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Lower Colorado Trip 45 miles from Walters Camp to Sqaw Lake

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Oct 22, 2015
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EL Mirage AZ
MY daughter and I spent 4 days and 3 nights on the Lower Colorado River. Im ashamed to say this is my first time being in a canoe since we moved from GA to the Desert 3 yrs ago. It felt great to have a paddle back in my hand and good to know its like riding a bike.

We started at a private campground within BLM land known as Walters Camp. A neat place on a side channel ran by a super nice Guy...I think he said his name was Brian? You could start further up river and add this as a destination if you wanted to.

First day we paddled about 15 miles or so through the Imperial Wildlife Refuge and stayed at a nice campsite at the northern end of Picacho State Park on the California side.

Second day was a quickie with only 6 or so miles. We explored many of the back waters and side channels before making camp at a really nice spot on Taylor Lake, Also within Picacho State Park.

Third day we paddled a bit longer then we had intended to due to entering a side channel that put us way beyond our goal for the day. One of the challenges of river navigation is that channels are always opening up or choking in. After 18 plus miles we found a GREAT spot in the backwater lakes. Would definitely stay there again.

Fourth day was a quick 4.5 mile jaunt to our take out at Squaw Lake.

It was a great trip. Super nice weather, the wind was at our backs, and we had most of the river to ourselves.

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I have paddled from Blythe to Yuma in February. It was dark and unseasonably cold a lot of the time. The stretch below Walter's Camp had much less riprap and more natural feel than the run above it.

Best night was around the State Park, starts with a P Pacheco? We were camped in the park but it was closed. We had a nice beach and some furniture. There was irrigation so we found some Russian olive to burn for a fire. Full moon rise over the canyon. The coyote choir fired up, then the wild donkeys. Two Great Horned Owls were calling behind us. A river otter swam by. No lights were visible. Not one.

Right at dark a single Blue Angel flew low and slow right over our campfire. We waved and he rocked his wings. My best winter night camping anywhere.
 
Thank you for that nice trip report. I live in AZ and have been wondering about canoeing the lower Colorado. I stayed at a motel in Blythe about six months ago and asked the desk clerk if the fishing was good there. He said he moved from one of the big cities just be near the river as he loves to fish that river. He said his personal best was a 32 pound stripped bass and a whopper 58 pound flathead catfish. Now the strippers are seasonal I think, but the catfish should be around all the time.
And speaking of the Colorado, last year in October, the missus and I did the section from the Glen Canyon dam down to Lee's Ferry. Only 15 or 16 miles as the crow flies, but we meandered all over the place and took two days, camping out on one of the sandy beaches that have a fire ring and compost toilet. That was the trip of a lifetime, you are in a red rock gorge a thousand feet deep that twists and turns all the way. Oh and the clear cold water is FULL of trout.
 
Thank you for that nice trip report. I live in AZ and have been wondering about canoeing the lower Colorado...
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Hi! Where in AZ are you located? We should paddle something together. Did you hire a backhaul for your glen->lees ferry trip? We are looking to do that same trip in the spring
 
Hola BR
Live in Tempe, and yes we could paddle some water, that sounds great. This time of year the desert lakes and rivers are our playground.
Yes to the back haul service. I knew nothing about this until recently, but the big inflatable pontoon boats pick up tourists at the bottom of the dam after the tourists get a tour through the dam. Apparently busses drop the people off at the top of the dam. Then the big boats bring them down river and drop them off at Lee's Ferry, where the people get back on busses. Then the boats are empty and have to head back up to the dam, so they have found a way to make some extra money by hauling canoes and kayaks, and fishermen as far up river as you want to go. There are about half a dozen FREE campsites along the river which are just sandy beaches with a fire ring and a compost toilet. The pontoon pilot will stop anywhere you like and let you throw off your camping gear. Seems this marks the spot as yours for the night. We did not do this as the river was very lightly travelled when we went and we had no problem just pulling into a vacant camping spot for the night.
Our boat came into Lee's Ferry about 10:30 am and was large enough to just lay our canoe and gear on top. There were no other passengers besides us, and those big pontoon boats have really big motors so they haul the mail, I think we were up to the dam in something like 45 minutes. It's not cheap, the back haul, maybe $125 if I remember right for one canoe, two people, and up to 250 lbs of gear. And of course the pilot has his hand open for a tip at the end of the ride.
Weird things I noticed: The river is in a deep red sandstone gorge or chasm. There are cliffs on both side rising vertically 500, maybe a thousand feet above the river. Over time huge boulders have fallen off and into the river. Lots of boulders, big as cars and busses, and houses, so the water has to move around these and basically what I'm saying is this isn't a smooth flowing steady river in the canyon. It's twisting, turning, gurgling, spinning, rising and falling over huge underwater boulders, so it's hard work keeping a canoe pointed down stream sometimes. We even ran over a whirlpool that spun us first one way then the other way so hard I got a crick in my neck. At one spot we were in deep smooth water and the next moment we slid up on a boulder and were high centered. And there are eddys that flow back upstream. We were moving along in the current then the current took a 90 degree turn and we went right into a huge eddy flowing the other way. It literally felt like hitting the brakes in the car. I'm not complaining, I just thought rivers were smooth easy float trips, but this one at least makes you work. But it was a great experience and I'd do it again, you bet.
After we got back home I replaced the gunnels, seats and decks on that canoe with real wood and put it up for sale. The guy that bought it was the retired engineer who had controlled the water flow through Glen Canyon dam for 20 some years. True.
 
Benjamin Richard,
Did you make some kind of arrangements to be dropped off and picked up again at the south end of your trip?
 
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