ADVENTURING AT LAKE POWELL

exploring lake

fun, sun, and adventure await at every inlet

powell six of us stand

in Jim Merrill's jet boat, eyes riveted on a narrow sandstone fin rising steeply from the cliff base to the rim in Lake Powell's Llewellyn Gulch. Up there, four of our party, so dwarfed by the epic scale of the place they seem Lilliputian, traverse an exceptionally sheer, slippery pitch. Seated and firmly anchored, one end of a rope wrapped around his torso, photographer Gary Ladd guides the ascent. Hand-over-hand, Laura McCarthy inches up the rope toward Gary; below her, Patrick McCarthy secures the end of the rope and waits his turn. Above Gary waits Ada Hatch, the first one up. To the climbers' left is a nearly 600-foot drop to the lake; to their right, a free-fall plummet into a rocky gorge. It's too much a white-knuckler for me. Unable to watch, I duck under the speedboat's canopy.

Finally, safe on the rim, the climbers signal they're ready to hike across the plateau to Hole-in-the-Rock, where in1880 Mormon pioneers descended an almost vertical crack in the sandstone wall and ferried across the Colorado River. Incredibly, all 250 men, women, and children, hundreds of head of cattle, and 82 horseand ox-drawn wagons survived. Today we'll reverse the route of the pioneers, with four of our party climbing Hole-in-the-Rock to meet the rest of us for lunch on the rim. Jim fires up the jet boat, and we head over.

1880 Mormon pioneers descended an almost vertical crack in the sandstone wall and ferried across the Colorado River. Incredibly, all 250 men, women, and children, hundreds of head of cattle, and 82 horseand ox-drawn wagons survived. Today we'll reverse the route of the pioneers, with four of our party climbing Hole-in-the-Rock to meet the rest of us for lunch on the rim. Jim fires up the jet boat, and we head over.

Yesterday, when we launched our 60-foot houseboat from Wahweap Marina, the weather forecast was forbidding. A hurricane's aftermath was bearing down on Arizona, bringing high winds, heavy rains, and flash flooding. Weather radio, tuned in by our pilot, Steve Ward, warned small boats off the lake, so we had prepared for a siege of bad weather by buying a supply of games, puzzles, and playing cards. Last night we went to sleep expecting the worst.

This morning only a slight mist fell, and, although dark clouds loomed on the horizon, we decided to begin our week on Lake Powell as planned. As we prepared to climb Hole-in-the-Rock's narrow sandstone gap, scattered breaks in the clouds revealed blue sky.

fell, and, although dark clouds loomed on the horizon, we decided to begin our week on Lake Powell as planned. As we prepared to climb Hole-in-the-Rock's narrow sandstone gap, scattered breaks in the clouds revealed blue sky.

Erosion has obliterated much of the "road" the Mormon pioneers engineered more than 100 years ago, but Steve showed where they blasted to widen the crack for wagons and hand-drilled holes in the cliff face to set in oak stringers on which they laid a roadbed of brush, timber, rock rubble, and dirt.

In a letter to her mother, one survivor described the descent: "[It] nearly scared me to death. The first wagon I saw go down they put the brake on and rough locked the hind wheels and had a big rope fastened to the wagon and about 10 men holding back on it and they went down like they would smash everything. I'll never forget that day." Climbing the arduous, nearly 45-degree route, boosting each other over rough patches, our group marveled at the ingenuity and resolve of those who drove wagon teams down the dizzying fracture.

Reaching the rim an hour and a half later, we climb atop a rounded sandstone loaf to scan the now-blue western horizon for signs of hikers. Our friends soon come into view, Gary in the rear, tripod over his shoulder. As we explore the plateau after lunch, we're astonished by our weather luck. Yesterday we feared the worst; now, under a brilliant Arizona-azure sky, reflected sunlight sparkles on the cool blue-green waters of Lake Powell below us. Dune primroses carpet the sandy soil, and white-throated swifts strafe the rim's edge. All smiles, Gary emerges from the focusing cloth of his fourby-five camera. "Guess they just don't make hurricanes the way they used to," he says. This night we camp in Cottonwood Canyon, if sleeping under the stars on the top after a short, easy hike, we arrive at a small pool beneath a vaulting sandstone amphitheater.

deck of a luxury houseboat can be called camping. The houseboat is our "base camp" from which we'll launch explorations of Lake Powell's canyons and tributaries. Stowed onboard are a pair of inflatable Sevylor kayaks for slipping into narrow waterways. And we're towing two powerboats for quick transportation to various jumpingoff points for onshore adventure.

In the morning, we drive the powerboats to a sandy beach in a small no-name canyon, one of Gary's "secret" places. After a short, easy hike, we arrive at a small pool beneath a vaulting sandstone amphitheater. Trees, rock, birds in flight, and our own images mirror in the pool's placid surface. The force of water plunging off the rim after hard rains has quarried immense slabs of sandstone from the pool's basin and flung them up to form a dam on the downstream side. Beyond the dam, a large cottonwood soars, its sinewy roots firmly embedded in rock. A streamlet seeps from the dam to water the tree.

Quietly, we approach the pond, as if entering a hallowed place. I train my binoculars on a pair of ravens swooping and plummeting high against the sun-drenched cliffs. Others busy themselves identifying the richly varied oasis flora: cottonwood, willow, canyon hackberry, water birch, ash, Virginia creeper, horsetail, three-leaf sumac, white and lavendar aster, Indian paint brush, and dandelion.

By afternoon we're back in Cottonwood Canyon. Forming a "shore patrol," we clean up old fire rings and collect debris discarded by previous campers. Then we inflate the kayaks and spend the rest of the afternoon paddling, swimming, or napping.

This evening, like all evenings aboard the houseboat, begins with a communal dinner, all 10 of us crowded around a sumptuously laden table. After dinner and cleanup, we'll set up rows of chairs to watch a "Gary Ladd Production," featuring slide images of Lake Powell, the construction of the new Navajo Bridge, or scenes from Gary's epic backpack adventures in the Grand Canyon. One night we build a fire on the beach and swap stories while waiting for Ada's Dutch-oven cherry pie to bake. Afterward we bed down on the top deck and watch "shooting stars" until drowsing off.

The next day's exploration takes us to Ribbon Canyon, a lovely steep-walled gorge with a permanent stream. Although we see none, we find evidence of beavers: gnawed cottonwood saplings and tender twigs and branches stashed in pools near bank-side dens. Water striders, diving beetles, and small fish dart for cover as we hike past the deeper pools. In one pool, we discover two or three large amphibiansleopard frogs, we think. Horsetail, desert trumpet, paint-brush, Hooker's evening primrose, and tule grow in the streambed. Hanging ferns adorn rock-face clefts.

Later we return to Steve and the houseboat in Anasazi Canyon where, luckily, we discover a houseboat-size cove at a small, secluded island. After safely mooring, we rocket off the aquatic slide at the rear of the houseboat into deep, cool water. My daughter, Lynne, and Ada launch the kayaks to explore Anasazi and its side canyons. Ada, to our delight, performs a shaky headstand in her kayak.

With 10 stories of canyon wall above and 40 fathoms of placid water below, paddling the narrow canyons of Lake Powell in a kayak is a feast for the eyes and ears. No motors intrude to stifle the soft riffling of water past the bow.

Ravens quork and swifts twitter high on the rim. Hardy, crack-sprouting flowers andshrubs, unnoticed from the deck of a speedboat, suddenly appear. And from water level, everything becomes more heroic in scale: scalloped conch-shell rock patterns, the intricate tapestries of dark mineral stains on red sandstone, and eye-shaped pockmarks staring down from rock faces.

We're reluctant to leave our tight little island. With great swimming off the back of the boat, kayaking into the narrows, and absolute privacy, it's our best campsite by far. But leave we must. One more day of play and exploration lies ahead, then the long ride back to the marina.

In the morning, Steve pilots the houseboat to Dangling Rope Marina for fuel and servicing while the rest of us launch the speedboats and set sail for Twilight Canyon. Sheer walls close in farther into the canyon's depths. Looking for a sandy spot to beach the boats, we encounter only steep rock. Finally, an arched hollow with a long, shaded bench beneath it appears. At one end, sloping rock flattens a bit right at the waterline. We moor the boats and clamber up the slope to the shade. Perfect for lunch. But first a swim.

The air and surface water temperature are nearly equal, ideal for a plunge, so I don my flotation vest, cap, and sunglasses and float in the jade-green waters, happy as a clam. The more energetic swim a half mile up the canyon to see what's round the bend, then return for lunch.

Hauling an ice chest up the bench, we feast on thick sandwiches and take in our surroundings. Even now, on the next to last day of our expedition, we're still inspired by all the natural beauty. Redbud trees and monkeyflower grow where water seeps from the base of the cliff. Higher, verdant rock mat, tethered by long roots, cascades from clefts in the sandstone wall.

After lunch we motor to Rainbow Bridge. Beyond the bridge, we hike into Aztec Canyon to inspect what's left of Echo Camp. Before Glen Canyon Dam made Rainbow Bridge accessible by boat, sightseers had to travel 14 miles overland from Navajo Mountain Trading Post. The oasis at Echo Camp was their overnight rest stop. There's a yearround spring and plenty of shade here, and rusty bedsteads on a ledge above the spring reveal a sheltered sleeping area. In the midafternoon heat, we splash spring water on our faces and necks before hiking out.

Later, in Wetherill Canyon on our last night on the lake, the mood is a bit subdued. We split into small groups. A trio climbs atop a nearby sandstone peak; a pair retreats to the top deck to sit in silence; I go ashore with a deck chair and book; Gary, as always, mounts a camera on a tripod and begins shooting. After dinner, we head to the upper deck of our floating hotel for an early bedtime. In the morning, we launch quickly and eat breakfast on the move, heading straight for Wahweap 40 miles away. Going in, we sit on deck ticking off the names of familiar landmarks: Navajo Mountain, Gregory Butte, Gunsite Butte, Romana Mesa. About 12 miles from Wahweap, we spot a broad beach and urge Steve to pull in one last time.

The beach is beautiful - its white sands layered with a profusion of evening primrose and sand verbena. After a quick, final dip, I stand in the sun letting the warm breeze dry me. Boarding the boat, I notice our gear stacked and ready for off-loading. Atop one pile lie all those puzzles, games, and playing cards, still tightly shrink-wrapped.

Friends' Travel: Photographer Richard Embery will lead a Friends of Arizona Highways Photo Workshop at Lake Powell, October 7-11, 1999. For information, contact the Friends at P.O. Box 6106, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6106; (602) 271-5904 or toll-free at (888) 790-7042. Also see page 55 in this issue for other Friends' trips.

Lake Powell, about 280 miles north of Phoenix via Interstate 17 and U.S. Route 89, is in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

For information on boating regulations, campsites, weather, fees, and other matters pertaining to Lake Powell, contact the Superintendent, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, P.O. Box 1507, Page, AZ 86040; (520) 608-6404.

Lake Powell's five marinas - Wahweap, Dangling Rope, Hall's Crossing, Bullfrog, and Hite are operated by ARAMARK Leisure Services, 2233 W. Dunlap, Suite 400, Phoenix, AZ 85021. Information on boat rentals, lake cruises, and accommodations at Wahweap Lodge, which is six miles northwest of Page, is available by calling ARAMARK toll-free at (800) 528-6154 or (602) 278-8888, in the Phoenix area.

For hiking and camping permits to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, located on the Navajo Indian Reservation, contact Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation, Window Rock office, (520) 871-6647; the Antelope Canyon office, (520) 698-3347; or Cameron Visitors Center, (520) 679-2303. For general area information, call the Page-Lake Powell Chamber and Visitors Bureau, toll-free (888) 261-PAGE.

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