Black Canyon of the Colorado July 26-27

Sara and I loaded up the kayaks and drove across the Mojave desert and through the vast sprawl of Las Vegas to Boulder City, Nevada for a classic 2 day 11 mile kayak trip down a mild, but scenic, stretch of the Colorado River. With a high of 103°F (39°C) and a low of 84°F (29°C), I was definitely not in New Zealand anymore (where it was currently snowing at sea level)! The crystal-clear dam-released river water was a brisk 54°F (12°C), but in the heat felt very refreshing.

We put-in our kayaks at 9am (by which time the temperature was already well into the 90s) immediately below Hoover Dam. As we launched, the flow from the dam was increased and we cruised downriver with hardly any effort. So fast in fact that by the time I noticed where we were, we had already passed several things I wanted to check out. We did check out a few of the large alcoves on the Nevada side of the river and watched several hot springs pouring out of the valley walls.





We tied up the kayaks at Boy Scout Canyon where I set up a hammock for Sara to nap in and then I wandered up the canyon. Almost immediately I came across a stream of hot water sinking into the streambed. Upstream the canyon narrowed considerably, with several waterfalls of hot water that could be climbed with fixed ropes. 2 unclimbable waterfalls with fixed ropes brought me to a dramatic wide-walled amphitheater where the canyon poured over an enormous dry fall from above. Here I saw the first of many Bighorn sheep. Back at the river I attempted to help some stranded (but well-stocked) house-boaters who had beached themselves by the falling river level.





We next stopped at Moonscape Canyon, another canyon with flowing hot water a short distance upstream from its confluence with the Colorado. We past several hot pools before arriving at a really nice pool someone had made at the base of a waterfall where we stopped for a few minutes, about all we could take in the heat. Just downstream on the Colorado I spotted a cliff jump of about 30ft, which we both jumped off of. I enjoyed it more than Sara did...




Photo by Sara




Sara about to jump

This stretch of river historically had several rapids before the river was dammed above and below. We set up camp a short distance up the canyon below Arizona Hot Springs where I found a flat spot out of the river bed and a suitable location to set up the hammock (a key ingredient). It was a nice camp, but we ultimately had to retreat back down to the water's edge for the night where it was appreciably several degrees cooler. It was still the hottest night I had had since Borneo. Fortunately the 20% chance of thunderstorms did not seem to materialize.

In the morning we checked out Arizona Hot Springs, the main pool of which is accessed via a bolted metal ladder up a hot waterfall. Above, the water has been dammed wall-to-wall with sandbags in the narrow slot canyon to present a unique soaking experience. If it was not 100°F I would have been all over it!




Pretty girl, hot spring and slot canyon. If it was not 100°F, this might have been heaven.

We re-packed the kayaks and headed downstream. This day there was a strong headwind, which forced us to paddle strongly and steadily to make progress. As soon as we stopped we would immediately start drifting upstream. We passed through the narrowest part of the Black Canyon where both walls dropped straight down into a deep and green Colorado River. We made several swim stops to cool down and checked out a couple of the alcoves and the old gauger's house site which provided a nice view back to the end of the Black Canyon. The last mile and a half to Willow Beach the canyon widens considerably as it escapes the rhyolitic tuff and cuts through metamorphic basement. By this point the wind had died down to only the occasional gust, which made for more pleasant traveling.






Looking back at the end of the Black Canyon

In all it was a very worthwhile trip, as much for the easy overnight river trip as for the interesting side canyons and hot springs along the way. I would probably do it again, although closer to winter to be able to enjoy the hot springs and on a Sunday and Monday when motorized watercraft are not allowed. Thanks to Sara.