Canoeing Blue Ridge Reservoir

To order a print of this photograph, see inside front cover.

The Zen of the Paddle

A red canoe and a Rim Country lake make the day a work of art Imagine a Zen painting in progress. Instead of a paintbrush, the artist holds a wooden paddle. The inkwell is a reservoir filled with water. The pigment is sunlight. The idea is a red canoe. The hands that hold the paddle dip it into the reservoir and pull the red canoe across the water like a line drawn-on parchment. With each stroke, glistening balls of light fall from the hickory blade. Another line, and another, slowly, rhythmically, as the red canoe glides away from the boat ramp on the C.C. Cragin Reservoir, headed east toward the dam.

10.01.05 blue ridge reservoir

A canoe is the best craft for such waters. Although boats with motors or engines less than 8 horsepower are permitted, the rattle and roar of such devices draw faster, wider lines, more graffito than Zen brushstrokes. For those who prefer to wear their vessel like a girdle, kayaks suffice, but there is little dignity in donning one.

Half an hour passes and the red canoe slides past the dam. The Phelps Dodge Corp. built the concrete arch dam on East Clear Creek in 1963. Standing 160 feet high and 14 feet thick at its base, the dam created a 15,000-acre-foot reservoir that provides water the mining company pumps into the East Verde River to compensate for water it draws from the Black River for its Morenci copper mine. The Salt River Project took control of the reservoir in 2005 and changed the name from the Blue Ridge Reservoir to the C.C. Cragin Reservoir, after an SRP engineer. But now, there is more paddling to do, picking through the logs and smaller driftwood that have accumulated near the dam. The red canoe nudges through the clutter of logs on which plants have taken root to bloom as if their roots clutched loam in a flowerpot.

The reservoir is a wishbone with both forks pointed west, with the dam where a child would hold it while making a wish for a red canoe. The width varies as the red canoe swings south. Where it widens, the wind abides and soaring birds look for fish. A single paddler must store gear forward to keep the bow trimmed and avoid the labor of keeping a high bow into wind. The wind stays in the treetops once the spruceand pine-covered walls of the canyon close in.

for a red canoe. The width varies as the red canoe swings south. Where it widens, the wind abides and soaring birds look for fish. A single paddler must store gear forward to keep the bow trimmed and avoid the labor of keeping a high bow into wind. The wind stays in the treetops once the spruceand pine-covered walls of the canyon close in.

Now the Zen painting takes shape. The brushstrokes have steadied. The idea, the red canoe, aims for a clump of small aspens ahead. A million minnows meander. Is that an osprey overhead? There is no point in hurrying. A steady, patient stroke propels a red canoe about 1.5 miles per hour, which means an hour of steady paddling to the first good campsite. A stand of young aspens marks the spot.

The beach is comprised of granite slabs and gravel. A red canoe does well here. The scraping of the hull on gravel adds character to a red canoe. One of those beautifully crafted woodstrip canoes, replete with inlays and clear laminate, would meet a fate similar to that of a Number 2 pencil in the jaws of seventh grade boy flunking a math quiz. There are three good spots to pitch a tent here. And there is a hole off the point where a bait fisherman can grow bored catching trout off the bottom. So, this place is usually occupied.

The next good spot requires another 45 minutes of paddling, just past a 15foot-high granite wall on the right side of the reservoir. This is a good spot, with room for several tents and wide rocks at the water's edge perfect for fly-fishing. The water is deep, so most of what the trout eat falls onto the water, rather than rising up from the bottom. They eat in slow time, rising to swallow a cicada affixed to the surface by wet wings and bad luck, like they are nibbling grapes.

Camp here. Drink some water. Set up the tent. Maybe take a nap. Two hours of steady paddling have earned one. That is the wind in the trees, not traffic on the interstate. Yes, that was a trout jumping through the unconditioned air. The scent of dirt and pine are inseparable and sweet. Stars will spill from the night sky and eastbound airliners will wink well ahead of the low growl they drag behind them at 30,000 feet.

Beyond this particular day, it will be wonderful to recollect the pull of a paddle and the reflection of a red canoe drawn upon a reservoir.

when you go

Location: 65 miles south of Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest.

Getting There: From Phoenix, travel north on Interstate 17 for 130 miles to Exit 339. Travel south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Service Road 3) for 55 miles to Clint's Well. Turn left (northeast) onto State Route 87 and travel 4 miles to Forest Service Road 751 and turn right (south) driving 6 miles to the reservoir.

Travel Advisory: During the winter, FR 751 is closed and the reservoir is not accessible. All roads are paved except 751, which is gravel and suitable for passenger cars. The boat ramp is narrow, long and steep.

Additional Information: Happy Jack Information Center, (928) 477-2172; or Mogollon Rim Ranger District, (928) 477-2255, www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/ recreation/mog_rim/rec_mogollon.shtml.

flagstaff

flagstaff

Lush Canvas A snowcapped Agassiz Peak forms a backdrop for golden aspens and green conifers on a calm October 1 morning. Hikers enjoy this rich mantle as they amble along the moderate 5-mile Kachina Trail in Coconino National Forest. ELIAS BUTLER To order a print of this photograph, see inside front cover.