April 13, 2011
March 31, 2011
Last Leg Recap-Black Bridge to Beasley
Joshua showed up right on time. We had the gear loaded and were rolling almost within minutes. Luckily, we had the right protective material to keep his gleaming Mercedes safe from the slings and arrow of cam buckle rigging. The paddles fit perfectly in his trunk. There was a great, safe parking spot for his vehicle a short walk away from the Black Bridge RAP.
We put on at 10:45 and enjoyed a great float down through the heart of Camp Verde. For most of the stretch between the Black Bridge and the White Bridge, you see very few signs of Camp Verde. However, there's a half mile stretch where the houses hug up close to the river's edge. Basically, this stretch is one long lake-like area. In the Old Days, Capt. Harry King used to give boat rides on this lake. We saw his giant old pontoon boat beach far up on the river right shoreline. It's now a historical artifact and will probably never be used again anywhere.
My first trip on this stretch was 30 years ago this month--March 1981. I remember coming to the end of the lake and facing one of the most hideous diversion dams I'd ever seen, then or now. The amount of jagged rebar, gaping car bodies and rag-tag concrete chunks was simply incredible. Well, I had avoided this stretch for 30 straight years and I truly feared encountering the Diamond S Diversion dam again yesterday. Guess what? Time heals all wounds and the diversion dam was completely and totally different that my mind's memory of it. First off, the diversion structure (if you can call it that) was huge--much, much larger. Meanwhile, the river channel had been dramatically altered and nothing there bore any resemblance to what I had remembered. The width of the diversion is now probably 200 or more yards. Where the river once flowed is high and dry. All those car bodies, rebar, and concrete chunks sit like a mini-stonehedge sticking helter-skelter from amid a tangle of vegetation well away from the water on river right. The entire river now heads off into the Diamond S ditch channel. The diversion berm is so heavily vegetated I only recognized it from a few remnant concrete chunks sticking out. We were almost smack dab into the ditch channel when I realized the situation and made a quick U-turn. We found a small overflow channel across the face of the diversion beam and parked the canoe there while we scouted the abundant obstacles that now comprise the Diamond S diversion. It was a very difficult scouting hike as there is a true jungle of willows and cottonwoods that have pretty much taken control of the area. Meanwhile, the high flow floods have deposited vast quantities of debris within this jungle. So, we gingerly and carefully picked our way across debris piles and threaded a path through the riparian jungle to scout that tiny trickle of flowing water. Although we could only see perhaps 150 yards, what we saw was clear of strainers and the current did not appears to be overly swift. I told Josh we would portage far enough to get into the top of this channel below the rough and tumble concrete debris and then "take our chances." I reasoned that we would be able to stop before being swept into a pin or a strainer situation. After the portage, we were both a tad bit hesitant to begin paddling. Luckily, our next obstacle was visible far enough in advance that we were able to beach the canoe before getting pinned. Previous floods had washed some debris from the diversion down into a mish-mash of rocks arranged in such a way as to be impossible to navigate with a long canoe. I used my paddle for a brace while wading across the channel to then go downstream and assess what lay below. I could see some other small channels joining our little flow and reasoned that we were probably within perhaps a half a mile of the White Bridge and "should" be in a strainer-free area. Meanwhile, I stationed Josh in the middle of our channel while I towed the boat back upstream and then began a "thread the needle" portage/line of our obstacles. Once we had the canoe safely on river right, we towed it across the rock bar and put back int with the stern rubbing the trunk of a willow tree. It was one of the tightest re-entry maneuvers of this whole project. Numerous low hanging branches and punjabi sticks made our run to wider, deeper water pretty exciting. We both wore out helmets for that portion of the run. After paddling awhile farther, the White Bridge came into view and we stopped about a quarter mile upstream for a welcome break.
Here, we again tested our our HAM radio and felt very comfortable using it on the river. It definitely added another level of safety to our trip and we were VERY happy to have it. Our neighbor and HAM mentor N7NUU monitored the Mingus repeater all day while we were on the river in case something should have happened to us. THANKS, Gary!
After leaving our break area, we traveled without incident down through the various little channels and chutes below the White Bridge. We did stop to scout the mini-diversion not far below the White Bridge. The run there is very straightforward and not problematic. Choosing the correct channels in this stretch is not a problem if you can understand how to read water and have at least some degree of control over your boat's alignment when you are in the proximity of various trees and brush. We GPS'd perhaps 20 waypoints during the trip and took photos and made digital voice comments. There's nothing particularly dangerous on the stretch between the White Bridge and Beasley Flats. We finished our paddle at 3:15 so we were on the water for 4.5 hours. The total distance between Black Bridge and Beasley is about 13.5 miles but may calculate out to 13 even as our GPS records all our walking around while we are scouting and so forth.
Now for some subjective comments on this stretch of river. As noted, we first ran it 30 years ago. While, we decided never to run the Black Bridge to White Bridge stretch again after that first run, we made the White Bridge to Beasley Flats run the bread and butter of our river program for the next 20 years. I have no idea how many times I've run that stretch. It's way over 100 and could be near 200. I doubt that it is over 200 but it could be. Let's put it this way--it was a LOT of runs scattered over many, many years including many hundreds of people. I'm guessing we organized efforts that took perhaps as many as 800 people down this stretch of river. We took perhaps about 200 on those famous train trips above Clarkdale. We've traveled the White Bridge to Beasley Flats stretch in all kinds of conditions, seasons and circumstances. Once we even had to delay on of our trips while police conducted a manhunt along the river's bank. When the suspect was collared, then we could proceed. I mention all this background to make a point about what I observed yesterday.
The river in this stretch has made a miraculous turnaround. It is completely healed from all of the natural and man made havoc and devastation of the 1980's and 1990's. It's incredible. I had absolutely no idea that the recovery of this stretch of Verde River could be so stunning and pervasive. To put this into perspective, you have to realize that at one point, there was absolutely NO riparian vegetation anywhere along the entire floodway for this ten mile stretch of river. It was completely denuded of ALL vegetation. Every speck of vegetation had been scoured out and it was nothing but bare gravel. To see this stretch in its current condition was an awe-inspiring inspiration glimpse of the power of Nature to recover and heal those seemingly mortal wounds. Meanwhile, the stream channel itself has changed significantly and there are far more riffles than ever before. Some of the riffled probably ought to be ranked Class One rapids for novice canoers. They are bouncy and fun and delightful and resemble nothing like the 1990's. There are a few areas where riverside houses are visually very obvious but those areas are now few. The proliferation of the riparian recovery has screen out much of the former visual flotsam that was once painfully obvious on this stretch of river. It is now an absolutely delightful stretch of river in every way, shape and form. It's actually rather hard for me, personally, to believe that this could happen in such a relatively short period of time. I know that riparian species grow by leaps and bounds every season but still, it's hard to grasp. My last exposure to this stretch was in late Year 2000 so it's been 11 years since I saw this stretch. What an incredible turnaround and what a gift this truly is to our community. Amazing. Without doubt, this is the headliner day stretch of the Verde that's suitable for everyone. It shows what a desert river is all about and if people could somehow understand what the river once was, I feel certain that they, too, would be as profoundly amazed about it as I am.
God Bless The Verde River! Carry on.
Cheers, jp
Click here for the interactive track map from this trip shown at the top of this blog post.
Below is a screen shot of the waypoint map. Click here for the full version of this map.
March 30, 2011
The Last Leg
Today is the day we finish up our on-rover portion of this project. It's amazing our last trip was so long ago on February 16. Back then we figured we'd be finished by the end of February and here we are at the end of March. What happened? well, it was a recurrent rendition of the same stories: bad weather, wind, high water, and schedules impossible to reconcile. Today the planets are all aligned again and we have near perfect weather, suitable water (286 cfs) and Josh, Susun and I can end the way we began. Although there were times I thought about deviating from we three, I wanted this project to be complete from start-to-finish with Josh and Susun. It's going to be a great memory for Josh as his river resume grows over the years. It will be made even more special because the project was notified March 25 that it has been allocated $10,000 in grant funding from fed money passed through something called the RAC Committee via the Forest Service. Temps today will be the high 70's and will probably feel much hotter on the water--probably will feel like mid 80's to 90 out there. We will take and drink plenty of water. In hindsight it's a good thing the last leg will be run on a day like this. The blackhawks are back and we're almost certain to see one of them soaring above our paddle today. The cottonwoods are leafing out and the river is gradually putting on its trademark mantle of green. The water isn't as bone chilling cold as its been on our other three trips. We won't have to worry about hypothermia today! We will be making our first trip as a new HAM radio operator; KF7OTE. This allows us to carry a hand held 2-meter transceiver. It's another level of "peace of mind." There are cell phone dead spots on the river. Now, not to worry. If we have a problem inone of those spots, we simply call for help via the Mingus HAM repeater. Cool!
Our Flight Plan today calls for a departure from Camp Verde's Black Bridge before 11 am. Josh will drive to our home to load gear. We will travel to Camp Verde and then downriver to Beasley Flats. We'll call Suzi's Shuttle Service with enough time so she can arrive at Beasley when we do. We all home to be home by 4 pm but no later than 5. The toughest part of today's trip is the Diamond S Diversion dam. It's always been problematic since I first saw it 30 years ago this month. Old car bodies, broken concrete, jagged re-bar, all the usual suspects. Now, you have to factor in a jungle of willow trees, too. Once we're past Diamond S, it's pretty smooth sailing. There;s some strainers on what everyone calls "the day stretch" but, heck, 200 some people survived there during last weekend's canoe race so we suppose we shall be safe as well. It promises to be a superb finish to a great project. Cheers, jp
PS--Back in mid-February the river was running about 200 cfs so we have some what we call "Bonus Water" today. It will seem positively fluffy compared to the boney water we worked earlier this year.
February 16, 2011
Newton Lane to Black Bridge
John P. and Josh W. put in the water at 11:20 am and arrived at the take out at 2 pm. The GPS track log says the trip was 5.85 miles. Our moving average speed was 3.0 miles per hours and our overall average speed was 2.2 miles per hour. The GPS indicates we were moving for one hour and 56 minutes and stopped for 44 minutes.
Not far below Newton Lane, we encountered the formidable Verde Ditch Diversion Dam. We hadn't been to this spot since March 2007. The diversion's appearance and character had changed. At first we thought the ditch company was already diverting water as 100% of the river entered the ditch itself with an obvious current flow downstream in the ditch. Perhaps less than one percent of the river flow was trickling through what is normally considered to be the diversion structure.
We were very concerned and put our shuttle driver on "hold" via cell phone. We then called Chip N. to confirm his information that the ditch wasn't going to divert the river until February 18 at the earliest. Chip reassured us about the date. We walked downstream and realized that some flow was going back into the river via a breach in the river left sidewall of the crude ditch structure. We assessed this flow and determined it would be sufficient to continue the day's paddle.
The portage was rather difficult but didn't take too long. The first part of the portage is over rough and jagged concrete remnants. Here, paddlers must raise their boat and carefully watch their footing amid the jumble of broken concrete pieces. The second half of the portage is easier because paddlers can drag their canoes without risk of any hull damage. After taking numerous photos, we put back in the river and proceeded on.
Water returned in greater quantity not far below the first ditch seepage. About a mile downstream, the remainder of the river flow rejoined the river. (See commentary.)
The area below the diversion dam is narrow and requires careful navigation. There are numerous areas of partial channel blockage between the dam and I-17. We portaged and lined the canoe around these obstacles. There are also numerous areas of very narrow channels that require some tricky maneuvering.
We ran one substantial riffle where the current was plowing into a strainer on river left. We scouted from the boat and wore our helmets for that run. The tree caught John square in the head. Luckily, the helmet prevented any injury and we did not flip. More comments about specific obstacles will appear on the GPS waypoint map.
The area where car bodies have been used to stabilize the bank was not an obstacle. The river has carved a wider channel there and there is no longer any danger of plowing into the jagged metal of the car bodies.
After the river is diverted into the ditch, this becomes a difficult stretch to paddle. The river is basically dewatered for about a mile.
The stretch below I-17 is quite nice. There are two rough shod areas of the river left stream bank. One is a mass of broken concrete and the other is some telephone pole jacks and rubble. except for those two spots, the stretch between I-17 and Black Bridge is very natural looking and includes numerous pleasant riffles and chutes. (See commentary.)
The area directly beneath the interstate bridge presents some challenging twists and turns around the various abutments. Those new to this area would be wise to scout the abutments for the best run.
There is a nice riffle directly beneath the Black Bridge. It provides a fine finish to this stretch.
The Black Bridge RAP is now one of the nicer public areas along the river. It is well maintained and visually attractive. There is a bedrock ledge riffle directly below the access point. This would be a good area for people to learn how to paddle a canoe in a variety of water conditions.
Cheers, jp
Here is an album of the photos from the trip. Click here in case it won't load. (Another map is below.)
Click here for the interactive track map for this trip shown at the top of this blog post.
Below is a screen shot of the waypoint map. Click here for the full version of this map.
February 15, 2011
River conditions
The February 15th water levels are basically at base flow for this time of year. There has been little change in the past week. The Clarkdale gage registers 79 cfs and the Cornville gage shows 43. Record low for Clarkdale on this date was 72 in 1972 and 30 for Oak Creek in 1990.
High temperature is forecast for 68 degrees. The normal high for this date (at Montezuma Castle) is 65 degrees. The record high was 79 in 1991.
Water temperature is expected to continue to be in the mid to upper 40-degree range. It will be partly cloudy with possible light upstream winds.
High temperature is forecast for 68 degrees. The normal high for this date (at Montezuma Castle) is 65 degrees. The record high was 79 in 1991.
Water temperature is expected to continue to be in the mid to upper 40-degree range. It will be partly cloudy with possible light upstream winds.
Trip #3- Newton Lane to either I-17 or Black Bridge
Here is the Flight Plan for today's trip.
Primary Goal: Newton Lane to Camp Verde Black Bridge.
Crew:
J. Parsons
J. Wheeler
Shuttle:
B. Wheeler
Fall back Goal: Newton Lane to I-17.
Estimated travel time to Black Bridge: 3 hours.
Highest possible time to Black Bridge: 4 hours
Primary challenge of this stretch: The Verde Ditch Diversion Dam. It is the largest dam on the Verde River (except for Horseshoe & Bartlett)
It will be a difficult and long portage.
Secondary challenges: Strong likelihood of channel blockage(s) due to vegetation
Third Challenge: Car-body bank stabilization areas.
Distances: The estimated river distance to I-17 is 3 miles. The estimated distance from I-17 to Black Bridge is 2 miles.
(Estimation made by using the "line" function on Google Maps. That's a very rough estimating tool.)
Our average paddling speed on the last trip was 3 mph. Our overall speed (including portages) was 2.2 mph.
I have inflated the estimated travel times for today's trip because of the uncertainty about portages, channel blockages and other potential portages for car-body hazards.
If the portages go quickly and are fewer than expected, our ETA could be considerably earlier than estimated.
Meeting Time: 10:30 am
Meeting Place: Wendy's Parking Lot (south side) Wendy's is located at I-17 and Hwy 260 on the NW sector of the interchange.
We will scout the "road" to the lower bench. If it doesn't look good, we will park up on top and carry the gear down to the river.
ETD: 11:15 to 11:30 am
ETA: 2:30-3:30 pm (Black Bridge)
If it is nearing 2:30 pm and we haven't yet crossed I-17, we will pull out at I-17.
We will rig gear in Nissan at take out and return to Wendy's hopefully no later than 4 pm but probably well before that time.
Many Cheers & Happy Trails! jp
February 9, 2011
Bignotti-Newton Lane Waypoints
Bignotti-Newton Lane Track Map
Below are two enlarged portions of the track map that have been converted to screen shots. First you can see all the seemingly aimless meandering we did to scout the diversion dam. The one below shows our scout of the channel blockage. The GPS track said we covered 9.45 miles. However, "true" river miles would be less because the GPS recorded every little step in our wanderings. We're guessing the actual river distance would be about 9 miles, plus or minus.
February 8, 2011
Bignotti to Newton Lane Trip Narrative Report
The Bignotti to Newton Lane (B2NL) Trip was conducted as planned and was successful. The trip took 4 hours and covered 9.45 miles according to the GPS track log. We suspect the actual length was closer to 9 miles due to scouting activity at an irrigation diversion and a channel blockage.
We arrived at Bignotti shortly before 10:30 am. We scouted the upper portion of Bignotti. Someone has piled up the tumbleweeds and there is a clear and easy (although sandy) path to the riverbank. Unfortunately, the bank at this location is too steep to use for a canoe. We decided to use the lower access point that we used at the end of the Bridgeport to Bignotti trip. We spent time using bow saws, loppers and hand clippers to clean a clear pathway from the parking area to the river bank. Although still not an easy ingress, it is much better than before. We also put survey flagging in a willow tree at this point. (See commentary.)
The air temperature at time of launch was 53 degrees. The high for the day took place after our take out and was 64. The water temperature at Bignotti was 44.
After rigging the boat, we discussed various safety procedures and considerations. We reviewed various paddle strokes and also did some stretching. We put into the water and a bald eagle flew low directly overhead. Since there is a riffle immediately below the put-in, we paddled up to the nearest upstream riffle and practiced our strokes in the current and the still water.
The shoreline area on river right becomes a tall limestone bluff less than a half mile below Bignotti. As the river bends to the left here, the channel has a large island. Most of the stream flow is passing to river right at the bottom of the undercut bluff. Our primary rule of paddling is "go where you can see a clear channel." Unfortunately, we could not see a clear channel to river right. We also realized that there would be no boatable channel on river left. After some discussion, we decided to violate our primary rule above. Why?
I reasoned that this portion of the river is run by a commercial outfitter who takes total novice boaters on the "Water to Wine Tour." As noted, we had observed a group of such boaters on our last trip. I reasoned that, although we could not see a clear channel one must exist because it would be illogical for a commercial outfitter to subject novices to dire circumstances. Luckily, this logic was correct and we did not encounter any impassable strainers in the right hand channel. There are a couple of maneuvers that are moderately tricky for canoers but nothing impossible. It's actually quite a challenging and scenic run there at the base of the undercut bluff. No far below this area, we observed the take-out for the Alcantara Winery. There is a prominent "No Trespassing" sign with the winery's logo affixed.
The stretch below the winery has numerous tree obstacles but none are particularly hazardous. All require vigorous and well executed paddling strokes to avoid. The limestone bluff soon switches from river right to river left. This bluff becomes more clifflike and it quite striking. Many large blocks have fallen off this small cliff and lodged in the river channel. It is a short but very beautiful stretch of river. Astute maneuvering continues to be required in this area.
The cliff on river left ends abruptly at the Oak Creek confluence on river left. This is a wonderfully beautiful area and we regretted not having enough time to stop and soak up the beauty. Not far below the confluence is a spot called "Sheep Crossing." In the not too distant past, large herds of sheep were driven across the river here. The large area on river right was a popular public destination until it was developed as a major membership-only RV campground known as Thousand Trails. There is a remnant of public access next to the fence line for the RV development. However, it would be a long and arduous carry from the parking area to the river. It is mostly used by fishermen and sightseers now.
The area below the Sheep Crossing is one giant lake. In acreage this still water lakelike area probably is larger than many of what Arizonans consider to be actual lakes. I joked with Joshua that it is clearly big enough to support numerous jet skis. I've often thought that a skilled wind surfer could have a blast on this lake.
The reason for the lake is simple enough: there's a large diversion dam on the downstream end of the lake. It is one of the largest diversion dams on the river, ranking behind only the Cottonwood and Verde Ditch diversions. It's definitely larger than Diamond S. Water drawn from the river here goes into a ditch system on river left and is the primary irrigation water for ag lands on the Yavapai-Apache Nation Reservation.
We scouted the entire dam from the ditch inlet on river left all the way across the face of the dame to far river right. We scouted both from the canoe and on foot below the dam itself. We concluded the only safe portage would be far river right. The portage here is not too complex but care should be exercised because of rough rocks, surfaces and even a large 2-inch diameter woven wire cable. After the portage, one must push the canoe through two small, shallow channels to reach water deep enough to paddle. As diversion dams go, this is a relatively easy portage once you know where the portage is actually located. Any portage at higher flows could be far more problematic that the low flow we enjoyed.
The area below this dam is very beautiful. The riparian areas from the dam to Newton Lane appear to have fully recovered from the devastating 1980's and 1990's 100-year floods. There is a substantial willow gallery forest-in-the-making on both sides of the river. At one point, we stopped to scout a cluster of willows that had become established in the middle of the river. Although perhaps technically "runnable," we decided to be prudent and error on the side of safety. The portage was very easy as we simply towed the boat over some native reeds. At higher flows, the area of the reeds would present a clean run of this spot.
The channel in this area is mostly wide open and free of obstructions. It is very beautiful even in leafless wintertime. We were surprised to find a significant obstruction at the confluence of Hayfield Draw. Naturally, there is a large alluvial fan at Hayfield Draw and it makes a nice pull out. Several willows on river left have bent down over the river. The trunks of two willows are low enough to make passage nearly impossible. The branches of the other willows create quite a thicket. At first we thought we would have to portage by carrying the boat around these trees. However, after careful study, we discerned a lining route through the trees. By wading carefully through the vegetation, we were able to get the boat around this area in short order.
Once again, the channel opens up and we marveled at the beauty of the native riparian species and the lack of invasive reeds and tamarisks. It's very beautiful stretch of river and only a handful of structures are noticeable.
While enjoying ourselves in this area we paddled to a complete dead end. The river simply stopped. Thinking we had missed a channel, we paddled far back up into the still pool. No channel. No river. All of the river flow simply filtered left through a dense, thick, debris-clogged native willow forest. We could see no hint of any channel even half as wide as a canoe. We paddled down to the far end of the pool here and got out to scout.
We walked down about halfway through the lateral thickness of the forest. We'd estimate that its width ranged from 50 to 150 feet. I waded out as far as I dared into the forest and could see no hint of anything resembling a lining route, let alone a paddle-capable route. Finally, we walked to the downstream side of this forest, thinking that this would be where we would put the boat back in after portaging. However, we looked farther downstream and were chagrined to see a river-wide willow fence of mature trees which had in turn collected the usual assortment of natural and man made detritus. We trudged down to see the scope and extent of this obstacle. It was then that we realized we had a very long and arduous portage ahead. We didn't measure it but we think it was at least 200 yards and maybe as long as 300 yards. Luckily, there was a clear route across a large alluvial fan that had been discharged from a dry wash on river right. About two-thirds of the portage route was sand and gravel and about one third was medium size cobbles and some larger rocks.
We each used a 15-foot NRS strap to loop through the front grab handle of the canoe. We made shoulder harnesses and evenly distributed the weight of the boat as we towed it on the long portage. This type of a portage is very hard on the hull of a canoe. Luckily, the Mad River Explorer is built to take this type of hard usage.
The re-entry to the river below these obstacles is very tricky so we turned the canoe stern first to give Joshua more room to kneel in the boat. Also, in this configuration, the canoe turns much more quickly (even if it is tippier) and we were able to make the correct moves to reach safe water once again.
Most of the river channel below this point is clean and clear. There are a few strainers here and there that require much attention and careful maneuvering. One was so tight we had to actually use the tree branches themselves to pull our way through the tiny slot. Luckily, at this spot, there is no real current to worry about pinning the canoe onto the tree.
There is another smaller diversion dam that requires a very short and easy portage. The last time I paddled this stretch of river was in March 2007. The flow was roughly about the same as we experienced yesterday. However, I did not recall much about a particular spot. After we finished the short portage at the small dam, I noticed signs of whitewater ahead. We donned our helmets and I then remembered that there is actually a genuine bedrock rapid located here. The Verde River flows directly over a large area of eroded Verde Limestone. The rapid has three sections. The very first might be a Class One. The second is definitely a Class One and the third and final drop is easily a Class Two. At yesterday's flow, it's possible some canoers might rank it as a tough Class Two or even a Three (for canoes). Note that for an inflatable kayak it would be a real easy Class Two, maybe even just a Class One. (See commentary)
We were quite lucky to get through the lower drop upright and dry. The canoe hit a portion of the bedrock and turned sideways as it approached the small wannabe keeper wave and possible wrap rock at the bottom. Luckily, we both made the correct strokes and paddle braces to avoid being flipped here.
There is a dry wash on river right not far above Newton Lane. At some point within the past year or two, a summer monsoon discharge dumped a large alluvial fan into the river. We suspect that this fan at one time extended the full width of the river. We suspect that a subsequent higher flow eventually carved out a channel on river left. It's quite rocky but makes for an exciting and fun ride. It doesn't deserve a rating as a genuine rapid but it sure is a notable riffle.
We had hoped to arrive at Newton Lane at 3 pm but arrived instead at 3:15 pm. As usual the Newton Lane RAP road is in marginal condition best suited to high clearance (and maybe even 4x4) vehicles. Luckily, our little Nissan was able to climb up the slippery slope with only minimal loss of traction. The passengers were forced to walk this slope. Their extra weight would have probably changed the outcome of our exist from this area. (See commentary.)
We consider this stretch to be the most natural and scenic stretch of the river in the entire Verde Valley between Tuzigoot Bridge and Beasley Flats. Why? Here are the reasons: 1) Condition of natural riparian areas; 2) Scenic beauty of bluffs, cliffs and other natural features; 3) Challenging water features; 4) Expansive Beauty of natural river channel ; and 5) Lack of visible man-made features. As the native riparian species have grown in size, so have they shielded from view many of the previously visible man-made features. Compared to other stretches of the Verde inside the valley, there are negligible visual impacts from man-made features. Due to the mandatory portages and long distance between public river access points, it is likely that this stretch will never receive much usage and paddlers will therefore be unlikely to encounter other boaters.
I think I've forgotten a portage in there someplace. I will review the digital voice notes and make amendments as needed. This is a first draft completed at 12:30 pm, February 8. As amendments are made, we will note their date and time.
Cheers, jp
We arrived at Bignotti shortly before 10:30 am. We scouted the upper portion of Bignotti. Someone has piled up the tumbleweeds and there is a clear and easy (although sandy) path to the riverbank. Unfortunately, the bank at this location is too steep to use for a canoe. We decided to use the lower access point that we used at the end of the Bridgeport to Bignotti trip. We spent time using bow saws, loppers and hand clippers to clean a clear pathway from the parking area to the river bank. Although still not an easy ingress, it is much better than before. We also put survey flagging in a willow tree at this point. (See commentary.)
The air temperature at time of launch was 53 degrees. The high for the day took place after our take out and was 64. The water temperature at Bignotti was 44.
After rigging the boat, we discussed various safety procedures and considerations. We reviewed various paddle strokes and also did some stretching. We put into the water and a bald eagle flew low directly overhead. Since there is a riffle immediately below the put-in, we paddled up to the nearest upstream riffle and practiced our strokes in the current and the still water.
The shoreline area on river right becomes a tall limestone bluff less than a half mile below Bignotti. As the river bends to the left here, the channel has a large island. Most of the stream flow is passing to river right at the bottom of the undercut bluff. Our primary rule of paddling is "go where you can see a clear channel." Unfortunately, we could not see a clear channel to river right. We also realized that there would be no boatable channel on river left. After some discussion, we decided to violate our primary rule above. Why?
I reasoned that this portion of the river is run by a commercial outfitter who takes total novice boaters on the "Water to Wine Tour." As noted, we had observed a group of such boaters on our last trip. I reasoned that, although we could not see a clear channel one must exist because it would be illogical for a commercial outfitter to subject novices to dire circumstances. Luckily, this logic was correct and we did not encounter any impassable strainers in the right hand channel. There are a couple of maneuvers that are moderately tricky for canoers but nothing impossible. It's actually quite a challenging and scenic run there at the base of the undercut bluff. No far below this area, we observed the take-out for the Alcantara Winery. There is a prominent "No Trespassing" sign with the winery's logo affixed.
The stretch below the winery has numerous tree obstacles but none are particularly hazardous. All require vigorous and well executed paddling strokes to avoid. The limestone bluff soon switches from river right to river left. This bluff becomes more clifflike and it quite striking. Many large blocks have fallen off this small cliff and lodged in the river channel. It is a short but very beautiful stretch of river. Astute maneuvering continues to be required in this area.
The cliff on river left ends abruptly at the Oak Creek confluence on river left. This is a wonderfully beautiful area and we regretted not having enough time to stop and soak up the beauty. Not far below the confluence is a spot called "Sheep Crossing." In the not too distant past, large herds of sheep were driven across the river here. The large area on river right was a popular public destination until it was developed as a major membership-only RV campground known as Thousand Trails. There is a remnant of public access next to the fence line for the RV development. However, it would be a long and arduous carry from the parking area to the river. It is mostly used by fishermen and sightseers now.
The area below the Sheep Crossing is one giant lake. In acreage this still water lakelike area probably is larger than many of what Arizonans consider to be actual lakes. I joked with Joshua that it is clearly big enough to support numerous jet skis. I've often thought that a skilled wind surfer could have a blast on this lake.
The reason for the lake is simple enough: there's a large diversion dam on the downstream end of the lake. It is one of the largest diversion dams on the river, ranking behind only the Cottonwood and Verde Ditch diversions. It's definitely larger than Diamond S. Water drawn from the river here goes into a ditch system on river left and is the primary irrigation water for ag lands on the Yavapai-Apache Nation Reservation.
We scouted the entire dam from the ditch inlet on river left all the way across the face of the dame to far river right. We scouted both from the canoe and on foot below the dam itself. We concluded the only safe portage would be far river right. The portage here is not too complex but care should be exercised because of rough rocks, surfaces and even a large 2-inch diameter woven wire cable. After the portage, one must push the canoe through two small, shallow channels to reach water deep enough to paddle. As diversion dams go, this is a relatively easy portage once you know where the portage is actually located. Any portage at higher flows could be far more problematic that the low flow we enjoyed.
The area below this dam is very beautiful. The riparian areas from the dam to Newton Lane appear to have fully recovered from the devastating 1980's and 1990's 100-year floods. There is a substantial willow gallery forest-in-the-making on both sides of the river. At one point, we stopped to scout a cluster of willows that had become established in the middle of the river. Although perhaps technically "runnable," we decided to be prudent and error on the side of safety. The portage was very easy as we simply towed the boat over some native reeds. At higher flows, the area of the reeds would present a clean run of this spot.
The channel in this area is mostly wide open and free of obstructions. It is very beautiful even in leafless wintertime. We were surprised to find a significant obstruction at the confluence of Hayfield Draw. Naturally, there is a large alluvial fan at Hayfield Draw and it makes a nice pull out. Several willows on river left have bent down over the river. The trunks of two willows are low enough to make passage nearly impossible. The branches of the other willows create quite a thicket. At first we thought we would have to portage by carrying the boat around these trees. However, after careful study, we discerned a lining route through the trees. By wading carefully through the vegetation, we were able to get the boat around this area in short order.
Once again, the channel opens up and we marveled at the beauty of the native riparian species and the lack of invasive reeds and tamarisks. It's very beautiful stretch of river and only a handful of structures are noticeable.
While enjoying ourselves in this area we paddled to a complete dead end. The river simply stopped. Thinking we had missed a channel, we paddled far back up into the still pool. No channel. No river. All of the river flow simply filtered left through a dense, thick, debris-clogged native willow forest. We could see no hint of any channel even half as wide as a canoe. We paddled down to the far end of the pool here and got out to scout.
We walked down about halfway through the lateral thickness of the forest. We'd estimate that its width ranged from 50 to 150 feet. I waded out as far as I dared into the forest and could see no hint of anything resembling a lining route, let alone a paddle-capable route. Finally, we walked to the downstream side of this forest, thinking that this would be where we would put the boat back in after portaging. However, we looked farther downstream and were chagrined to see a river-wide willow fence of mature trees which had in turn collected the usual assortment of natural and man made detritus. We trudged down to see the scope and extent of this obstacle. It was then that we realized we had a very long and arduous portage ahead. We didn't measure it but we think it was at least 200 yards and maybe as long as 300 yards. Luckily, there was a clear route across a large alluvial fan that had been discharged from a dry wash on river right. About two-thirds of the portage route was sand and gravel and about one third was medium size cobbles and some larger rocks.
We each used a 15-foot NRS strap to loop through the front grab handle of the canoe. We made shoulder harnesses and evenly distributed the weight of the boat as we towed it on the long portage. This type of a portage is very hard on the hull of a canoe. Luckily, the Mad River Explorer is built to take this type of hard usage.
The re-entry to the river below these obstacles is very tricky so we turned the canoe stern first to give Joshua more room to kneel in the boat. Also, in this configuration, the canoe turns much more quickly (even if it is tippier) and we were able to make the correct moves to reach safe water once again.
Most of the river channel below this point is clean and clear. There are a few strainers here and there that require much attention and careful maneuvering. One was so tight we had to actually use the tree branches themselves to pull our way through the tiny slot. Luckily, at this spot, there is no real current to worry about pinning the canoe onto the tree.
There is another smaller diversion dam that requires a very short and easy portage. The last time I paddled this stretch of river was in March 2007. The flow was roughly about the same as we experienced yesterday. However, I did not recall much about a particular spot. After we finished the short portage at the small dam, I noticed signs of whitewater ahead. We donned our helmets and I then remembered that there is actually a genuine bedrock rapid located here. The Verde River flows directly over a large area of eroded Verde Limestone. The rapid has three sections. The very first might be a Class One. The second is definitely a Class One and the third and final drop is easily a Class Two. At yesterday's flow, it's possible some canoers might rank it as a tough Class Two or even a Three (for canoes). Note that for an inflatable kayak it would be a real easy Class Two, maybe even just a Class One. (See commentary)
We were quite lucky to get through the lower drop upright and dry. The canoe hit a portion of the bedrock and turned sideways as it approached the small wannabe keeper wave and possible wrap rock at the bottom. Luckily, we both made the correct strokes and paddle braces to avoid being flipped here.
There is a dry wash on river right not far above Newton Lane. At some point within the past year or two, a summer monsoon discharge dumped a large alluvial fan into the river. We suspect that this fan at one time extended the full width of the river. We suspect that a subsequent higher flow eventually carved out a channel on river left. It's quite rocky but makes for an exciting and fun ride. It doesn't deserve a rating as a genuine rapid but it sure is a notable riffle.
We had hoped to arrive at Newton Lane at 3 pm but arrived instead at 3:15 pm. As usual the Newton Lane RAP road is in marginal condition best suited to high clearance (and maybe even 4x4) vehicles. Luckily, our little Nissan was able to climb up the slippery slope with only minimal loss of traction. The passengers were forced to walk this slope. Their extra weight would have probably changed the outcome of our exist from this area. (See commentary.)
We consider this stretch to be the most natural and scenic stretch of the river in the entire Verde Valley between Tuzigoot Bridge and Beasley Flats. Why? Here are the reasons: 1) Condition of natural riparian areas; 2) Scenic beauty of bluffs, cliffs and other natural features; 3) Challenging water features; 4) Expansive Beauty of natural river channel ; and 5) Lack of visible man-made features. As the native riparian species have grown in size, so have they shielded from view many of the previously visible man-made features. Compared to other stretches of the Verde inside the valley, there are negligible visual impacts from man-made features. Due to the mandatory portages and long distance between public river access points, it is likely that this stretch will never receive much usage and paddlers will therefore be unlikely to encounter other boaters.
I think I've forgotten a portage in there someplace. I will review the digital voice notes and make amendments as needed. This is a first draft completed at 12:30 pm, February 8. As amendments are made, we will note their date and time.
Cheers, jp
February 7, 2011
2nd Field Trip: Bignotti to Newton Lane
Today's plan is to paddle from Bignotti to at least Newton Lane. (See RAP MAP below.) If we get an early start, we might try to make I-17. If we are way ahead of schedule we will strive for the Camp Verde Black Bridge (AKA: Rezzonico Park).
Our water continues to be much below normal and barely above the record minimums for this date. The Verde at Clarkdale is running 79 cfs and the minimum is 74 recorded in 1972. Oak Creek is running 44 cfs at Cornville and the minimum was 29 in 1963.
Interestingly, 1963 must have been VERY dry. We checked the Cottonwood historical climate records this morning. The first 8 days of February in 1963 were all consecutive record setters, ranging from 76 to 87 degrees. Today back in 1963 is was 83 degrees!
Our weather today looks to offer calm conditions with a high near the long-term average for this date: 64 degrees. Chances are it will be in the upper 50's when we put on the river and the lower 60's when we take off. Except for the low water, this is an ideal early February paddling day.
We still will be using the Arizona State Parks Mad River Explorer. We have, however, obtained two much more suitable life jackets, a large dry bag and two helmets from the Verde NRCD. Helmets? Why? The helmets are for trees. If we attempt to run past a tree today, we're going to don the helmets just in case we misjudge the run and get tangled up in the tree. Most river strainers have a lot of broken, sharp, stubby branch remnants sticking out from their trunk. These things can wreck havoc with a human scalp!
Joshua Wheeler and John Parsons will once again be paddling partners. We've returned Max Castillo's old Garmin and will only be using the Garmin 60Csx. We're taking a back up digital camera in case our pocket model dies (as it almost did the first trip). We think we will have a much better rig set up for the canoe this time around. As anyone who runs rivers well knows, each trip rigging is slightly different than any other trip.
One of our goals on this trip is to obtain much better photo documentation of the Bignotti RAP. We will also spend some time scouting the best route from the parking lot to the river as well as the best landing spot. We will take some survey flagging to mark the route and beach. We might even take a couple of bow saws, pruners and loping shears to do some "trail maintenance."
We will be giving Joshua some pre-trip paddling lessons and additional safety instructions today. We might even engage in some pre-trip warm up stretching exercises and light calisthenics.
That's the plan, we'll see how it works.
Cheers, jp
Our water continues to be much below normal and barely above the record minimums for this date. The Verde at Clarkdale is running 79 cfs and the minimum is 74 recorded in 1972. Oak Creek is running 44 cfs at Cornville and the minimum was 29 in 1963.
Interestingly, 1963 must have been VERY dry. We checked the Cottonwood historical climate records this morning. The first 8 days of February in 1963 were all consecutive record setters, ranging from 76 to 87 degrees. Today back in 1963 is was 83 degrees!
Our weather today looks to offer calm conditions with a high near the long-term average for this date: 64 degrees. Chances are it will be in the upper 50's when we put on the river and the lower 60's when we take off. Except for the low water, this is an ideal early February paddling day.
We still will be using the Arizona State Parks Mad River Explorer. We have, however, obtained two much more suitable life jackets, a large dry bag and two helmets from the Verde NRCD. Helmets? Why? The helmets are for trees. If we attempt to run past a tree today, we're going to don the helmets just in case we misjudge the run and get tangled up in the tree. Most river strainers have a lot of broken, sharp, stubby branch remnants sticking out from their trunk. These things can wreck havoc with a human scalp!
Joshua Wheeler and John Parsons will once again be paddling partners. We've returned Max Castillo's old Garmin and will only be using the Garmin 60Csx. We're taking a back up digital camera in case our pocket model dies (as it almost did the first trip). We think we will have a much better rig set up for the canoe this time around. As anyone who runs rivers well knows, each trip rigging is slightly different than any other trip.
One of our goals on this trip is to obtain much better photo documentation of the Bignotti RAP. We will also spend some time scouting the best route from the parking lot to the river as well as the best landing spot. We will take some survey flagging to mark the route and beach. We might even take a couple of bow saws, pruners and loping shears to do some "trail maintenance."
We will be giving Joshua some pre-trip paddling lessons and additional safety instructions today. We might even engage in some pre-trip warm up stretching exercises and light calisthenics.
That's the plan, we'll see how it works.
Cheers, jp
February 3, 2011
Verde River RAPs
Almost all of these RAPs are public. Two are not actually public: The YAN RAP (YAN = Yavapai Apache Nation) and the I-17 RAP. This map was prepared for general perspective. We will soon attempt to estimate the distances between each RAP as well as the overall total distance of the project length from Bridgeport to Beasley. Click here for the interactive RAP Map.
Bridgeport to Bignotti Photos
Above is an album of 53 photos from the trip. It required A Flash player to work. If it doesn't load, click here to see the album photos one-by-one.
February 1, 2011
Three Cheers for The US NRCS
On January 21, we participated in the Verde NRCD "Wine Tour" to discuss various conservation programs with local vineyard managers. Three of the participants were US NRCS Staff from Flagstaff and Phoenix. We discussed our Garmin to GIS issues with Dino DeSimone. He pointed us to a computer program from the Minnesota DNR. Inititally, we misunderstood and thought we needed to have a GIS progam installed to be able to use the DNR program. Today, we learned otherwise. Dino explained that the purpose of the DNR program was simply to extract and convert Garmin GPS data into GIS-compatible format(s).
We then downloaded and installed the program and were easily able to put the Garmin data into GIS file formats. We emailed the files to Dino at the US NRCS Phoenix State Office. He was quickly and easily able to load the data onto a photo-ortho GIS map shown above. He emailed back the JPG as a 5 meg file. We reduced it to a 118KB file for this blog post. We also did a clip of the large file to shown enlarged details (below). It is a 91KB file.
We called Chip Norton twice to excitedly pass along the good news. This is a huge breakthrough--not only for this project but for all sorts of future volunteer efforts on behalf of FOVRG and its sister organizations as well. This is one of the more exciting days we've ever enjoyed with regards to making useful and effective strides forward in technology usage!
That's why we've entitled this blog post "Three Cheers for the US NRCS" and especially Dino DeSimone. The NRCS Staff is always so helpful and a delight to work with. They have always been "there" to help their partners, associates and those involved in the field of natural resources conservation. THANK YOU, DINO, and THANK YOU NRCS!!!!!!
January 30, 2011
Bridgeport to Bignotti Google Map
We recorded 14 waypoints. Three were near the put-in and two at the takeout so there are 9 points of interest within this total stretch. There were two portages. A screen shot of the actual Garmin track map is below. Once again, we are not embedding this map as it wrecks havoc with older computers. However, you can click here to see it if your computer can handle it.
There are quite a few interesting things to note on the track map. First is how the actual track deviates from the mapped river channel. Also note that the actual satellite photo of the map shows a much more accurate location of the river channel than the plain vanilla map does. Second, locate the area of the total channel blockage and see how we walked hither and yon scouting this area. It was a puzzling and perplexing piece of river!
The Garmin data can also be placed into Google Earth. One can then "fly" the river at any altitude to get a much better 3-D visual concept of the area. The project goal is to put the data into GIS format to produce a PDF that can be downloaded and printed. These maps are for "interim working purposes." We hope that both the Google Map and the GIS formats can be used simultaneously. It is much quicker and easier to amend and annotate a Google Map than a GIS map--at least within the context of this project. Actual river users would be able to email in comments about current conditions that could be quickly edited into the online maps.
January 29, 2011
Bridgeport to Bignotti
January 28, 2011
First Field Work
Here are the conditions for the first day of field work on the guide project. The water is very low--84 cfs at Verde-Clarkdale. The mean for this day is 251 and the 1967 lowest all time flow on this date was 74 cfs.
Temperatures are expected to peak in the mid-60's under mostly sunny skies and calm conditions.
We plan to paddle from the VRG Bridgeport RAP on river right upstream from the Hwy 89A bridge to either the Forest Service Black Canyon or Bignotti RAP. We will scout the Bignotti road first to make sure it is suitable for a normal clearance vehicle today.
The plan will be to meet Joshua Wheeler at the Wal-Mart parking lot in late morning, perhaps around 11 am. Susun McCulla will be the shuttle driver and will remain in cell phone contact nearby during the trip.
Electronic gear carried will be: a Garmin 60Csx GPS, a Garmin Etrex GPS, a Samsung Digimax S500 digital camera, and RCA VR5320R digital voice recorder and a T-Mobile cell phone.
Our prior field experiences in river guide data collection has shown written notes to be ineffective. Therefore, no writing materials will be carried. All field notes will be taken by the digital voice recorder and uploaded as MP3 files to the computer.
The Canoe
Our first choice for a canoe with which to conduct the field work was an Old Town Discovery. This was the canoe we used for the 2007 field work on the Verde Paddle Guide between Tuzigoot and Bridgeport. Three people made inquiries "high and low" hither and yon around the Verde Valley and could not locate the canoe. It simply disappeared.
Luckily, AZSP loaned us a Mad River Explorer 14 foot boat. This canoe is no longer sold by Mad River but its specs are still shown on the Mad River website. You can click here to see them.
The Explorer is what we like to call a "compromise boat." It's not a whitewater canoe, per se, and it's probably not your best choice for paddling a wide open large lake or reservoir. Mad River says it's well suited to "confined" waterways. That pretty much describes the Verde River.
The boat is very heavy, weighing in at 72 pounds! There are two real good things about the boat--its hull material and length. It should turn OK and the hull will take a major beating on the rock-studded river bottom.
Kudos to FOVRG
The Friends of the Verde River Greenway (FOVRG) is the lead organization in the Verde River Guide Project. Chairman Chip Norton is providing full support for the project. He has shown great personal interest in the project and gone the extra mile in obtaining a GPS unit and eventual GIS mapping support. You can click here to visit FOVRG's website. THANKS, Chip & FOVRG, we're proud of you!
Thanks to Arizona State Parks Staff
Many thanks are due to Arizona State Parks Staff at Cottonwood's Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Ranger Max Castillo has been a stanch and dedicated "Friend of The Verde" for many decades. He goes far above and beyond the call of duty to support volunteer and civic efforts on behalf of the river. Max unhesitatingly loaned one of his pet Garmin GPS units to help collect data for this project.
On January 27th, Dead Horse Manager George Christenson and Volunteer Coordinator/Ranger Eric Buzonas responded immediately to a request to borrow a canoe to begin field work. We are so thankful for their support and efforts.
It is a pleasure to visit and work with the dedicated Staff at Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Thanks, guys, we sure appreciate you!
Verde River Guide Blog Created
This blog was created by John Parsons at 7 am, January 28, 2011, in Rimrock, Arizona. The purpose of this blog is to have a place to post various activities processes regarding the creation of a recreational guide for paddlers on teh Verde River between Bridgeport and Beasley Flats.
The first field work on this guide will begin today between Bridgeport and the Bignotti RAP.
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