September '09 Newsletter - Trip #4

Lake Powell Houseboat (8/22/09-8/29/09):

Driving from Moab through twisted canyon country to Bullfrog Marina is nothing less than spectacular. Rather than taking the ferry from Halls Crossing, we met only ten vehicles motoring the longer distance. Surprisingly, Lake Powell once again fills most of the Hite Marina bay. At the completion of our last Cataract trip a few years ago, there had been only a river and a sea of mud in front of the marina. We were delighted to see wall-to-wall water again upstream of the Hite bridge.

Arriving at Bullfrog in the late afternoon, we found the Roughgardens and Mills already set up in the campground. The next day we secured three campsites and pre-registered the houseboat to expedite departure. Since we hadn't yet been on one of the new 53' Explorers, we returned later to see one that had not yet been cleaned. The new houseboats appeared more than adequate to house our gear. The balance of the group turned up mid afternoon and after plentiful rounds of drinks coupled with endless story telling we prepared our first meal in the campground. The cook team was challenged by a dust, wind and rainstorm that blew threw midway through the preparation. But with the help of the rest of the group they managed to hold things down.

Susan and Bob arose at 6:00 AM and unloaded the group gear at Hobie Cat Beach where it could be loaded directly onto the houseboat. The rest of the group straggled in with their personal gear and while waiting for the houseboat, Susan set up breakfast. Mike Mills and Bob picked up houseboat at 8:00 AM with minimum hassle. They bought 4-20 pound bags of crushed ice to fill the drink cooler and returned to Hobie Cat Beach. We were under way within a couple of hours. Our first goal was a visit to Defiance House ruin site, followed by hunting for a campsite in Knowles Canyon. We couldn't find anything that didn't have screaming children close by so we continued on to Cedar Canyon and found a great, quiet site there.

The following day, we motored to Moki Canyon and found an excellent campsite in the first sidearm on the right. Five of the group kayaked all afternoon, checking out every arm of Moki, eventually finding the main arm that had 30' sediment banks in it. They first went upstream passing a friendly couple with a well-stocked float boat. After reaching the end of the canyon we returned to visit with them and their two dogs. They offered beer, then hard liquor, and then invited us to dinner. We declined as it didn't seem practical with 12 of us and two of them. After waving cheery farewells, Susan returned to the houseboat but Carl, John, and Bob continued their sidearm explorations. They were eventually found and were rejoined by Len. The four of them probably kayaked 10-15 miles that day. After a great dinner we played some Hank Williams on the houseboat stereo system and watched the sky for satellites.

Up early and headed for Halls Crossing, we gassed the boat and added 150 pounds of crushed ice to our coolers. We then pulled in at the floating toilet cleanout dock to top off our 40 gallon potable water tank. There was no hose on the dock but another party graciously lent us theirs. Since we were already there we attempted to clean out the toilets as well but the pump wouldn't work so we had to switch docks. After getting the girls to quiet down so he could hear himself think and communicate with the guys onshore, Bob managed to re-dock the houseboat at a working toilet cleanout without destroying either the dock or houseboat. We camped at our favorite Waterpocket Fold campsite that night. Several of the group hiked up to the top, while Susan, Bob, and Len kayaked across to Iceberg Canyon and accidentally met up with the pontoon couple again. They stopped and we talked to them for a while, accepting libations this time. Unfortunately Iceberg Canyon was as wide as the main arm and we gave up when they told us the most scenic area was 12 miles further in. Len had returned to find UnSun and neither of us were up to a 24-mile paddle, so we returned to camp for a dip.

Our next objective was Cottonwood Canyon and exploration of the exit Mormon Trail. At high pool Cottonwood becomes a large lake with lots of mooring sites. But at the current lower Lake level we had difficulty finding the inlet arm for the canyon. Eventually we found a blind turn off the main channel and motored back in. Several great campsites were available so we immediately moored and committed to a broiling day in full sunlight. After lunch Carl and John took off for the back of the canyon and the Mormon Trail. Bob kayaked upstream until the water ran out in a cluster of willows, seeing two beaver along the way. One, annoyed with the unexpected disturbance, gave a noisy tail slap to show his displeasure. Several of our group climbed the rounded domes behind our lakeshore site. It was hot and by now everyone was sleeping on the decks: fore, aft, and top.

Up and moving the boat by 6:30 AM, we crossed over to the base of the Hole-In-The-Rock Trail and moored there. Four of the six of our group who began this steep, 1000-foot climb made it to the top. While they were climbing, those still on the boat made eggs to order for each other. We finished our visit by 9:00 AM and were off to the back of Escalante Creek. We motored, made breakfasts for the hikers and still had time to clean up before we reached the restored ruins above the Willow Creek arm. Getting off the boat there is difficult because of the near vertical wall, so Mike Mills hovered along shore and four hikers got off to scramble up for a look. And a scramble it was! Friction moves up sandstone are necessary to reach the Moki steps that culminate in a constructed high-water trail. Views from a couple of hundred feet above the Lake were spectacular and made it all worth the effort. Afterwards we cruised up-Lake as far as we thought prudent, dodging through some tree and branch debris on one bend. The campsite was a bit bleak and as it turned out exposed to even the last rays of sunlight. And it was hot! We paddled all five kayaks upstream to an extremely muddy end. If anyone had dumped out of their boat they probably would have had to slide along the mud on there bellies towing the boat back to real water. We skidded along that mess for a few hundred feet before giving it up. Several people hiked around the detached monuments behind our boat in both the evening and morning.

The 100 degree days were taking their toll and we were determined to find relief from the sun and oppressive heat. We left our mooring early and headed back to the Willow Creek arm. There we found a huge arching alcove that was aimed due north. It was large enough that no sun would hit the boat all day. Four kayakers headed upstream on what turned out to be the most delightful adventure of the trip. The walls closed in rapidly and for a couple of miles we were boating with willows and small trees beside us and soaring canyon walls above us. Sometimes it was necessary to "African Queen" through the foliage to continue. When the kayaks would go no further we found ourselves at a noisy spring with clear water running downstream toward us. Wading through cool water was pleasant. In about a half mile we reached an 8-10 foot waterfall. Three of our group scrambled a half mile further, searching for petroglyphs. A couple of them intended to go to the end of the Canyon so Bob kayaked back to houseboat and shade. We moored there until mid-afternoon when the hikers returned. The temperature on the boat never exceeded 84 degrees in the shade of that alcove. We then boated down to the confluence, made a few cell phone calls by connecting to the Navajo Mountain cell towers, and continued upstream to a shady alcove just below Brown and Long canyons. The temperature continuously increased as we boated in the sun reaching the low 90's by the time we tied up for the night.

This trip was Sue Ellen and Mike's "cruise" celebrating their 37th anniversary, which was coming up September 1st. Since we wouldn't all be together on that date, we gathered on the back deck after dinner to wish them well. Leslie and Deb had formed book marks for them out of materials scrounged on board. We couldn't come up with a song for them but we all signed a card. Some of the more energetic of us took it upon themselves to prepare the sleeping accommodations on both decks and the roof. A nice gesture that was enjoyed by all - right down to the mint on the turned down corner!

Realizing we were over 20 miles from Bullfrog Marina and had a drop dead check-in time of 3:00 PM, we cranked up the motors after breakfast. Initially we hoped there might be some time to explore a side canyon or two along the way but a reality check quickly killed that idea. We actually had to increase motor rpm's and houseboat speed to reach Bullfrog by noon. We cleaned up the boat as we motored along, moving most of the gear to the front deck for quick unloading at Hobie Cat Beach. As Waterpocket Fold receded into the distance and the magnificent sandstone walls along the Lake decreased in size, the morning mood was a bit somber. A great trip was ending.

Unloading the commissary and personal gear went quickly. Susan and Mike Mills were off to gas and return the houseboat while Bob coordinated the ground effort. After separating gear and loading the vehicles, we went to the campground for a leisurely lunch prior to leaving for home. We waited and waited for Mike and Susan to appear. Waiting in the parking lot for them, Leslie called us repeatedly saying they were delayed. Then Mike turned up but still no Susan.

Even though Susan and Mike had just gassed the houseboat, the boat check-out at the rental dock showed one of the two 100-gallon tanks was short a few gallons. At this point Susan was harangued for an hour or more about how they were going to fix this problem. Three levels of Aramark staff repeated in endless detail a proposal to top the tank off and take the money out of our deposit. Aramark's inefficiency handling a minor problem of their causing eventually insured none of us had lunch and we lost the time to be together as a group at trip end. It was a unfortunate conclusion.

We enjoyed everyone's company and each of us seemed to create our own version of a good time. Crazed hikers walked endlessly in the noon-day sun, kayakers putzed in side canyons for exercise, inner tube mamas and life jacket papas floated around our moorings and a few even braved the two story slide off the back of the houseboat. Rapt domino players concentrated so hard on their games they occasionally missed the passing spectacular scenery. We ate well, drank very well and it certainly seemed that a good time was had by all.

Participants: Sue Ellen & Mike Coltrin, Susan & Bob Marley, Leslie & Mike Mills, Carol & Carl Muller, UnSun & Len Roughgarden, Debbie & John Stenton

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