KERRICK JAMES 2022-08-30 11:33:34
John Wesley Powell, of Grand Canyon geology fame, was a colorful and perceptive writer with almost photographic powers of description. In late July of 1869, as his ragtag inaugural expedition entered what is now known as Glen Canyon, he and his men marveled at the “curious, narrow glens” while en route to traverse an even bigger (shall we say, grander) canyon to the south. Comparatively few people followed in their wake over the next 90 years, but writers like Edward Abbey in The Monkeywrench Gang, and photographers like Eliot Porter wrote with reverence of the musical alcoves of golden sandstone, and hidden passages to wispy waterfalls. Eliot Porter’s legendary photo book, The Place No One Knew, is a haunting elegy to a lost world, one being revealed once again. THE WAY IT WAS In late January of 1963, the gates of the new Glen Canyon Dam swung closed, and the silty waters of the wild Colorado River began pooling behind a svelte 710-foot-tall plug of concrete. Day by day, Glen Canyon—the “place no one knew”—vanished into memory. It took 17 years to fill Lake Powell, the secondlargest reservoir in the country. For nearly six decades, people from everywhere flocked to this water-filled playground to ride houseboats, Jet Skis, powerboats and kayaks to explore the 96 named and flooded canyons. I was one of those explorers in love with this high-desert gem, but I’ve always wondered what lay beneath the blue water—and if I’d ever see its mysteries revealed. The time has come at last. THE WAY IT IS The Southwest has been drying out since at least 2008, with muchdiminished snowfall and rain runoff due to the Millennium Drought, the most severe drought in the last 1,200 years. Lake Powell is currently at less than 25% capacity, about 170 feet below “full pool,” and was last this low in November 1967 during its first filling. If the dam did not exist, I believe Glen Canyon could well have been a national park. There are voices clamoring for the dam to be dismantled and Lake Powell drained, leaving more water for Lake Mead, but we would lose critical power generation for the Southwest. And should this drought ever end, we would have far less water stored and saved for future lean years, so the heated dialogue intensifies, with no clear answers. Could there be a silver lining to our great Southwestern drought, at least for those who thirst for adventure and rediscovery? I say, “Yes,” and here’s how to make it happen. PAGE IS THE GATEWAY Page is the prime place to begin your Glen Canyon odyssey, with excellent services and full powerboat and houseboat rentals. I explored the lake at low water in February of 2022 in a 23-foot pontoon boat and beach camped as I pleased. Houseboats do offer vastly greater comfort for extended overnight trips but use more fuel and require some skill to drive and maneuver. Most adventurers will want either a powerboat or Jet Skis (towed behind your houseboat) to venture into the myriad side canyons. Two boat rental companies, based at Wahweap and Antelope Point Marinas, offer pilot/captain service to help drive and anchor the houseboats, and while a bit pricey, that peace of mind is invaluable, especially in low-water conditions. You can sleep the night before your trip and rent your choice of watercraft at Wahweap with Lake Powell Vacations. Their houseboats are 46 to 75 feet in length, with a choice of bedrooms and amenities that will surprise you. Antelope Point Marina lies a few miles west of Wahweap, farther up lake and offers an array of quality houseboats (59 feet to 77 feet), pontoon and deck boats. Don’t forget a kayak or two, a cheaper and quieter way to experience the peace and quiet of the emerging Glen Canyon riparian ecosystem. REBIRTH My favorite place on Lake Powell is the perfectly named Cathedral in the Desert. Never easy or fast to reach, being 69 miles up lake from the dam, (Mile 0), it’s tucked into a side canyon of the Escalante River tributary. My winter pilgrimage goal was to learn if the formerly flooded chasm is once again walkable, as it was in Powell’s day. Cathedral in the Desert lives again! I ascended a dune while looking left to the wispy waterfall and shallow clear pool below. Standing in open shade under a 200-foot curved ceiling, the revelatory vision of a reborn piece of paradise filled my eyes and heart with joy and wonder. Here at least, Glen Canyon is returning to life, water in the desert flowing freely, with only my heartbeat to compete with the sound of music, at the apex of a great alcove. This is what I ventured here to discover, a hint of rebirth as this ecosystem is healing before our eyes. I believe Ed Abbey would be rightfully pleased. THE JOURNEY HOME Lake Powell has always had a roll call of wonders, but now there are new wonders to discover as you roam. Rainbow Bridge is currently far from the water’s edge, just as it was for thousands of years, and that distant afternoon I swam directly beneath it in the storied summer of ‘83 now seems like a fever dream. So, it is possible, though somewhat unlikely, that when this great megadrought breaks, that a succession of heavy, snowy winters might fill this great lake—er, reservoir. But until that fateful day, there is much to marvel over and walk and kayak and study and admire at low water, in the corridor of canyons traversed by Powell 150-plus years ago. Even now there are new beaches of soft sand to walk and bed for the night, set under a canopy of supremely dark skies. We camped on such a beach on our last night, in Padre Bay with landmark Cookie Jar Butte just north. A nearly full moon was our nightlight from dusk to pre-dawn, as the minimal lights of Page dotted a sliver of horizon 20 miles to the south. As I relaxed and reflected on the trip, I realized that what I’d happily found was an unexpected rebirth of Glen Canyon. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO MAP A longtime staple for adventurers, the Lake Powell and Its 96 Canyons Boating and Exploring Map by Stan Jones and Steve Ward is an essential tool for going into backcountry areas where cell phone service may be nonexistent. BOAT RENTALS & FUEL Rent pontoon boats, powerboats and kayaks from the Lake Powell Vacations office in Page, Wahweap boat launch and at Antelope Point Marina on Navajo Nation tribal lands. Both locations also have fuel. You also can buy fuel at Bullfrog Marina (Mile 94+), and you’ll need to! Note: Dangling Rope Marina is still closed for repairs, meaning there is NO FUEL mid-lake. Be certain you top off your boat tank before leaving the marina and strongly consider carrying additional fuel in safe gas containers. I recommend 15 to 20 gallons as a reserve. ACCOMMODATIONS Page has a fine range of motels and hotels, including several new properties. You can buy all your provisions in Page. They have a big Safeway and a Walmart, etc. FEES Lake Powell is the heart of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, administered by the National Park Service. If you don’t have the NPS Annual Parks Pass, you will pay $35 at the gate. WATER LEVEL Track Lake Powell’s current water level at lakepowell.water-data.com.
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