How do we get from Florida on the previous report to Arizona on this one? Got tired of Florida and thought I'd go over and paddle the bayous in Louisiana for a couple of weeks before heading west.
I had been told the French Quarter in New Orleans hadn't been hit badly by Hurricane Katrina so I thought that would be a cool thing to visit. I was camped at a state park on the eastern edge of New Orleans and drove in on some country road. Lots of wind damage on the way in, roofs torn up or off, etc. Once in New Orleans the damage wasn't apparent but houses were abandoned. I guess that was all water damage from the flooding.
I was driving through a ghetto that really looked like some surrealistic ghost town where everyone disappeared and left a town intact. Saw a few high school/college age white kids in some kind of non-prison uniforms picking up trash along the streets. Saw lots of black men hanging out nearby doing whatever it is black men do on street corners. By the time I got near the French Quarter I had satisfied my mind it was, at best, on the edge of a ghetto and I really wasn't interested anymore.
I thought the bayous near New Orleans would be narrow passages through swamp lands with Spanish moss dangling down from trees, lots of alligators everywhere and snakes hanging down from the trees. Wrong! Nothing but marshland with trash everywhere. I know there's better paddling farther inland but I was pretty disgusted with the area and headed west.
880 miles through Texas on I 10. I drove pretty much straight through New Mexico and Arizona (with a couple of overnighters), finally stopping near Yuma. Spent several days in the area so I could make a couple of trips to nearby Algodones, Mexico for my medication. Saved 75 percent off US prices so it was worth it.
Spent a week in Lake Havasu City waiting form brake parts and here I am at Lake Mead heading north.
04/03/07 Paddling South Cove:
I had been to the south end of Lake Mead near Dolan Springs a couple of times before but high winds kept me off the water. Today there were no winds but the temperature was up in the 90's. On a day like that, on the water is the only place to be.
South Cove is 45 miles on a paved road from AZ 93, about 45 miles from Hoover Dam. I camped at Pierce (Pearce) Ferry which used to be right on the lake. No water in sight now though. South Cove is 4 miles up a steep hill and 4 miles down another steep hill. 15 trucks and boat trailers were already in the parking lot when I got there. I'd guess most of them were out boat camping along the lake. I saw a couple different camp sites on my day trip.
Mountains rise from both sides of Lake Mead. Rugged cliffs several feet high. Some look like they've been poured there from some huge ladle while others are vertical layers that appear to have been thrust up by some giant earth movement. Several nice sandy beaches make for great camping right on the lake shore.
I turned right (west) from the boat ramp and just poked around for a while thinking the lake ended 1/2 mile or so. Every once in a while I saw a boat appear at the far corner of the lake and deduced there must be an outlet over there, duh. Sure enough, the end of the lake wasn't the end of the lake at all. It continued on another 4 miles.
I just paddled along at a leisurely pace. No wind and the sun was behind me. A pair of jet skis came off a beach and annoyed me for a while, particularly since they stayed close to the cliffs and their engine noise was magnified.
The water was a dark green most of the way. Then it became muddy and seemed as if the Loch Ness Monster might be swimming around down there. Then I thought it might be the jet skis had torn up silt at the bottom. I could see a lot of debris across the lake ahead and then a raised sand bar. I guess the predominantly easterly wind blew the debris down here and it got hung up on the sand bar. It may be the wind that churns the bottom up too.
The sand bar stretches all the way across the lake and effectively ends the lake. There's some open water beyond but I doubt if it goes very far. I thought about carrying the kayak over the sand bar but the bottom was very very soft and I didn't want to chance quick sand so had lunch and turned back.
04/05/07 Paddling South Cove:
Overcast today. Met a bighorn sheep on the access road to South Cove. The road is along a fin with steep drops on either side. The bighorn had climbed up one side, for whatever reason. It watched me as I stopped to watch it. Then trotted across the road and down the other side. Couldn't tell if it was male or female. Pretty good size and horns about 2 feet long and sweeping pretty much straight back. Might have been a young male or more mature female.
Camped at Pearce Ferry again and took yesterday off to rest my shoulder. Went back to South Cove today and turned left (east). I guess the section I was paddling is Gregg Basin. It's a couple of miles across and 5.2 miles up to Virgin Canyon. Steep, rugged mountains on the far side with high water marks 20 feet up the mountain sides. Near side has a few sloping beaches.
04/06/07 Paddling Bonelli Landing:
Drove to Bonelli Landing after yesterday's trip. Not too far from Temple Bar Marina. Overcast today which helps keep the heat down. It's been in the mid to upper 90's the past week or so. I had just about made up my mind to head on up to Utah when I heard the news yesterday. Another cold spell has hit most of the nation and they were having snow in Atlanta. That news slowed me down some. Guess I'm not that anxious to move up north.
Hualapi Indians own the Grand Canyon West and have what seems to be 40-50 helicopters they use for tour rides. When I was at South Cove I passed a parking lot with about 10 big busses they use to get the tourists back to the air strip 25 miles up a dirt road. All of that is well and good unless you're underneath as these noisy damn things fly overhead all day long. It wasn't bad at South Cove but is worse here at Bonelli's Landing. At least they don't fly in the dark.
Lake Mead is getting lower every year. I got stuck in some mud near the lake shore last year and spent more than hour extricating myself. That area is all grown in with bushes now and the shoreline is much farther away.
Typical rugged mountains of the area are to the left (west), some a rich chocolate brown and some more of a beige color. To the right (east) is what looks like a huge giant sand bar rising up 40-50 feet in places. What looks like a massive sand dune (but is not) is to the north backed by mountains. This is actually in Nevada. The main body of Lake Mead lies up in this direction and you can go all the way to the north end.
The water is pretty clear and I could see down 10-15 feet or so. I paddled along the sand bar for about 5 miles. I passed a couple of coves along the way, one of which was actually Bonelli's Bay. You finally come to a passage to Temple Basin which in turn leads to Virgin Canyon and Gregg Basin where I had been paddling.
If I follow the shoreline west I would go into Boulder Canyon and it would be another 8-10 miles to (Boulder) Hoover Dam. I plan on doing the canyon tomorrow.