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Arizona Dreaming

story and photos by Bruce Grubbs

Getting Started

Information
Tonto National Forest, Mesa Ranger District, 5140 E. Ingram St., Mesa, AZ 85205; (480) 610-3300, www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto userfiles/images//CANYONmap(1).jpg

Eyes closed, drifting gently in the light breeze, listening to the quiet lap of waves on the hull of my sea kayak, I slip into a daydream of what might have been. If the southern border of the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 had run in a straight line, Arizona Territory might have had a piece of seacoast on the Sea of Cortez rather than being a landlocked state. Arizona would now be a major winter destination for northern sea kayakers escaping the frigid seas and frozen lakes of their home waters. Of course, Mexico wouldn't have been happy about being cut off from Baja California.
I open my eyes to reality. Arizona does not have any beaches or coast, but what it does have is spectacular. I'm taking a break from paddling the length of Canyon Lake. Thousand-foot cliffs plunge without interruption into the blue waters of the lake. Beyond the cliffs, the jagged, snow-dusted peaks of the Mazatzal and Superstition Mountains dominate the skyline. A cool breeze slightly ruffles the otherwise calm waters of the lake on this glorious, sunny February day.
One of four reservoirs on the Salt River northeast of Phoenix, in central Arizona, Canyon Lake is easily the most spectacular. After launching from the public boat ramp on State Highway 88, a half mile paddle enters the mouth of the main canyon. Here, the canyon walls close in, and for the next eight miles there are very few places to land a boat. The turnaround point is below Horse Mesa Dam, which impounds Apache Lake, the next lake upstream.
Theodore Roosevelt Lake and Saguaro Lake are the other two lakes in the chain. Roosevelt Lake is the largest and offers the best camping opportunities for paddlers looking for a multiday trip. Saguaro Lake is the most accessible lake - and the busiest. Apache Lake is the hardest lake to reach, requiring a long drive on the dirt portion of State Highway 88.
These desert lakes are no fun during the summer because of hordes of power boats and "personal watercraft" and scorching temperatures that reach 115 F, but from October through February expect to share the lakes only with a few fishermen and the occasional die-hard water skier. And except during the occasional winter storm, the lakes are calm enough for all sorts of paddle craft, including sea kayaks, sit-on-top kayaks, and canoes.

Bruce Grubbs has been paddling, hiking, skiing, and mountain biking the American Southwest for more then 30 years. He has also made several technical first ascents in the Grand Canyon and elsewhere in the desert. Currently, he is an active outdoor writer and and photographer with 20 books in print. His "day job" is flying air charters. Check out his web site at brucegrubbs.com.