We had only one other person from the club show up for our day of tubing the Salt River. So in total there was Tom and me, our sons Jason and Jon and their friends and Robert Bonne, We proceeded to  get our needed inner tubes.  We had to get an extra as the tube we use for our water cooler deflated by the time we drove from home to the Salt River Recreation parking lot! 

After waiting for Tom and Robert to shuttle our truck to stop number 2, we boarded the bus and headed to the first bus stop.  Once we were let off the bus, it was a quick trek down the path to the river where we found the shore busy with tubers arranging coolers, towels, and themselves for launch! We tied the much-needed old sheets around the tubes and launched our mini-crafts into the swiftly moving current.  After about a 1/8 mile, things began to settle down and we began to relax, taking in some of the wonderful mountain scenery. 

As we neared the river fork, we decided to head to the left. For the most part, we found the left forks of the river to be the ones to take if you like to ride the rapids.  We had broken one of our rules about tying tubes together and we ended up getting a rope caught around a large rock and had to work really hard to break free. 

As we came out of the rapids of the river fork, the river widens and the rocky beach is filled with trucks, waders and boom boxes crowded along the shore.  We headed to the beach ourselves just past the bridge.  After “docking” our watercraft, we headed to the truck and got our lunches and cold drinks.  We enjoyed lunch watching other tubers drift by. 

Back on the river, we passed through some small rapids as the river started to slow and widen a little.  Now it was time to relax and enjoy the scenery. The only wildlife I saw along the trip were some hawks and a few jumping fish! 

As we neared the cliffs we could hear people give encouragement to the jumpers.  Some more small rapids, another fork in the river, and large boulders to avoid crashing into and soon we were slowing at stop number 5 – our getting out point.  It was 3:00 and time to drain the water from the sheets, climb the banks to the bus stop, wait for our bus and endure the hot and cramped ride back to the parking lot. 

But our adventure was not over yet.  As we attempted to get our cooler out of the bus, it broke into tiny little pieces, leaving ice, sodas, and the open Pringles can to be scattered across the floor of the bus!  We quickly put our wet dirty sheets to use to pick up all of our “belongings” and soon we were in our trucks and saying goodby to the Salt River until our next adventure! 

The above listed trip reports--documenting day hikes, backpacking trips, and car camping trips organized and arranged by the Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club, Inc.--are meant to be more of a record of the various events performed by the hiking club and are not meant to be the only guide for anyone else wishing to do the same hike or backpacking trip. Instead, they should only be used as a supplemental to an official guidebook that addresses that specific hike or backpacking trip. Natural changes (floods, fires, windstorms, etc.) can occur and change and alter the landscape. The Forest Service sometimes changes the routing of a trail. Trail junction signs can be removed or altered. For these reasons, the hiking club's trip reports and even the official guidebooks may no longer be totally accurate in describing the trail and its layout. There is always the possibility, however remote, of a hiker sustaining harm or injury while on any hike, no matter how safe it may initially seem. The Arizona Trailblazer's Hiking Club, Inc., as well as any of its officers, directors, representatives, and designated hike leaders, disclaims any liability or responsibility for accidents, injuries, damages, or losses whatsoever that may occur to anyone using the trip reports that are available on our website. The responsibility for good health and safety while hiking, backpacking, or camping, ultimately rests with the individual.