Lake Powell by Houseboat

Original Trip Description: (July 20 - 26, 1997)
If you haven't seen Lake Powell from the sun-drenched decks of a houseboat, you haven't seen Lake Powell. We will pick up our 50' houseboat and explore the fantastic upper reaches of the Lake. Special stops for hiking will be made at Defiance House, Slick Rock Canyon, Moki Canyon, Tapestry Wall, Escalante Canyon, Waterpocket Fold, Hole-in-the-Rock, and many other attractions.
Our rental houseboat will be equipped with range, oven, refrigerator, ice chests, 12-volt lighting system, shower, toilet, drapes, and a gas grill. It has four double and four single beds, but the nights are so moderate and the desert evening skies so beautiful, that some of us may not be able to resist sleeping on the top deck or on shore. The houseboat will cover approximately 100 miles around the Lake at a serene maximum speed of 10 miles per hour. For houseboat rental information, contact ARAMARK @ (800) 528-6154.
Using the houseboat as a base, a 24' power boat will be used to explore the many magnificent side canyons. Be prepared to enjoy water sports, dramatic coves, tight canyons, sunning on secluded sandy beaches, dramatic canyon sunrises, spectacular sunsets, slickrock hiking, star gazing, card playing, socializing, moderate partying, and southwestern style cooking. The pace of this trip is expected to be leisurely (L).
Originates: Halls Crossing Marina, UT.

Side Canyon Camp

Rainbow Bridge

Trip Report:

Sixty miles out of town, headed for our Lake Powell trip with a full load, our trusty old truck bought the bullet when the transmission blew. We were unaware that it had been leaking out its precious life fluids until a horrendous racket began and we were forced to pull over to the side of the road. Luckily, we were able to limp back to town where an immediate search began for a rental vehicle. Our friends at Hertz Penske again saved the day. Even though it was noon on Saturday, they were still open and they had one truck left on the lot. Leaving town the second time, 5-6 hours later than expected, we still reached Muley Point Overlook just before dusk. Since the rental truck was grossly under filled, we'd thrown in our mountain bikes which allowed us to ride along mesa top roads to check out views of the Goosenecks of the San Juan River. It rained lightly on the Navajo Reservation between Kayenta and Mexican Hat that night but only a few sprinkles hit us. We rose bright and early the next morning and took in a few more views before heading for Hall's Crossing.

By late afternoon, everyone in the group showed up at the campground. Mike and Denise came down from Oregon a day early to play on the Lake with their boat. Unfortunately, it had a problem and they had to be towed in for repairs. Hoping to have it fixed by Tuesday, they arranged for a power boat rental for the in between days. A late afternoon wind came up just as we started to prepare dinner that night, forcing us to cook some of the meal in the back of the rental truck and the rest in Trudy and Gary's new camper, lovingly nicknamed, the Piglet. The Piglet kitchen also made doing dishes much easier as we had difficulty with the wind blowing everything off the table after dinner.

Early the next morning, we packed up quickly and headed for the marina hoping to be first in line for our houseboat pick-up. By the time the check out was completed, the rest of the group had most of the gear piled on our front deck waiting to be stowed. This well organized start was possible because most of us had traveled together before and little direction was needed (eight of us spent a week van touring in Yellowstone and the Tetons together a few years back). Our refrigerator worked well for the first time in all our houseboating experience. Apparently, the refrigerators were recently upgraded, unfortunately the stoves were not. Baking in our oven was a challenge. Since it never got very hot, we found it easier to bake in a Dutch Oven using charcoal. Since our last trip, a new 12 person maximum limit has been instituted by ARAMARK (the Lake Powell concessionaire) to prevent groups from overloading their houseboats. We've seen up to 30 people on a single party boat during past trips and were glad to see this limitation in effect. Our boat never seemed very crowded as many of our 12 slept out on the roof deck or on the beautiful slickrock beaches. ARAMARK gave Susan a Lake Powell "Captain" hat for Bob but it wouldn't fit his big head so she traded it for a "Captain" t-shirt.

Our first camp was in Moqui Canyon next to a several hundred foot sand bank. We had been warned that it would be a crowded spot during the day since it was a favorite hang-out of the youngsters. The warning didn't prepare us for the entertaining antics we witnessed all day and into the early evening. We now know where savvy Lake Powell visitors take their kids to burn off excess energy. Young and old alike trudged up the 80 degree dune to run or tumble down. A favorite stance, we named the Yogic Leap, involved digging in the heels while throwing the other foot far forward and high in the air. This silliness was not confined to humans. Many of their dogs enthusiastically accompanied them but not usually for as many trips. On our second morning, six of us took a hike up the sand hill, finding our way through the sandstone cliffs to take in breath-taking views. Our run down the dune was applauded by the lazy, late-rising coffee swillers on our houseboat.

We stayed close to Hall's Crossing our first night to enable Mike to check on his boat the following day. Unfortunately, the part had not yet come in but our trip to the marina allowed us to pick up extra ice and a few items from our vehicles that the houseboat was lacking. From our second camp at Water Pocket Fold, Mike made another run into Hall's Crossing to check on the status of his boat while the rest of us hiked up 2500' of slickrock for great views of the Henrys and Navajo Mountain. The repair shop bungled the order, obtaining the wrong replacement part. Since the week was now half over and we were going further down Lake, he elected to not have them reorder the part. We used the rental boat instead.

Over the course of the week, we had numerous engine problems with the houseboat which was a first for us. Though the people at ARAMARK were responsive to our problems, the engines were not repairable by the mechanic that visited us out on the Lake so we limped around. The engines started easily but would not run properly after we reduced power if they had been running for awhile. This was particularly exciting when we pulled into the crowded marina at Dangling Rope, as we knew we might stall both engines when we tried to slow down. It's tough to dock a 50' houseboat at cruising speed or without power. We eventually moored it without damaging anything or anyone. We gassed up both boats at the marina, pumped our toilet holding tank, and hit the store for souvenirs and a mail box. The Dangling Rope store's generous servings of ice cream continue to be a trip highlight. Outboard motor mix was running slightly over $2.00 a gallon at both marinas and hadn't gone up much since our last trip several years ago.

The skies were overcast for the first half of our trip which reduced the mid-day heat. Our second night out, we had a spectacular electrical storm that went on for several hours. People sleeping on the top deck kept having to cover and uncover. The second half of the week, skies cleared making for great star-gazing. One night, we were treated to a meteor shower. It got a little hotter when the weather finally cleared but it was never unbearable. Though there were hiking opportunities from each camp, we seemed to hike less on this trip than we have on previous fall trips. Swimming and idyllic floating were the preferred replacement activities. Denise's four air mattresses were much appreciated by the group. Almost everyone brought a treat of some sort, from smoked Salmon, to top shelf tequila, to pickled peppers, to Belizean Coconut Rum. We were a thoroughly spoiled group.

The afternoon entertainment consisted of raucous five handed hearts games. Len, who supposedly didn't know how to play, was revealed as a hustler who won most of the games. Denise was sure that she should be awarded a prize for consistently having the highest scores. Many evenings, we ended up on the top deck dancing to the ghetto blaster and discussing computers, politics, yoga, or whatever else came to mind. Mike and Denise taught Susan a couple of Yoga poses to help with back stretching and improve her breathing. She is practicing the "Breath of Fire" in preparation for our upcoming Machu Picchu backpack.

The week passed much too quickly and before we knew it we were maneuvering back into the Hall's Crossing harbor. After checking in the houseboat and seeing everyone off, we helped Mike and Denise retrieve their boat from the repair shop. The two of us then headed for Cedar Mesa to scout out campsites for an Anasazi van trip we are planning for the Cedar Mesa area next summer or fall. The big truck wasn't appropriate for some of the roads, so we biked around before returning to Muley Point to camp and again enjoy the spectacular views.

Other Lake Powell trips from our quarterly newsletters:

* August 3, 2002