Paddling Abiquiu Lake

Both days we have been here, the wind has picked up in the afternoon and the lake has been really rough. We were on the water by 8:30 to try to get to where we wanted to go and back before the winds picked up. We figured we could hug the north shore where the wind comes from to be out of the worst of it if the wind became a problem. It was fairly windy with the wind in our faces when we made the three mile crossing to the other side of the lake. Ted had talked to a guy at Navaho Lake who told him that if we paddled the six miles to where the Chama River (Rio Chama) and the Puerco River (Rio Puerco) meet there was an area of red rock formations and hoodoos. With compass and map in hand, we set out to look for this area.

Early Morning Shadows

A Long Crossing

Quite A Walk From Our Parked Car

Graffiti - Stone On Clay

Fairly Rough Water But No Whitecaps

Finally The Other Side - This Landmark Can Be Seen In Most Places

The main part of the lake is large and open. We literally saw thousands of birds, mostly coots but also grebes, Canada geese and some other kind of duck that we couldn't identify. Normally, we are so careful to paddle around rafts of birds so as to not scare them into flying.  Here we had no opportunity as they were strung out all across the lake and there was no way through without disturbing at least a few of them. As we were watching the birds, Ted noticed an animal on the shore. It was a coyote pacing back and forth looking like he wanted one of the birds for lunch. Eventually he drank from the lake and wandered back into the bushes.

Coot City

More Coots And Geese Too

About halfway into our journey, we turned into the Chama River which was much narrower and quite calm although with a slight current against us. The several hundred foot cliffs on our left were covered with juniper and sage and there were a few adobe homes scattered on the top to the hillside. A few had steep, winding roads leading down to the water and there were a couple of sailboats anchored in coves.

Ted Looks Pretty Small

Calm Water

Beautiful Cliffs

Difficult To Stop Taking Pictures

Like A Kaleidoscope

One From Ted's View

The cliffs on our right were at least twice as tall as the ones on our left and were much more rocky. They had striped layers of rocks which were dull colors of grays and browns. It was not until we had traveled about five miles that we started seeing the bright red rocks. The water was so calm that the reflections of the hills in the water made them look twice as spectacular. As we got closer, we could see the rocky towers of the hoodoos with their harder rock crowns.

Two Narrow Stone Capped Hoodoos

More Hoodoos

And Another

One More View

We thought we would paddle up the Puerco River but the water was so low that we were soon paddling red mud. We paddled behind the island that is at the confluence and got out to eat some lunch and stretch our legs. The mud was thick and soupy and stuck to the bottom of our shoes like glue. We thought we had rinsed our feet well before putting them back in our boats but our foot pegs were filled with the red clay when we returned home and the bottom floor of our boats were red with dried red sand.

The Muddy Puerco River

Island At The Confluence

How Tall The Cliffs Are

Great Lunch Spot

Red Mud Resting Place

Thick Red Soup

More Hoodoos Across The Chama River

Heading Back Out

The Adobe Homes Blend In 

More Canada Geese Hiding In The Red Weeds

As often happens, the wind was in our faces on the way back but luckily no where near as strong as the previous two days. We would have added miles to our trip to hug the northern shore so it was a blessing to be able to paddle across the middle of the lake. For a Sunday, there were very few power boats so not many waves to maneuver. As it was, we paddled between thirteen and fourteen miles and were very tired when we got back. Easy nachos for dinner and then Ted was fast asleep on the couch. I sat in the chair reading and managed to stay up until eight.