Written by Foster Mellott, Wild Stew Field Crew Member.
They say the sea changes a person, which is why we decided to float down the Verde River instead. For this hitch, Joe, Eric, Rebekah and I loaded up on inflatable kayaks along with the U.S. Forest Service river crew and floated down seventeen miles of the Verde River, eliminating invasive Tamarisk and Arundo plants.
We started our voyage at the Beasley Flats boat launch. Our trip involved us bumping camp almost every day and facing up to class 3 rapids. Jesse, Brian and Becca from the Forest Service taught us how to use our kayaks, showed us the best way to tackle the rapids and made sure none of us died on the trip. They were the best leaders we could ask for, showing us more of the ecosystem of the Verde River, making nice fires for us and telling us stories of past rafting trips.
Our hitch was not just for paddling. We knocked out four stands of Arundo and many Tamarisk trees. Despite the long travel times each day, we were able to treat 3,792 Arundo stems and 270 Tamarisk. We were all stoked to both see the Verde River and help improve its overall health and biodiversity.
We ended our hitch at the Childs boat launch and we all had a well deserved dip in the hot springs. By the of the week, all four of us were much more confident on our kayaks and hope to go back and do it again.
