On an overcast and surprisingly cool Wednesday morning in late April, nine Arizona Trailblazers meet at the Acacia Picnic Site on the south end of Canyon Lake for a day of kayaking one of Arizona’s most scenic desert lakes.

Tuesday’s weather forecast did not predict any rain at all for today, only partly cloudy skies, light winds, and a high of 75 degrees. Perfect conditions for kayaking. But from the looks of these dark and threatening clouds to the southeast, it’s starting to look like we could get pounded any minute.

What to do now? Time for an executive decision. Turn around and go back home or just keep making preparations to launch and hope for the best? We decide on the latter option, and by the time we gather to pose for the group picture the skies are beginning to clear, with the sun stubbornly trying to punch thru the cloud cover. Yesterday’s forecast is rapidly turning out to be accurate after all, with more and more blue sky opening up overhead. The weather is getting better by the minute. It’s time to get these kayaks in the water, Trailblazers!

After we all cross the main body of Canyon Lake and prepare to paddle up the main river channel (where the Salt River flowed freely for millennia before all the SRP dams were built), we see what appears to be a relatively recent major rockslide on a huge cliff face. None of us who have been on Canyon Lake before seem to remember this rockslide from previous trips. And the fresh and untarnished cliff face where all these tons of rock sheared off seems to indicate that it took place not all that long ago. It’s hard to imagine how loud and frightening that event must have been for anyone close enough to hear or witness it. Note by Ted: it was there in 2013.

Just a little further up the channel we spot a large Bald Eagle’s nest, precariously perched high atop a large pinnacle of rock, with a commanding view of the lake. From the appearance of this ramshackle nest of large sticks and branches, it’s either slowly falling apart over time or still a work in progress. I would later hear from Wayne: “The Dolly Steamboat was passing by the eagles nest on our way back to Acacia, and the announcer was telling the boat riders that the eagles nest has been there for 15 years. So I guess it’s in need of some remodeling.“ I would have to agree with Wayne on that assessment.

By 10:30 we approach a good takeout spot on the lake next to a pier and camping area where some of us have stopped on previous trips to Canyon Lake. A little over 2.5 miles from our Acacia launch site, this is always a good spot to get out and stretch tired legs, take a restroom break, and have some lunch and relax for a while.

Here, there are 3 separate campsites, picnic tables, fire rings, and a restroom. We pull our kayaks up on shore and have a relaxing lunch and snack break at one of the large concrete picnic tables on a hill overlooking the lake.

About 30 minutes later, we pack up and return to our kayaks to start paddling back toward the Acacia launch site. We start running into windier conditions on the way back, which slows us down a little, but by 12:30 we’re all back to the launch site and ready to call it a day. With an 8:30 start time, that gives us four hours on the lake, typical for one of these day kayaking trips. Although the day starts out as questionable, it turns out to be a perfect day for kayaking. But since this is likely one of the last remaining cool days for kayaking or hiking in the desert, we’ll have to start moving these activities to higher elevations for the next few months to escape the inevitable heat of a southern Arizona summer.