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Trailblazers pose for a quick group selfie. [photo by Eva]
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Eva, Barbara, Chuck, Randall, and Norma. |
On a beautiful cool fall morning (finally!) in mid-November five Arizona
Trailblazers move their kayaks onto Butcher Jones Beach on the northwest end of
Saguaro Lake and prepare them for launching. Even for a weekday, the beach is
unusually empty this morning, with only a couple of other people strolling around
or sitting at the tables near the road. But judging from all the other vehicles in
the parking lot, there must be quite a few hikers on the scenic Butcher Jones Trail
this morning. After the requisite group picture, at 9:30 a.m. under bright blue and
sunny skies, with the air temperature hovering in the mid-50s, we shove off from the
beach and into the perfectly calm waters of Saguaro Lake. With not a breath of air
stirring this morning, the lake surface is almost as smooth as a billiards table.

Butcher Jones Beach is almost deserted this morning. [photo by Barbara]
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Preparing for Launch. [photo by Eva]
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Trailblazers are on the water and moving out. [photo by Eva]
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On one of the flattest lake surfaces any of us can recall, we begin paddling south
toward the main river channel, the historical course of the Salt River for millennia
before a series of dams were built on the river, starting in 1912. Following
Randall’s suggestion, we paddle to the opposite side of the channel to Willow
Springs Canyon. At first glance the canyon entrance doesn’t appear to go back very
far, and we fully expect to turn back after maybe a few hundred yards. But we keep
paddling until the main lake and the river channel completely disappears from view
behind us. And the deeper we get into this wonderous new world of high rocky canyon
walls, large trees branching out far over the crystal clear water, and thick,
seemingly endless, reed beds, the narrower the passage becomes.

Searching for the entrance to Willow Springs Canyon. [photo by Eva]
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There’s no mistaking whose kayak this is. [photo by Norma]
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Norma and Chuck paddle deeper into Willow Springs Canyon. [photo by Eva]
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We keep thinking we’re going to run out of both canyon and water at any moment,
but we keep on paddling around first one bend and then another and yet still another.
Where will this all end? The water eventually becomes shallower and shallower,
and we’re certain we’ll soon have to turn around. But we find deeper water on one
side that enables us to keep paddling. Then at some point we have to switch sides
again to find deeper water. We continue paddling from side to side in this
increasingly narrow channel, seeking deeper water to avoid scraping bottom,
until it finally becomes too shallow to proceed any further. But by now we have
paddled over a quarter-mile deep into this hidden and enchanting world of Willow
Springs Canyon that many people on this lake are probably totally unaware of.

Norma and Eva are paddling into shallow waters. [photo by Barbara]
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Randall poses in his new eddyline Skylark kayak. [photo by Norma]
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Trailblazers are deep inside Willow Springs Canyon. [photo by Eva]
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On hot days this is the ideal place to be on the lake, with its plentiful shade
and much cooler temperatures. After taking a few pictures and just relaxing in the
shade for a while, we reverse course and slowly make our way out of Willow Springs
Canyon and back out into the main river channel. The water surface remains unusually
calm, and we still have the lake almost completely to ourselves. So far, not a
single power boat or jet skier on the water, but that probably won’t last too
much longer. We continue paddling southeast toward our next goal, Shiprock, lying
in the middle of the channel 2.5 miles from Butcher Jones Beach.

Looks like we’re running out of lake, Randall. [photo by Norma]
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Time to turn around and start paddling back out. [photo by Norma]
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But long before Shiprock, we spot a couple of bald eagles high on a cliff face
overlooking the water, with a third flying nearby. Eventually, all three eagles
are in the air, soaring directly overhead. Then a fourth eagle joins the group,
and for several minutes we enjoy the sight of four bald eagles circling and
soaring together high in the air overhead in a perfectly choreographed movement.
This is something you certainly don’t see every day in the desert. The group then
breaks up, with a couple of eagles flying off in different directions and the
other two taking up their cliff face positions once again. Show over, we continue
paddling toward Shiprock. The lake surface remains smooth and perfectly calm, and
the paddling is easy as we glide along with minimal effort.

We’re back out into the main channel again. [photo by Norma]
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Norma and Randall take time out for a quick picture. [photo by Eva]
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Kayakers admiring Elephant Rock. [photo by Eva]
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By 11:30 we approach Elephant Rock, take a few more pictures, and continue on to
Shiprock, where we surprise a couple of Great Blue Herons and several Double-crested
Cormorants. Our next goal is a wide expanse of sand & gravel beach another
three-quarters of a mile to the northwest of Shiprock on the west side of the
main channel. Here, we find several wide sections of beach, with a number of
dirt roads descending from a ridge all the way down to the water, and select the
closest one. After 2.5 hours of steady paddling, by 12:00 we land five kayaks on
the beach and get out for a well-deserved rest and lunch/snack break and a chance
to stretch cramped leg muscles.

Close up shot of Elephant Rock. [photo by Barbara]
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Kayakers approaching Shiprock. [photo by Barbara]
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Shiprock, with a Great Blue Heron standing guard by the DANGER sign below. [photo by Eva]
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By the time we get back out on the water and right on schedule, typical
afternoon winds start picking up and make the journey back a little more challenging,
as we begin paddling into a steady wind. But we knew those calm waters this
morning couldn’t last all day. We stop from time to time to enjoy the scenery and
look for the bald eagles again, as well as keeping a sharp lookout for any bighorn
sheep traversing the high canyon walls on both sides of the channel. But we don’t see
anything except for a Snowy Egret or two on the way back. By 3:00 p.m. we’re all
safely back at Butcher Jones Beach. After loading up all kayaks and gear, we hit
the road once again and head for home. What a spectacular day this has been
kayaking Saguaro Lake, a true jewel of the Sonoran Desert.

Great Blue Heron on guard duty. [photo by Eva]
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Great Blue Heron takes flight, abandoning his post. [photo by Eva]
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A second Great Blue Heron perches on a nearby lake buoy. [photo by Eva]
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