Your first canoeing or canoe trip memories

[ppine]

Halpc,
Yes. Same trip. We were on the river for close to a week. It was desert camping. It was difficult to build any fires for lack of fuel. We had frost every night. I would go in March or November maybe. Warmer with more daylight. Some stretches of the river have riprap put in place by the Army Corp of Engineers. It is awkward to get off the river in those stretches. The lower part down toward Yuma was all natural.

I mentioned before the wild donkeys, coyotes, owls, otters and other critters which were a little surprising. Some interesting military aircraft. It is some lonely country out there. Sometimes we could not see even one light from our camp spots.

I would consider Black Canyon, but it takes organization to get permission to launch below Boulder Dam. There is a road some miles downstream which would be a good put in. The take out could be around Lake Havasu. That is the part I would paddle next if we returned to the desert.

 

[Halpc]

Thanks for the info. Black Canyon is on my list. It is supposedly feasible to put in at Willow Beach, downstream from the dam and paddle up about 14 miles to the dam then return with the current. There are reportedly campsites and hot springs along the way.

 

[Alan Gage]

I must have been 13 when my dad dropped me off with an aluminum tandem, a dog, and some food we picked up at the grocery store. It was a local lake and we thought it would be fun if I paddled out to camp on the island for the weekend. This is not something we did as as family. I think I'd only ever camped out once before when I went with a group of friends when I was around 7 or 8.

Naturally the whole preparation thing took longer than expected so the sun was just going down when he watched me paddle away from the dock. When I arrived at the island I found it surrounded by a dense bed of cattails with no way through to shore. We had not anticipated that. I finally found one spot where there was an opening and I began setting up the ancient canvas tent by flashlight with bats flying overhead.

The next morning I went through many books of matches trying to start a fire (I probably never had before). I think I eventually got one going but can't remember for sure.

The dog and I explored our little island and went out for a paddle to do some fishing. It was a great time. I repeated that adventure a few times over the next couple years but that was the last canoe tripping I did until about 20 years later.

Alan

 

[Alasgun]

My first experience with canoes came at scout camp out of Sebring Fla. in 1962 or there’bout.
I don’t remember much going back that far except for the 12 man canoe races which were probably more about confidence building than anything else. I also remember what a rodeo they were. These were Aluminum boats.