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| Saguaro Lake Foolishness, AZ | |
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| | Saguaro Lake Foolishness, AZ | | | |
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Saguaro Lake Foolishness, AZ
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| Kayak | 3.40 Miles |
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| | Kayak | 3.40 Miles | 1 Hour 55 Mns | | 1.77 mph |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | A friend of mine who had never kayaked before reached out to cajole me into joining her out on Saguaro lake with someone who regularly organizes paddle sessions for varying skill levels. I have a new boat I needed to get a feel for, so I figured sure...why not...not really thinking about the masses that were likely to be there on a warm weekend.
Knowing the planned launch time and that the others would be coming with hardshell boats ready to hit the water with minimal fuss, I got myself to the lake with plenty of time to spare...and found the main lot totally full, but was able to secure parking about midway in the overflow lot. I guess this would allow me to test my solo portaging skills in getting the boat down to the beach for launch.
Managed to get everything set up relatively quickly, figured out a way to best carry all my extraneous gear without shoving it in the boat itself and decided to see if I could make it all the way to the beach without a break...sadly no  but I got pretty close, and without clocking anyone..which was a feat in itself  .
Once I got the boat in the water, the waiting game begun - the folk I was planning to meet up with were delayed by the parking (or lack there of) situation. While they arrived in time to unload the boats, there was an extended delay while they found parking along the entry road and hiked back down to carry everything to the water. After a quick safety briefing and paddling overview, we were off.
I hung around for a bit while my friends were learning the paddling basics, but was eventually encouraged to join the more proficient paddlers to cross the main channel and paddle up willow springs canyon. Winds had picked up, and there were a decent number of motor boats out on the lake, making things a little slower going. After checking out Willow Springs cove, we decided to turn back in case the rest of the group had decided to call it a day. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that they were out in the main channel, and seemed slightly tired but in good spirits. We headed back towards the beach as a group and had the joy of trying to navigate the crowds to take out and get the boats back to the loading area without dropping them on any of the lounging sunbathers (there was no straight clear path from the beach to the loading zone).
While it was great to get outside, and I was glad to get a chance to evaluate the performance and handling of the new boat, this served as a great reminder to not hit up Saguaro or Canyon lakes during the weekends in the warmer months!
Wildlife: several blue heron and turkey vultures along with coot, mallards and a number of other waterfowl.
Other: Saw someone on a hydrofoil - had never seen one of those before! Pretty cool! |
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| Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually |
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Route Scout
but I got pretty close, and without clocking anyone..which was a feat in itself 
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