Lake Powell - Where Color Is King

Lake Powell Country is a wondrous world where color is king. Sometimes it's a lavender domain, the brilliant sun and luminous air melding to create hues that turn the kingdom into a mauve mosaic. Often it's soft pink or outrageous orange. But pick any tone and you may find it as you wait and watch the lakescape bathe itself in pastel light.

Occasionally the world of Lake Powell blushes with a radiance beyond description, glowing with the tints of time, dazzling the eye, challenging even confusing - the camera's lens. But beneath the tinctures of its ethereal beauty Lake Powell Country remains a rugged, rock-ribbed realm that fascinates and entices men to explore it. I know. For more than a dozen years I've been a helpless (but most willing!) victim of its lure.

Again and again the colorful kingdom has tempted me to probe its enchanting mysteries. I have boated and fished in the cold, blue waters of its lake; waded the rock-strewn streams of its myriad tributaries; hiked and climbed its canyons and cliffs; clambered, crawled and slithered into its caves and crevices. And still the lure persists, beckoning, inciting, captivating me.

Because my home is on the shore of Lake Powell in Page, Arizona - I can be on the big lake or in its canyons in a matter of minutes. I live with every sunrise and sunset, every caprice of wind and weather, light and shadow. And I continue to be awed by it all,snapping photograph after photograph, even though I already have taken 10,000 pictures here. And I spend every possible day continuing the search for the unusual, the exotic, the unique and finding it!

Vast Lake Powell is the youngest and, in terms of water storage capacity, the second largest of America's man-made reservoirs. It was created by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on March 13, 1963, when nearly-completed Glen Canyon Dam began impounding siltladen waters of the Colorado River. During the first year those waters rose 206 feet behind the dam, pooled Glen Canyon for a distance of more than 100 miles, and puddled a sprawling maze of tributary gorges that slash the sandstone plateaus of northern Arizona and southern Utah.

In authorizing the seemingly incredible Glen Canyon project in 1956 Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower determined to "create a reservoir to provide conservation storage (of 27 million acre-feet), control sediment, abate floods, facilitate recreational development, aid in fish and wildlife conservation, and produce electrical energy." Those goals had been at least partially attained by September 22, 1966, when Mrs. Lyndon Johnson dedicated the gargantuan, 710foot-high dam and, within it, eight generators capable of producing 900,000 kilowatts of hydroelectric power. Behind the massive concrete bulwark Lake Powell continued to rise, its level fluctuating slightly according to the whims of weather and requirements of its "sister" reservoir, Lake Mead (with a capacity of 29.75 million acre-feet), 300 miles down-river.

As the silt settled and clear, blue water crept ever-deeper into the chasms of the northern plateaus, the National Park Service established Glen Canyon National Recreation Area "... where there is a federal responsibility to conserve and develop recreation opportunities..." with Lake Powell in its middle. Five floating marinas were laboriously installed at key points along Powell's shore; a few crude roads were pushed through some of the West's most remote regions to connect docking facilities to highways, and concessioners began welcoming seekers of recreation to a region previously almost inaccessible.

Broad bays formed as the reservoir rose, and wildlife management teams from Utah and Arizona worked together to develop a massive fishplant program aimed at making the new lake one of the major fisheries in America. Between 1963 and 1970 they stocked Powell with more than 15 million rainbow trout, 3 million largemouth bass, 635,000 kokanee, and 44,000 black crappie. Together with channel catfish, walleye, northern pike, bluegill, brown trout and the inevitable carp, all of which had dwelled in the Colorado River, the fish flourished in a maturing rock-and-moss marine world. Today, after 14 years of producing

(Left) A setting sun over Boundary Butte and a gentle lake swell close the day with a splash of soft colors in Padre Bay, Lake Powell.

(Right) The slowly westering sun places gentle touches on nature's stage. Lake Powell, east of Glen Canyon.

(Below) And on the seventh day . . . . Dawn over Lake Powell.

(Following panel, pages 28-29) Bathed in a soft filter of evening light, Lake Powell's vast panorama of castles and fortresses takes on an ethereal coloration.

(Left) Just right for exploring the marvelous Lake Powell area or relaxing in the sun, houseboats, available at Wahweap Marina, offer the vacationer a host of special treats. Castle Rock, Lake Powell. Josef Muench (Right) From the air, Lake Powell's myriad side canyons follow a sinuous scrawl of line through the ancient sandstone. David G. Parker (Below) 1800 miles of fantastically shaped buttes and mesas dramatize the shoreline along Lake Powell. Josef Muench

LAKE POWELL from page 24

Power and pleasure, enormous Lake Powell stretches 186 miles northward from Page to the white water of Cataract Canyon, at the southwestern corner of Canyonlands National Park. Its surface is only about 50 feet below its maximum potential of 3,700 feet above sea level, and large areas of its waters are more than 450 feet deep. The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area has become a major Park Şervice operation, requiring 13 uniformed rangers, 45 other permanent employes, and an annual summer roster of 120 additional workers.

All five of the Area's marinas have been continually enlarged and improved. Three Wahweap, Rainbow and Hite are owned and operated by the Del E. Webb Corporation of Phoenix, the firm famous for creation of Sun City, Arizona, one of the nation's largest retirement communities. The other two marinas Bullfrog and Halls Crossing are managed by the firm. Roads leading from U.S. Highway 89 to Wahweap and Bullfrog, and from U.S. 163 to Halls Crossing and Hite, have been paved to the water's edge. Any craft under 66 feet in length can be easily towed to and launched on Lake Powell.

Unique Rainbow Bridge Marina, 50 miles up-lake from the dam, remains accessible only by boat, but it too has constantly been enlarged and improved, with more goods and services offered each year.

Growth of the lake's fish has been phenomenal. In 14 short years countless brush-covered coves, tree-lined canyons and shoal-studded lagoons have evolved and are now home to sleek denizens of substantial size. Fish biologists admit that Powell's underwater terrain is so suited to marine life that all species within it are far more advanced than had been anticipated. Brown and rainbow trout of 17 pounds have been landed by anglers. Tenpound largemouth bass, crappie of almost three pounds, and catfish weighing 24 pounds have been taken. Sevenpound walleyes and rare northern pike of 10 pounds have provided special thrills for lucky fishermen. Striped bass, in Powell's waters for less than two years, have already grown from fry of two and three inches to adults two-feet-long weighing in excess of five pounds.

Perhaps no other place in the world has so quickly become a favorite of people who love to fish. Few other lakes have rewarded anglers with more or more delicious fish. And when they won't bite at all, the consolation prize at Lake Powell is very special: there's always the scenery.

For boaters the deep lake now offers more than 100 major, navigable canyons and countless smaller chasms that cut into the steep walls along Lake Powell's main channel. Many penetrate the plateaus for miles, twisting through rare natural labyrinths that may end in hushed, sunless grottoes. Most are sheer-walled and deep, narrowing with each bend. All are colorful, fascinating, often spooky. Most, at water's end, allow hiking along forested ravines that contain aboriginal ruins, natural arches, pictographs, petroglyphs, cascades, or the blooms or a surprising number of plants that grow profusely and add even more color to the entire canyon complex.

more than 100 major, navigable canyons and countless smaller chasms that cut into the steep walls along Lake Powell's main channel. Many penetrate the plateaus for miles, twisting through rare natural labyrinths that may end in hushed, sunless grottoes. Most are sheer-walled and deep, narrowing with each bend. All are colorful, fascinating, often spooky. Most, at water's end, allow hiking along forested ravines that contain aboriginal ruins, natural arches, pictographs, petroglyphs, cascades, or the blooms or a surprising number of plants that grow profusely and add even more color to the entire canyon complex.

The ruins in Lake Powell Country were built by the Anasazi, members of an early canyon-dwelling culture who excelled in gathering and preparing edible grains and grasses, on which they existed. But in the crafts of construction I think they had little talent. Even so, because they used native rock, mud and wood in fashioning their crude homes, many still exist although in varying degrees of decay after more than 600 years of abandonment. I know of more than a dozen old ruins that can be seen and photographed from a boat on Powell waters. The best are in Navajo, Reflection, Escalante, Slick Rock, Lake, Moqui and Forgotten canyons. Many more perch on the ledges of other gorges, challenging hikers to ponder why those mysterious people chose to live in such inaccessible aeries.

Natural arches, too, are a joy to discover. I've made a fetish of pursuing them. Magnificent Rainbow Bridge is, of course, the largest rock span on earth, and is the most visited attraction in Lake Powell Country. It stands in a splendid gorge about 50 miles up-lake from Glen Canyon Dam, the shallow water of the lake shimmering beneath it. Because the elevation of the dam's crest is 30 feet below that of the foundations of Rainbow Bridge, no part of the bridge itself will ever be touched by lake water. Tour boats operating daily out of Wahweap Marina carried more than 16,000 persons to the great rock rainbow in 1976. It is truly king of its kind.

But I know of 74 other significant bridges, arches or "windows" that can be seen from a boat or hiked to by way of the tributary canyons. Stevens, Bement, La Gorce and Broken Bow arches in the Escalante canyons are especially impressive and are relatively easy to reach. La Gorce is the only major rock opening along Lake Powell under which a boat can cruise. White Crag Arch, high on the slopes of Navajo Mountain, presents the toughest climb and the most spectacular view of the lake below. Emmerton Arch, on the rim of a tiny gorge near the mouth of the San Juan Arm, and Beverly Arch in Deep Canyon, are photogenic and fragile. Owl Arch, beside the north Rainbow Trail, is unique, shaped like the head of the bird for which it is named.

The softness of the region's sandstone is responsible for these wonders of nature. The rock erodes easily, creating holes of varying sizes and shapes in thin walls and in roofs of natural amphitheaters. Sometimes the voids widen and deepen to become the rock arcs that, to me, are the most aweinspiring sights of all in a land replete with memorable natural wonders. But the erosion of sandstone is not without disadvantages. For, as the surfaces of canyon walls wear away, many historic and often fantastic pictographs and petroglyphs disappear.

"Galleries" of rock art have long embellished many of the gorges of Lake Powell Country, each telling a tale or celebrating an event in images that are sometimes easy to recognize, more often impossible. The "graphs" were painted by the Anasazi using red, yellow, black or white pigments, while the "glyphs" were laboriously pecked into the solid rock by the stone tools of their artisans. Animals, birds, men, women and weapons depicted in the rock murals are obvious. But many of the geometric designs seem cryptic and unrelatable to our time.

(Right) Intriguing sculptured sandstone patterns, created by eons of erosive force, await the nature lover in upper Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona. Josef Muench (Below) Peering from a natural cave high on a canyon wall, an immense playground of red rock, azure sky and deep blue water stretches limitlessly behind Glen Canyon Dam. Josef Muench No one knows for certain when any of the rare art was painted or incised. But the era in which the artists roamed the canyons extended from shortly after 100 to about 1300 A.D. Some of the petroglyphs that still exist today could be almost 2000 years old!

LAKE POWELL GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA

(Right) Lake Powell is a fisherman's haven, with five marinas to provide every possible need plus hungry trout, bass, crappie, catfish and pike. F. Finch, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Below, right) A code still unbroken after 1000 years prehistoric pictographs in Davis Gulch, one of Lake Powell's collection of intriguing and often mysterious side canyons. Josef Muench In poring over innumerable walls and rocks in search of aboriginal graffiti I have come upon hundreds of examples. Rarely are any of them visible to the casual observer, centuries of weather and water having abraded them until they are faint vestiges of their original forms. Two of the most easily seen and best-preserved pictograph murals loom large, bold and white in two different canyons easily visited by boat: one is on the wall of a cave in Davis Gulch, another above the restored ruins of Defiance House in Forgotten Canyon. My favorite among the intact petroglyphs is carved into the blue-black patina of a huge boulder, high on a chinle bluff in Piute Canyon. The strange intaglio includes a likeness of a blue heron whose long, slender legs contain three sets of knees! How that lanky bird must have impressed the man who chiseled its likeness.

Most hikers in this country are surprised to discover that clear streams run throughout many of these canyons, especially those adjacent to the sizeable mountains that rise above the plateaus. Navajo Mountain, Fiftymile, The Henrys and The Abajos all over 8,000 feet hold winter snowpacks that melt and drain into the Glen Canyon basin. The resulting brooks often create lovely cascades that help to cool gorges in the summer heat and offer special opportunities to the photographer. But large waterfalls are rare until the rains come! Then, cliffs along the lake and its canyons can turn into niagaras.

Boaters and hikers who happen to witness a cloudburst are fortunate indeed. No sight is more rewarding than a rare deluge with sheets of shimmering water pouring over rims, long streamers splashing to canyon floors or plunging into waters of the lake. Sometimes an old arroyo atop a slick-rock mesa will spew forth a ribbon of clean, white water while, nearby, a new channel's corrasive torrent may carry natural debris over a brink in a garish red cataract.

Because of the porous nature of the rock in Glen Canyon, such intermittent rains and resulting streams provide a usually dependable source of ground water. Thus, the shores of Lake Powell are often carpeted with green growth not usually expected in such a desertlike environment. A normal spring brings the blossoms of hedgehog and fish-hook cactuses, wild rhubarb, evening primrose, lupine, dalea, western wallflower, tamarisk and carpets of smaller blooms. Higher, dune-like regions display the flowers of the yucca, prickly pear, sego lily, fleabane, mallow, Indian paintbrush, snakeweed, daisy and many more.

In the cool, damp shadows of the gorges, and along their seeps and springs, so many plants thrive that it is difficult to name more than a few. Because the life of the redbud is so brief and beautiful I seek it out early each spring. Sometimes this “wild orchid” stands as a single tree, its magenta blossoms almost invisible against a rock wall of similar hue. Often it grows in clumps, its heart-shaped blooms adding radiance to a shaded glen. But occasionally I find a rare forest of redbud, as I did last spring in Knowles Canyon. There, an unbelievable mass of the flowers choked a large ravine, comprising the greatest wild floral display I have ever seen. It lasted six days. Then it was gone, its fading petals scattered to the winds.

The creation of this new water world in a land previously without abundant water, has also encouraged the migration and propagation of animals and birds, annually luring countless flocks of waterfowl from regular Canada-toMexico flyways. As I boat across Powell's surface in the fall and spring I marvel at the increasingly great colonies of resting, feeding ducks and geese, some from as far away as the Arctic Circle. What a spectacular sight it is when numberless weary, wet teal, mallards, red-heads, shovelers or Canada geese skitter noisily across the water in retreat from human arrivals! Birds fill the air along the lake's shore and in its canyons. More than 170 varieties have been identified by ornithologists. Great blue herons, eagles, hawks, ravens, owls, gulls, doves and innumerable smaller birds are common. Some of the previously inaccessible chasms I have climbed into from my boat had never before been invaded by man. They proved to be fantastic aviaries populated by possessive birds that individually or in battle formation swooped down at me screaming "Keep out!" in bird-talk.

When I see such signs of the teeming bird and animal population of Lake Powell Country I chuckle, recalling a paragraph from a 1959 pre-inundation report that said of the search for wildlife: "Fauna in Glen Canyon today is limited to small animals with the exception of occasional mountain sheep. Large game animals are becoming more scarce due to limited food supply... a few deer, coyote and rabbit spoor occur ." In contrast, hiking the gorges today mostly in the fall and winter - I see an ever-increasing number of deer, mountain sheep, beaver, coyote, porcupine, bobcat, ringtail, fox, rabbit, squirrel, and a large variety of harmless rodents and colorful reptiles. Some of the creatures have provided especially memorable experiences.

Like the day when, walking through the thick underbrush of a box canyon, I spied the tracks of a trio of mule deer. The hoofprints were the largest I had ever seen. Suddenly, as I neared the chasm's end, a crash of brush caused me to look up as three big bucks stampeded my way with antlers bowed. I ducked behind a tree and watched in trembling amazement as the magnificent animals zigzagged through the thicket without touching so much as a twig with their sharp points.

I've also engaged in staring contests with coyotes that had suddenly caught my scent while loping along the lakeshore in broad daylight. And, on one unforgettable canyon trek, I found two beautiful bobcat cubs at home on a high ledge. For several hours I watched them box and roll and play in their precarious yard.

Another time, in Willow Creek Canyon, I was returning to my boat from a hike to Broken Bow Arch when I discovered the remains of a small buck on the narrow canyon floor. It hadn't been there during my up-canyon hike. Near it, large paw-prints in wet sand told an obvious story: a rare mountain lion had been enjoying a venison feast before my appearance scared him off.

Beavers, too, are everywhere in Lake Powell Country. From my boat, tied to partially-inundated cottonwood trees in Iceberg and Reflection canyons, I have used the beam of a flashlight to watch whole families felling trees and stripping branches of bark and leaves. Beaver dams can be found in almost all of Powell's stream-bearing tributaries.

Yet, despite the flora, fauna, much scenery and recreational features of the area, spectacular Lake Powell and its effect on the land and life of Arizona and Utah remains controversial in the minds of many good people who continue to lament the inundation of all but 15 miles of beautiful, remote Glen Canyon. But what is past is past. It cannot be redeemed. Today, much of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area shimmers with a noble expanse of clear, blue water where, before, only red roils ran. And, unlike the old days when it was available to only a few, the colorful kingdom is now easily accessible to all. More than a million people enjoyed it in 1976.

This year will bring additional visitors. But Lake Powell Country is so vast that it promises to accommodate them all. Many will come towing boats of various kinds; others will rely on concessioners to take them on regularly scheduled cruises. Camping will be in evidence everywhere. People will waterski, swim, skin-dive, hike or go fishing. Tiny white sails will dot Wahweap Bay during the annual Hobie-cat Regatta in May, and the boats of famous anglers will dominate the scene during Ameri-ca's largest and richest bass-fishing derby in October.

The powerboat activities will demand craft of at least 15 feet in length and with a minimum of 40 horsepower. The vastness of Lake Powell makes smaller boats impractical. And because of the distance between marinas about 50 miles boaters need to carry more than 20 gallons of fuel. A powerboat of reasonable size requires about 12 gallons just to make the cruise up-lake from Wahweap Bay to Rainbow Bridge Canyon.

Sailboats are becoming more numerous here each year, as well. Cats, sloops, a few ketches, and several schooners ply the watercourse, their billowing white sheets beautiful against the stark, red backdrop of cliffs along the shores. The elevation of Lake Powell, and its location between high, often snow-covered mountains and low, dry deserts, make it especially prone to air movements favorable to those sail-powered craft. The exceptions occur in spring when overly-zealous gales can blow too hard, and in winter when long periods of stillness bring doldrums. The high winds of spring can discourage any kind of boating. But during the calms of winter the lake's surface becomes an absolute mirror, reflecting colorful landscapes in exotic tableaus that offer incredible photographic possibilities.

The winter season also is the ideal time for cruising in houseboats. More of the big craft appear on the lake annually. Most are rented from marinas, reserved far in advance. They vary in size, accommodating from six to twelve persons and costing from $550 to $850 per week. Although slow, houseboats are safe and completely self-contained, allowing extended vacations with all the comforts of home in all kinds of weather.

Visitors who prefer to cruise Lake Powell in regularly scheduled tour boats will find big, enclosed vessels available every day of the year. They travel from Wahweap and Bullfrog marinas to Rainbow Bridge, navigating more than 100 miles of scenic main channel during the day-long round trip. The cost of the cruise is $36.50, including lunch and visits to several spectacular side canyons on the return voyage.

The great rock rainbow can be seen from a boat, half of its great arc suggesting its imposing size. The partial view inspires most visitors to walk a trail of about half a mile and enjoy the thrill of standing beneath its full, massive span. Towering above a deep ravine in a tiny national monument all its own, Rainbow Bridge is protected by park rangers who patrol all of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. No other natural spectacle in Lake Powell Country is more impressive, and the daily tours to the monument are extremely popular.

trail of about half a mile and enjoy the thrill of standing beneath its full, massive span. Towering above a deep ravine in a tiny national monument all its own, Rainbow Bridge is protected by park rangers who patrol all of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. No other natural spectacle in Lake Powell Country is more impressive, and the daily tours to the monument are extremely popular.

Other, more personalized cruises and scenic flights can be arranged at each of the land-based marinas. And all maintain fleets of rental boats for those who want to explore the color kingdom on their own, camping out along the way.

Boat-camping is especially appealing at Lake Powell, from May through October. The recreation area, by law, will always remain uncluttered, with no private ownership or development of land permitted. (Buildings, lodges, motels and mobile homes are restricted to the town of Page and to the parks adjacent to marinas.) Thus, hundreds of miles of wild shoreline offer camping enthusiasts countless sites where they may beach boats, pitch tents, and live the outdoor life for up to 30 days at a given site. Campfires are allowed but firewood is almost non-existent.

Many such temporary “homes” become ski-camps. The huge bays, wide coves and long main-channel arms of Lake Powell make for ideal water-skiing. If a tow-boat could carry enough fuel it is conceivable that a skier with enough stamina could “ride the boards” non-stop for more than 200 miles!

The clean, cool waters of the lake also encourage swimming and skindiving, usually in picturesque coves where shallower depths are safer and not so cold. A number of petroglyphs, ruins and other historic features remain “preserved” beneath the surface. But, having watched Powell's level rise more than 200 feet in the past 12 years, I can assure divers that such things are a long way down and may be unsafe to seek. Fish are the main attraction in the depths, usually preferring the sunlit waters, where marine photography can be a special joy.

Powell's 10 varieties of game fish will respond at times to all kinds of lures, both artificial and real. But the average angler calls the fishery a “waterdog lake.” The waterdog salamander, imported and sold here as a legal live bait, is most often preferred by bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish and walleye. And there is a reason for that: the tiny, wiggly “dogs” can swim under over-hanging rocks and into cracks and crevices where plugs and plastic worms cannot go. On the other hand, rainbow and brown trout, most eagerly sought in the early spring by shore fishermen in Wahweap Bay, respond best to artificial lures, live worms and to such “kitchen bait” as cheese.

I've fished in many lakes, beginning as a boy of six. Nowhere have I found “bass country” as perfect as it is at Lake Powell. I'm an ardent largemouth bass fan and surface-plugger. I favor a very few artificial, floating lures, which I toss onto placid surfaces in coves and canyons where brush and trees prevail. In May, June, October and the winter months bass may rise high out of the water to hit such lures. During the warmer season deep-water plugs and the reliable 'dogs work best.

Because it covers portions of both Utah and Arizona, Powell's fishing remains under supervision of the game management departments of those states. Residents of each can buy a combination license and use-stamp allowing them to take all fish in all of Powell's waters. But non-residents who want to fish the entire lake must purchase a license from each state. Arizona's annual fee is $18; Utah's, $25. All four of the land-based marinas and stores in Page sell Utah and Arizona licenses. The Wahweap-Lake Powell Fall Classic, a fishing derby for which the Western Bass Fishing Association will guarantee $25,000 in prizes, will be held in 1977, from October 16 through 22.

As the brochures say, there's something for everyone in this wondrous world where color is king. Because it stands alone, big, bizarre and beautiful, Lake Powell Country seems to me to typify America itself. Here, in a truly rugged land feared and respected by our pioneers but never quite conquered by them every member of every family can today fulfill the Yankee ambition to challenge nature and to enjoy a vigorous outdoor life.

But whether they fly over it, cruise on its waters, or explore its chasms on foot, none will ever forget Lake Powell Country.