Troop 301 Colorado River Trek
Day 1 – November 26 Some of us left Scripps Ranch at 7am, some left in the afternoon, and some left at 9pm.
Road trip highlights: We were overjoyed to find gas for $1.84 at Victorville Costco. We were entertained by Matilda at the Needles Carl’s Jr who couldn’t find the boys sitting on the patio and circled inside Carl’s Jr before giving up. She loudly offered Brian ketchup not once but twice, leading to many Matilda and ketchup jokes all week.
The early group arrived at Park Moabi by 1pm, set up tents, and went out to do a little community service. The rangers had saved some weed trimming for us. (Nothing like driving 5 hrs to the Colorado River, set up camp for an hour, enjoy the river view for 1 minute, and then pulling weeds for 1.5 hrs.) We were going to work longer, but the boys had blisters after an hour and it just didn’t seem like a good way to start a canoe trip. We headed back to our camp.
Our Park Moabi campsite was on the edge of a side-bay, not along the River itself. But after some dares, a few boys were coaxed to jump in the bay. Vivek jumped in the bay, followed soon by Shane. Very cold and smelling like ducks, they quickly jumped out and hit the showers soon after. We cooked dinner around 5pm, and it was dark and cold by 5:15.
The boys goofed off in camp for a few hours before climbing into their tents. Ms. Mosely and Ms. Stachwick taught each other various forms of Gin Rummy.
Day 2 – By 8am, we had packed up camp and drove our gear about 200 yds to the Jerkwater Canoe & Kayak Company very fancy fenced-in yard. Dario, Barb, and the Aylwins met us there.
In about 5 minutes, we unloaded the cars, put all the gear onto the canoe racks, and jumped in their 15 passenger van. We had a lively hourlong drive across the River into Arizona and North to Bullhead City. We unloaded and launched at the Rotary Park in Bullhead City around 9am. It was a beautiful and sunny day, destined to hit 70 degrees. We had a brief safety review from Jerkwater Driver Steve and then he left us. No choice but to launch our canoes.
We noted that the current was quick when we launched, but quickly slowed to an estimated 1-2 miles per hour. More paddling for us! About every hour or so, we took a beach break for snacks and relaxation. There was hardly anyone else on the river. We did pass a lot of interesting beachfront homes, all designed for maximum partying.
By about 2 or 3pm, we crossed under the Needles Bridges and pulled into the sandy beach and grassy lawn of the Needles Marina RV Park. We got some interesting looks from the retired RV snowbirds.
We had paddled 20 miles in our first day, not a bad accomplishment! We quickly set up camp, made dinners, and the boys found ways to have fun. The best thing about the RV park was the nice grassy lawn and the 3 picnic tables where we cooked, played cards, played Frisbee or football, and the boys chased each other around. The showers were pretty nice too.
The worst part was the sprinklers that come on at 4AM and soaked all our cook gear, lanterns, etc. Thanks to Mr. Aylwin’s early morning walk, he quickly moved most of our gear out from the massive sprinkler blast. And fortunately, we had set up our tents in the gravelly RV parking spots. Not pretty, but very dry!
Day 3 – Although the adults were not in a hurry, the older boys were in a big hurry to break camp and hit the water. We packed up tents and gear back into our canoes and were on the water around 8am. We had only 12 miles to go, but the boys were in a hurry to get back to Park Moabi. The park store had ice cream and other treats.
This is the easy/boring part of the River trip. The shoreline was mostly brush, with an occasional beach or group of houses or RV parks. We paddled and passed the time by counting tires under water. At one point, an ultra-light plane swooped down the river, passing about 40 feet from us.
We stopped at Avocet Beach to play, rest, eat, chase, throw mudballs, etc. Brian, Tim, David, Vivek, Keith, Troy, Shane, Grant, and Dario all chased each other up and down the beach for long while. Clifford tried to be in the middle of it all. A few more Scouts ducked in the River briefly, Troy, Keith, and Mrs. Stachwick found out just how cold the water was. Ms. Mosely found interesting tracks for local rodents and birds. Mr. Aylwin worked on napping.
We returned to Park Moabi with a slight headwind for the last 300 yards, which made us really glad we didn’t have much wind all week. More cooking, card games, etc. With so much time/energy on our hands after dinner, we took a short night hike, no lanterns, just a few headlights.
We hiked from our tent area, past the Jerkwater lot, down the camproad to the “peninsulaâ€, then out to one of the vacant RV sites, took a quick look at the river, and walked back to camp. There was some light-hearted complaining that we were not all carrying all the essentials, but since we never left the earshot of an RV, it seemed fairly safe. After an hour, we were safely back in our camp.
Day 4 – This is probably the best day of the trip, best scenery, not so much gear. We just pack up our daytime gear, some lunch supplies, and get in our canoes. We leave our tents since we planned to stay 1 more night, then drive home in the morning.
We were on the water just after 7am. Not much current, and a little cloudy. After about 20-30 minutes we pass under the train bridges that mark the entrance to Topock Gorge National Wildlife Refuge. No buildings, just mountains, scrub brush, reeds, ducks, birds, wind arches, and cactus.
It was so spooky quiet that the boys started banging out some drum beats with their paddles like an old hunting party. We paddled over 17 miles that day. We took a few side trails through the shallow waters.
Around 10:30 we reached the Petroglyphs at mile 226 of the River. We had an early lunch, climbed on the rocks, took photos, and checked out the Petroglyphs scratched on the rock wall just about 100 feet from the beach. We were making good time, about 1 hour ahead of schedule. Mrs. Mosely called Jerkwater and asked them to pick us up at Castle Rock at 1:30 and serve dinner by 4pm. The Jerkwater crew was happy to oblige.
We pushed off and were treated to a light bit of rain for about 30 minutes. Everyone put on ponchos and we kept paddling. Some distant thunder for a few minutes, but no lighting. We stopped at a large sand bar that is in the middle of the river, for more splashing, chasing, and goofing off. Clifford joyfully outran all the boys and all efforts to catch him. Then we were off on the last leg of the trip.
We took a few side trails through the shallow waters. Some of the canoes got stuck and the boys had to step out in the mud to drag their canoes back into at least 12†of water. Some boys seemed to have a knack for getting stuck. During the section where we went in the shallows, Carlos spotted a wild pig. It scurried off into the brush, then we all spotted a second one on the other bank. Everyone who saw the pigs got very quiet, floating only with the current in the river. We watched as one of the pigs was feeding at the edge of the river.
Finally, we turned left into Castle Rock Bay, paddled across the bay, hit the beach, and started lugging our gear to our waiting van driver. This is where the boys learned just HOW FAR we have to carry our canoes, paddles, and gear: about 150 yds down a narrow trail. Everyone pitched in to carry and we had it all up to the van in about 20 minutes.
It was a tired van ride back to Park Moabi. Still there was a lot of joking around. Dr. Laura was ready to plan the next trip. David and Vivek argued about whether van’s dash display of 1053 was the time or the radio station. After a few minutes, it was settled. Since we had finished early and rain was threatening to increase that night, we elected to drive home rather than stay another night. We packed up camp and Jerkwater Crew had our dinner ready, steak, chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, salad, and garlic bread.
Good stuff!!!
All in all, a very successful trip. Well-planned and well-executed. The Scouts should be very proud.