Desert Dory - Lake Powell 16-21 May 2020

DayBreak · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 11:11 pm Post subject:

Thank you Dr. Bob. Good information for us to consider. A top map showing elevations of the waters is very important to us as first timers with safety in mind. Thank you so much. I think the fall of 2021 will be good for us to make this visit to LP. Smile

Desert Dory · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:40 pm Post subject:

Hey Gary,
I'm sure just about any time at Powell is a good time. Dr. Bob has a lot of experience there and makes some very good points about fall vs spring and the water levels. Depending on what kind of chartplotter you have you can make adjustments for the varying water levels to help keep you out of trouble.

On my Garmin I set colors for varying depths/zones once I figured out what the "actual" water level was when we got there. An example would be a Dark Blue for water depth between 300 and 500 feet. If I had some kind of emergency and HAD to travel at night, keeping the boat in the Dark Blue would pretty much keep me in the main lake channel and out of trouble for the most part. Having said that, DO NOT travel at night on Powell unless you absolutely have to.

Our trip in May was perfect as far as weather, and the water level was 3601 and climbing. Predictions for 2021 don't look as good for the water level so fall may be the best bet.

My wife and I were supposed to go to Powell for a week on 13 Oct. Then, due to a family emergency, we got delayed and weren't able to leave until the 23rd. We missed our weather window as a front moving into the Powell area on 26th was forecasting a high of 42 and a low of 31 starting that Monday, and not getting a whole lot better for the days following. That's a little too cold for these desert dwellers.

The Mrs. suggested Havasu as plan B and that's were we ended up going. The same front threw out some nasty 35-45 (gusts to 60) mph winds but the temps were much more bearable. Had to hunker down in the same spot for Sunday and Monday nights (snugged up behind Issacs Rock on the Colorado River) but, we made it thru the worst of it and ended up having a great, first trip to Havasu.

Be sure to post up what you end up deciding to do. We may be able to make it up there again.

DayBreak · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 9:53 pm Post subject:

Thank you Desert Dory.

Sounds like your Garmin has nice features.

We will need to drive a moderate distance to see and experience LP but it is on our bucket list.

Thank you for your help and advice on travel to LP.