 One of the most remarkable monuments in the United States and a great engineering achievement in human history, Hoover Dam, the largest dam in the world at the time of its completion in 1935, a massive dam on the Arizona Nevada border built to tame the Colorado River and provide water and hydroelectric power for the developing Southwest, enough water to irrigate 2 million acres and enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes, fueling the development of major cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix. What a lot of people don't know is that at the base of Hoover Dam is a hidden gem that not many know about, Black Canyon National Trail, not your typical hiking trail, this is a water trail. The first in the Southwest and the first to flow through a desert, yet another example that life thrives in the middle of the driest lands. This water trail opens the opportunity for an incredible off-the-beaten path adventure that I'm very excited to take you on in this episode. We're departing on a two-day adventure kayaking 12 miles of the Black Canyon National Trail from the base of Hoover Dam to Willow Beach, exploring caves, hiking trails, hot springs, rich wildlife, from desert bighorn sheep to bald eagles, this is an adventure of a lifetime. The importance of Hoover Dam makes the security around it pretty high with many checkpoints. In order to launch from the base of Hoover Dam, you have to go through a registered company to transport you to the base of Hoover Dam and help you launch your boat, whether that's a kayak, a canoe or a raft. We chose to go with Desert Adventures, we met the company near Hoover Dam Lodge where we had an orientation about what to expect on this journey and safety rules that we should follow on the river. We then started packing and getting ready to make our way to the base of Hoover Dam. You can choose between a guided adventure where you join a group with a guide or a self-guided tour where you bring your own kayak or rent it from the company, grab a map and adventure on your own and that's exactly what we are doing today. We got all of the boats ready here, all we have to do right now is load them, make sure that our duffel bags and everything goes in and we should be good to go. Being able to experience the magnitude of Hoover Dam from the base of it is in itself a great sight. There are many interesting points along the water trail, our first stop and only 20 minutes after we launch is Sona Cave. That's Hoover Dam right behind me and this is the first stop after launching, we're going to check Sona Cave. Sona Cave is a 50-foot tunnel that was drilled during the construction of Hoover Dam, when they encountered the water's intense heat, they abandoned this site. Now you can enter the cave and it contains mineral-rich spring water that becomes warmer as the tunnel becomes deeper, the temperature inside can get up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. It's so unique. Making a quick stop here is absolutely worth it. We then stopped at Gold Strike Canyon, this canyon is full of wonders, a short walk from the river's edge leads to several warm spring-fed pools where you can soak and take in the beauty of the canyon walls. This is one of many hot springs along the river. It's just like a little wafers, there's even a palm tree. There are trail markers with numbers on the water trail that makes following your map and finding points of interest pretty easy, but there are also many cool unnamed spots that you can come across like this cave right here. Check that out, a lot of spring, wow. It feels like time is still, you don't move and you're just floating, it's amazing. Next stop is Arizona hot springs. This is a pretty popular spot filled with treasures accessible not only from the water but also from a hiking trail from Nevada side. This is where we are camping for the night. Mending the night here means that we packed our tents, sleeping bags, clothes and provisions in our kayaks and this is what it looked like. Sleeping bag, bedroom, another bedroom, another sleeping bag, pillows, pillow, pillow, and tent. How was it? It was refreshing. This is of heaven, Alex is old, let's go check the beach, isn't that pretty? It's a secret beach down here. Like the shade, I like the isolation, there's a good spot to jump off the rocks over there which seems really cool. So if you start in the bathrooms, come from where those ladies are, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, up a little bit of that little like water runoff there and then cut across, you'll see the sandy area and if you come look at the sandy area, oh, this is the place you want to go because nobody's camping here, it's a little walk, but I'm sure you could actually get here a little bit differently once you figure out where it is. But look at this, there's a little campground here, pretty good and look at this though, just a few right down the river the whole way, it's pretty good, pretty good, I would say aim for here, got a fire pit and everything, hot diggity daffodil. Here we are, going back, finally the sun started going down and I feel like I'm regaining my energy because with the heat, I was not able to film much, but I want to show you the campsite where we're spending the night, so that's the beach in front of me, Arizona hot springs beach and then what we did because the level of water goes up until the limit over there with the rock, so we dragged our kayaks all the way up here next to where we're going to be spending the night and then you can see that there are fire pits or fire rings right here that you can use for fire and then we've got the tent over there, it's a nice spot with the rocks just kind of keeping the wind away, we've got our chairs filtering some water over there and then right behind Arizona hot springs beach is the only location that has restrooms and so if you have to use the restrooms outside of this area we will have to use a wag bag, so the restrooms are right there, so nothing fancy but it's better than nothing you know, there's another campspa over there and as you can see there are a bunch of other tents over there, we did go on a short hike all the way up and then we found some very nice campsites but we were already all set here so it was not worth going up there again with the sun going down and the camp getting quieter it's time to prepare some food. There you go my love, tell us what you're making. Tomatoes and ground beef, it's already seasoned and everything and then I'm gonna go and add in some salt, pepper and olive oil, it's gonna be delicious. This is good for right now, it's very well cooked and then Alex built us this little table for the pan, so that is going to be, isn't that cute? That's going to be a dinner table! Yeah and then we'll just munch here right? Yeah, we'll just eat here and sit around this and eat just straight from the pan because we don't have any plates, we do however have cups we could use them but I think nothing beats easy straight from the pan. Good morning! Good morning! It's nice and early and we're going to check the Arizona hot springs before it starts getting warm. Arizona hot springs are one of the reasons why this camping site is popular and salt after. You get direct access to one of the best hot springs in Arizona, a group of three geothermal springs that you can access either from the river just like we did or from a hiking trail on the Nevada side. This is a must-see if you are in the area. But before you soak in these hot springs you should be aware of risks of naglaria, an amoeba common to thermal pools that can enter your body through your nose causing an infection that can be fatal. It's usually found in warm aquatic environments and the rule is to not snort water from these hot springs and to avoid dunking your head. But don't you worry chances of getting naglaria are one in 20 million, very slim but it's still worth knowing about. With that out of the way let's enjoy these beautiful hot springs. This source right there, it's cooking. We're gonna start making our way out of here. Alright here we go, doing the water park Here are some of the campgrounds in the beach here. I've got a firing or fire pit, more tents, stuff. A beautiful way to start your morning soaking in the hot springs, some adrenaline rush climbing the ladder up and down, taking in the beauty of the canyon walls. Now it's time for some very well-deserved coffee. With breakfast and shower out of the way it's time to bring our kayaks back to the water to continue our adventure on the Black Canyon National Water Trail. Today we kayak from Arizona Hot Springs Beach to Willow Beach. Our day is filled with unexpected surprises so keep on watching. And she's off. There is Alex, he is rowing. There we go, off we go. La la la, beautiful day. Weep in springs, cove. Yeah, let's go there. R.E.I, shout out to the coolers. Not cheap but they're worth it to be honest with you. So Alex is right there, he's gonna try to jump. I don't know if you can hear the birds chirping but just sitting here with this clear water, looking at that wall with the water, the reflection, it's so very therapeutic, very romantic. I just I can spend the whole day just staring at the wall and listening to the birds. Very beautiful. Coming in hot. There are a few beaches along the way where you can stop to take a break. Even with the water being cold you are still exposed under the sun the entire time. It's important to keep yourself hydrated by drinking enough water, to keep yourself nourished by taking snacks with you, to cover your head with a hat, preferably long sleeves to avoid any sunburn and to reapply sunscreen whenever you can. Our next stop is the popular Emerald Cave, a spectacular natural cave with spectacular clear green waters. This spot is usually busy because a lot of people paddle or kayak to get here as a half-day trip from Willow Beach. You can see that there's a line forming over there just so that everyone can go and enjoy the cave. There it is. Emerald Cave. Wow. There is Alex in the Emerald Cave. I'm rich. I found some animals. Upgrade my weapons. As we continued our way down the river we decided to anchor our kayaks to a tree and seek an adventure of a different kind. The rail is hot. With the heat and exhaustion catching up to me this was not as fun as I had hoped. Get off the... it's not even strong wood. Do I do this? How you doing baby? Feeling a little bit dizzy. What does it say? Good morning. These wooden planks and steel posts forming the catwalk before you are almost 50 years old. They may not be able to support a person's weight. The catwalk was constructed to allow a rivergager to pass along the cliff from his home a quarter mile south to the steel cable crossing the river. The cable car over the river allowed him to cross the turbulent waters to the steel structure on the opposite cliff where he was able to measure the river's depth and velocity. So to be fair they're not saying don't go up there but at the same time we saw some people there earlier. There is a chain that's blocking the whole thing. We could be cavalier. I don't want to be cavalier if the sign says no. There's a quick way down and there's a slow way down. All right this is how I'm rocking. Traverses the top of the rock way. So down there represents safety. This right here is Habiba. Habiba is excited. Ready to do this? I'm taking it this way. A little bit of broken looking wood there. With that safety has been achieved. Though we do have to go down to the water again. Pretty cool. Those birds are stealing our boat. You're taking our boat? No bird passing. All right baby how'd you do? That was indeed not the best idea but a memorable adventure nonetheless. That's the old catwalk and cable cars. You see the trail going on the side? That's where we stopped. We're getting very close to 6 p.m. that is the time that they are picking us from Willow Beach Marina but on our way and actually that's where we are right now. Alex behind me just saw a bald eagle. That was I feel like the cherry on top of the whole adventure today so we took some very nice photos of the bald eagle here. It's very common to find some of them nesting here in the canyon so keep an eye out. Probably a good thing to have is binoculars or zoom lens if you think it's going to be protected. I have to mention this. Life vests are mandatory when you are in the water. Every time you are in the water and obviously in your boat you have to be wearing life vests. Otherwise you can be fined $150. That's something the outfitter told us. Right behind me I can hear it is the ranger. He's just checking to make sure that everyone is wearing a life vest and he was just talking to a couple of people to make sure that they are safe so it's very important out here. Make sure that you have your life vest on at all times especially in the water and in your boat. That was really fun. So we're coming close to Willow Beach I believe. It's down there where the bridge is. You can just see the parking lot. That's where we're going to be picked up. It's awesome. Do it. Yeah definitely do it. Do it. It's really worth it and it's not you know it's not something that a lot of people do here in the southwest. It's I would say off the beaten path to some extent. Sure I mean there's plenty of people out here don't get me wrong. Yeah it definitely be an experience to tell your friends about. Yep and then go and do an overnight and then maybe two nights if you have the time. I will definitely have more videos in which I'm going to talk about pack lists and things that you should do things that you shouldn't do and just some logistics to hopefully help you with this adventure. If you decide to go on it and then other than that thank you guys for watching. If you found this video to be useful give it a thumbs up and subscribe. Subscribe. We are Habiba and Alex and we are Tracking Pals. Tracking Pals.