, ideal for beaching our kayaks and getting out for a rest and lunch break. By Noon we paddle into the closest beach area and get out to stretch cramped leg muscles, after over two hours of steady paddling, and take a well-deserved break. At one point we notice a very large bird perched in a dead tree about 100 yards away. We’re certain its some type of raptor but can’t decide between an immature bald eagle and a red-tailed hawk. (Its later determined to be a red-tailed hawk, the first sighting for us on Saguaro Lake.)

Ron takes a break from paddling. [photo by Vicki]

Likewise, with Chuck. [photo by Vicki]

Meanwhile, Norma is just enjoying the moment. [photo by Vicki]

Norma eddyline Fathom sports a flaming red dragon’s head. [photo by Vicki]

Elephant Rock looms straight ahead. [photo by Vicki]

We give Shiprock a wide berth and continue paddling to our takeout beach. [photo by Vicki]

We also find about a dozen large dead or dying bigmouth buffalo fish, both on the beach and in the water next to the beach and wonder what is happening to them. After doing a little research later at home, I learn that golden algae toxin blooms are behind numerous recent fish kills at Saguaro, Canyon, and Apache lakes, according to the Arizona Game & Fish Department. And this has been going on since 2003. From time to time in the past, we’ve seen a number of smaller dead and dying threadfin shad in these desert lakes, but this is the first time for these larger fish. Periodically, SRP flushes millions of gallons of water through the entire chain of lakes on the Salt River, starting with Roosevelt Dam at the top of the chain, and this helps to minimize these algae blooms. But apparently, they are here to stay.

Shiprock—dead ahead! [photo by Ron]

Closeup view of the rotating light beacon at the top of Shiprock. Seems to be listing to port a bit. [photo by Vicki]

Barbara and Norma, with Four Peaks in the background. [photo by Ron]

Lunch over, we pack up and slid our kayaks into the water once again and begin the long paddle back to Butcher Jones Beach. We encounter the usual early afternoon winds on the paddle back, but nothing as bad as we’ve seen in the past. However, boat traffic on the lake has increased significantly since we started earlier this morning. Spring Break has obviously already started, with lots of high school and college age kids on the water today. Speedboats of all sizes and varieties and numerous jet skiers are racing up and down the lake in all directions. We have to keep a constant eye out for large wakes that could easily swamp us, turning our bows directly into the larger swells, some as high as three feet or more, to ride them out and avoid getting flipped into the lake if hit broadside.

Kayakers continue a steady paddling pace. [photo by Vicki]

Approaching the beach takeout point. [photo by Vicki]

Enjoying a lunch and rest break on the beach. [photo by Vicki]

This Red-tailed hawk is also taking a break. [photo by Vicki]

By 3:00 P.M. we’re all back at Butcher Jones Beach, which is now a lot more crowded than it was this morning. Lots of people milling about and sitting around in their lawn chairs, pretty girls sunbathing on colorful beach blankets, kids running around all over the place, and a number of others just starting out in their paddleboards and kayaks. But we’ve already had our fun and are done for the day. So, we haul our kayaks back up the beach, load everything back into our vehicles, and then head for home. Another great day of kayaking is in the books.

While this Bigmouth Buffalo is taking its last breath. [photo by Ron]

Barbara and Norma paddle past a large rock formation at lake’s edge. [photo by Ron]

Chuck and Barbara observe a cormorant resting on a lake buoy. [photo by Vicki]

Parting shot of Saguaro Lake. [photo by Vicki]