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Saguaro Lake Kayaking
Superstitions
November 18, 2024
by Chuck Parsons
group A
Trailblazers pose for a quick group selfie. [photo by Eva]
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.

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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]

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.

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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]

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.

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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]

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.

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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]

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.

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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]

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.

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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]

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.

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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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Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club, Phoenix, Arizona updated December 19, 2024
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