Take your paddling skills to another level! Develop effective paddling stokes and travel to the bottom of the Hoover Dam. During Fall holiday weekend, we will paddle 10 miles up the Colorado River, where the valley turns to canyon with towering walls and side canyons to explore. At times, paddling may be very strenuous, but a soak in the hot springs afterwards makes the effort very rewarding. Camp out under the stars, relax in sauna cave, and sit in awe as you view the Hoover Dam from a new perspective!

Itinerary

Day 1: Our van will depart campus at 1pm on Thursday and arrive at Willow Beach Campground on the bank of the Colorado River at 10pm. We will stop along the way for for dinner, gas and restrooms as needed. Once we arrive at the campgroud it will be time to set up tents (or sleep out under the stars) so that we can get an early start on the river the next day.

Day 2: Friday morning we will wake up with the sunrise, eat breakfast and pack up camp to depart Willow Beach for our paddle up river. Before launching, the guides will prepare you with everything you need to know about canoeing, including water safety and effective paddling strokes. Once our canoes are loaded, we will journey about seven miles up river toward our campsite near Arizona Hot Springs. We will stop for lunch along the way enjoying the many scenic views. Once we arrive at camp, we will unload all the gear from our canoes and prepare dinner together.

Day 3: Once again we will wake early, enjoy a hearty breakfast and continue paddling up river three more miles to enjoy several hot springs. If the current is not too strong, we will stop for photos below the Hoover Dam. After exploring some of the many side canyons we will return to our campsite from the previous night.

Day 4: We have another big day ahead of us today. We will wake early and pack up camp loading our gear back into the canoes. We will paddle down river back to the launch site at Willow Beach before lunch. We will load back into the van and start our drive back to USD stopping along the way for food, fuel and restrooms, retuning to campus by 9pm.

Dates

October 18- 21, 2012.
We will depart USD by 1pm on the 18th and return to USD by 9pm.

Cost

$275 and includes transportation, canoeing equipment, camping equipment, campsite fee, meals while camping and guides. Meals while traveling to/from Black Canyon are not included.

There are options to take this recreation class for credit (.5) or non-credit. FOR-CREDIT registration is currently available through your MySanDiego account. EDRC 166-02 is the course number.

Contact Mark Ceder for more information.