Salt River Treasure Hunting Dive

[Erich in Az]

I have always thought it would be fun to dive the river (I usually think this as I'm floating down it). I have donated various 'plunder' to the river gods (a set of keys, money, a number of full beers, etc) over the years. I was thinking the entrance at stop 5 (I think) would be a good place, as people drop a lot of stuff getting in, and near the exit would be good, because DRUNK people drop a lot getting out. The area has a LOT of current though, so perhaps downstream from the exit a little bit would a better place.

I should be getting off my arse and finally getting my open water cert at Lake Mohave in September, so this year might be out.

 

[reddana234]

hi! when is the next trip planned to treasure hunt the salt river, because i would love to go!

 

[azdivegirl]

The best time to go is memorial day thru labor day

 

[Jax]

PM the Phoenix guys to see what's up!

 

[Rich Keller]

Is it possible to snorkel/drift dive the river from where the tubers put in to where they take out? Looks to be about 6 miles. How fast is the water flowing? Other then deep holes along the way what is the average depth of the river? What is the water temperature around the end of July? What kind of visibility can I expect? About how long dose it take to drift the river in a tube?

 

[ffhamm]

Ill take a shot at this.... The river is between inches deep, and at least 40 feet in a few holes, probably deeper.

You could snorkel most of the way. Several of the rapids are only inches deep and you would grind your face off unless you got out, I consider this part of the adventure. I really wouldn't think snorkeling top to bottom would be much fun. It would probably get you messed with and maybe get you into a fight somehow during busy tubing times.

There are a lot of hazzard in the river. Junk, ropes, ass wholes tubing, and currents. You can get f'ed up and die.
Also Its fun.

Water speed varies alot depending on water depth and width. Float times vary alot depending on water flow. Pretty much nothing is constant Id guess 1000-2000 cfs flow rate and a float time on a tube from 2-4 hours.

Water comes from the bottom of Saguaro and is usually around 65-70 degress where you put in and it warms a little I think as it goes down stream. Last July downstream of the bridge I saw 72-74.

Visibility is not much. I've logged between 3 and 10 feet.

Before I thought about drifting the whole thing, I would go to salt river recreation with a cooler full of beverages, and a few friends, and tube it.

Then I'd probably do a few shore dives of some of the deeper areas and see what its all about.

THEN i'd make a decision about drifting the whole thing.

On second thought, forget everything I said. Here's the new plan...... It would be a fantastic idea to dive top to bottom. I recommend it to everyone. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Everyone tubing the river is sober and repectful and Im sure they would be happy to assist you however they can. The water is bathwater warm, and vis often exceeds 100 feet.

Thats pretty much all I have.

Any other questions? I'll try to help.

Jeff

 

[Rich Keller]

That is one of the longest winded versions of "NO" that I have seen. So where are the deep holes?

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A=The fall. Getting there- It's too late. Move to the side, get out of the water and go back by a short walk. The fall includes dozens of Catfish, but you can't stay there that long, so you can see it for seconds. btw, the vis there is great.

B=Current to the other direction, and sometimes nothing. The Junkyard is there.

C=The last place photographers can use for shuts before the fall, but it needs to work with the feet in order not to drift to the fall.

Is this the location you were diving?

For some reason the picture did not come out. On Google Earth it is listed as Blue Point Picnic Area.

 

[ffhamm]

Not no..... just not recommended.

I have dove this area from your photos. Location A usually picks up quite a bit of stuff.. Also some other parts of that same area, but up river a short distance are good.

There are many other places on the river that work out pretty well, but since they closed the area to off-road traffic, access is not easy like it used to be.

Pretty sure the deepest hole in the area that the photo is from is upstream 50 yards or so, and its probably about mid 20 ft to possibly 30. Its about where the big rock sticks out on the north side of the river and the water has dug out around it. The muck at the bottom is pretty deep in that area too. You can stick your arm in someplaces up to your shoulder and never hit anything solid.

Jeff

Jeff

 

[Platy Von Kippington]

how funny, I was just there this past weekend trying to explain to my mom and her best friend the dynamics of a "4 mile floating party", and somewhere along the line I got the idea it might be a stellar place to drift dive / treasure hunt (barring the big rocks, drunken frats boys, and the occasional sharpened beer can)

If anyone is interested in the coming weeks, I'd love to go out with a few more experienced river vets and get wet. The water is nice and (sorta) warm right now!

 

[tracydr]

So, I'm still confused. Do you dive in one area, go down current awhile, then back up current. Or, do you drift dive, leaving one car at the bottom and another car at the top? My husband and I have talked about diving the river but we always assumed it was done as a drift dive and weren't really sure where to get in/out/park.
What kind of exposure suit will be needed for summer? I assume in the winter it's drysuit temps?
I'm interested in trying this. Anybody for getting a group together?