A trek to behold, a canyon to be explored, an adventure never to be forgotten.

Hosted by Venture Crew 377 & the Aca Chapter of Cahuilla Lodge #127

 Black Canyon Trek

Canoe/Kayak Trip Through

Black Canyon On The Colorado River

March 31 to April 4, 2012

Recap of the 2012 Black Canyon Trek

Click here to see photos from our trek.

On March 31 to April 4, Venturing Crew 377 and the Aca Chapter of Cahuilla Lodge hosted the Black Canyon Trek. Five youth and three adults paddled canoes and kayaks 30+ miles down the Colorado River from Willow Beach, AZ to Cottonwood Cove, NV. The scenery we witnessed and the adventure we had was amazing.

We left Indio, CA at 4AM and arrived at Willow Beach at 11AM. We quickly packed gear into the boats so we could get on the river before the afternoon winds kicked up. We travelled 4 ½ miles and battled head winds with 2ft swells to reach Burrow Wash for the first night. While there we took the opportunity to take in the rugged beauty that is Black Canyon.

On the 2^nd day we paddled 10 miles to reach our second destination just south of Eldorado Canyon. We took advantage of the fairly warm water to enjoy a swim in the cove that we were camping in. The next morning we awoke to a 30 mph headwind and decided to wait at the cove for the winds to calm down.

Late that same morning 3 weary hikers entered our camp looking for assistance. They were with a Scout Troop that was canoeing the same area we were, but part of their group had gotten separated in the heavy wind. We gave them extra water and sent our chase boat (power boat that was following us in case of an emergency) out to look for the missing group. We found them a short distance away taking shelter in another cove. Our chase boat was able to safely bring the separated parties together.

We were finally able to get out on the river late in the afternoon. While under way one canoe unfolded a sail to take advantage of the wind. Another canoe with a couple enterprising scouts jury-rigged a sail using a trash bag and a couple of paddles. The makeshift sail worked surprising well. Early in the evening we decided to tie all the boats together to make a floating barge powered by the 2 sails. We finally made it to Owls Point at the top of Lake Mohave late in the evening.

The next day we paddled an easy 7 miles to a cove only 2 miles north of Cottonwood Cove. That evening the water was so calm that it was like glass. A couple members of the trek took advantage of the calm water and early Wednesday morning paddled out in the kayaks to watch the sunrise over the lake.

The water was calm that morning, but belied the tempest to come. This last couple of miles of our trek we nicknamed the crucible.

By 9AM there was a headwind blowing at over 40 mph and the water was prolific with whitecaps. We tried to break out of the cove during a slight lull in the wind, but the lull was short lived. After only 1/8 of a mile we were forced to take shelter in a small cove by the intense gusts of wind and rough water.

We stayed in that small cove well into the late afternoon. While there we got to see an absolutely beautiful Mohave green rattlesnake that was sunning itself in a remote corner of the cove.

By early evening the winds had slowed enough for us to break out and make a run for Cottonwood Cove. The winds were still blowing at over 20mph causing extremely choppy waters with 3 – 4 foot swells. By this time our group had learned how to cope with these conditions. We formed a tight group paddling and went all out for our final destination.

We safely reached Cottonwood Cove around 7PM to the applause, honking horns, and relief of our transport crew. The adrenaline of the physical challenge that we had endured combined with the euphoria that we had completed our journey brought us together in ways that can’t be described.

The smiles were universal while the several high fives, hugs, and cheers were numerous.  We lingered for a short while realizing that these were the final moments that we were still a team. These moments proved to be the most difficult of our trek.

During each of our Scouting careers there will that one trip or activity that brings everyone together in a true spirit of unity or adventure. For James Wadlund, Chase Hadden, Ronnie Hall, Austin Hanousak, Cameron Stiede, James Hermes, Steve Hanousak, and Paula Boothe, the Black Canyon Trek was that one.

Special thanks to: James Wadlund for serving as the crew leader; Marcel Vargas and Patsy Chabot for their help organizing the trip; Laurie Optebeke and Richard Boothe for following us in the chase boat; Debbie and Craig Hadden, Vickey and Frank Hermes for serving as our transport crew.

 A very HUGE thank you goes to Paula Boothe for her equipment, advise, guidance, and all around expertise. Without her help we would have had to settle with sailing little paper boats in a bathtub.