Jrock and I put our kayaks in at Acacia Picnic site on Canyon Lake at around 7:30 am. It was warm, and traffic on the lake was already crazy. We ended up paddling across the lake, and made a quick stop to extend the steering pedals a little bit.
We paddled from the main pool of the lake into the narrow canyon that snakes for several miles up to Horse Mesa Dam (Apache Lake). The tall, sheer cliffs are an amazing sight. They make you feel really small, especially sitting in a kayak. Just past Mushroom Point, we made another little pit stop, so Jrock could stretch his legs out. From there we continued on the south side of the narrow lake up to the inlet before Crucifix Canyon. This was a pretty kewl short canyon with green and clean water. Two mallards were hanging out at the end.
From here, we decided, it was getting much to hot and crazy out on the lake, so we decided to head on back. But not before stopping off at Beer Can Point for little lunch and to wade in the lake to cool off. This site has covered picnic tables and fire pits, along with an outhouse.
Our return home was less than serene, as the traffic on the lake had significantly picked up. I’m really glad there was no wind, cuz the chop was bad enough already.
Jrock and I battled our way across the lake, as we dodged tons of jet ski’s and speedboats. We got back to the car around 11:30, and at that point the parking lot was screaming hot, and crowded with picnickers.
I gotta say, this is a really kewl lake, but this is the last time I head up there on hot day on the weekend.
