09/20 - Lake Powell 2014 Gathering

Hi Chris,

My name is Roger Pelz - '85 C-Dory Angler - Sunrunner. I live in the Sacramento, CA area and would like to meet you in Wahweap on Sep. 19th and follow you up to Oak Canyon.

Coming along with me is a good friend, Vic Mershon who will be on a 26' motorsailor with one person on his crew (at the moment I am singlehanding).

This is my first trip to Lake Powell and I am really looking forward to it. Do you have a list of stops after Oak Canyon? If you do - do you have lat/long waypoints for them? Will there be an opportunity to get fuel during the trip?

Also, could I get a cell phone number for you so that I can get in touch with you as we approach Wahweap on the 19th? My cell phone is 916/208-6624.

I have checked out all I could find on C-Brats about previous trips but would appreciate any information on this trip that you could send me.

Regards - Roger Pelz -- Email = rdpelz932@att.net
 
OK, our plans are changing! We are interested to find out when other folks are planning on arriving at Lake Powell, so we could potentially hook up! We will be launching at Bullfrog. We were originally planning on heading out on the road September 9 but now our dates look like they are getting pushed back a bit, potentially from a little to a lot! We are planning on being on the lake three weeks more or less but with no fixed schedule, other than making it to Oak Canyon. So what are YOUR plans?
 
We will be leaving Yellowstone Lake some time around Sept 14th with a stop at home on the way to launch at Bullfrog around the 17th. Then plan to slowly cruise toward Oak Canyon during that & the next day. We both enjoy spending a couple days at Oak canyon before the Gathering. Following the gathering we will likely cruise with the others as they continue up to Forgotton Canyon & when the group heads back toward Walheap we will in a day or so load up back for home.
 
Something to consider if you're going to spend any additional time in the Lake Powell - Southern Utah area, is picking up a copy of Photographing the Southwest, Volume One, by Laurent Martres. While it is oriented to photography, it provides some very detailed directions to really interesting natural formations, and to ancient dwellings and art from the ancient puebloan people in that region.

Here's a photo of a place called 'House on Fire' in the Cedar Mesa area between Bullfrog and Blanding.

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This set of handprints is probably 700 to 800 years old. They are located right next to a major attraction in a national monument. There are a few kiva type structures and a lot of rock art at this site. We even found (and left) an ancient maize cob on the ground. What is interesting is that it is relatively unknown to most visitors.

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A question for some of you who have been to Powell before: I have read that one must switch to a smaller prop, or a power prop to run in Powell if you are from the coast. What is the consensus?
 
anchorout":3u3x5mdu said:
A question for some of you who have been to Powell before: I have read that one must switch to a smaller prop, or a power prop to run in Powell if you are from the coast. What is the consensus?
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I have a carbureted Honda 90 on my 22. At sea level and lower elevations, I run a stainless 3 bladed 15 pitch. At elevation (Lake Powell), I run an aluminum 3 bladed 13 pitch. It appears that fuel injected motors can usually stay with their standard prop.

That said, I tend to have a very heavy load in the boat. I have seen lightly loaded boats with motors similar to mine do just fine. This year, I hope to run a little lighter. After all, I don't need to have food for the entire trip in the boat. There are stores to buy what we need.
 
Wandering Sagebrush":3s2t309k said:
I have a carbureted Honda 90 on my 22. At sea level and lower elevations, I run a stainless 3 bladed 15 pitch. At elevation (Lake Powell), I run an aluminum 3 bladed 13 pitch.
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As another data point:
I have a carbureted 80 hp Yamaha 4-stroke. I was reasonably heavily loaded at Powell (two people, gear, and almost enough food). With a new, aluminum (Solas) 13.75 x 13, 3-bladed prop, I was able to achieve 5,500 RPM and 21.7 knots at WOT. That's the prop I ran with. I also tried a couple of others (briefly) just to get some baseline info. With a new aluminum (Solas) 13.25 x 13, 4-bladed prop, I got 5,100 RPM and 20.5 knots at WOT. With a used-and-by-no-means-perfect condition aluminum 13.5 x 15, 3-bladed prop, I got 4900 RPM and 20 knots (needless to say that one came off after about five minutes.. ugh!). I had bought the 13.75 x 13 3-bladed one for Powell, and that did turn out to be the best at that altitude (around 3500').

Wandering Sagebrush":3s2t309k said:
After all, I don't need to have food for the entire trip in the boat. There are stores to buy what we need.
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For myself, I would agree if planning to make a provisioning trip (by car) into Page partway through the trip (there is a Wal-Mart, Safeway, etc.). But on the lake what I found was basically what I think of as "convenience store" food. Milk and eggs, sure, but other than that ... white bread, mac & cheese, potato chips, hot dogs, Rice-a-Roni, processed cheese, a little bit of not-so-hot produce, etc. is typical (with "movie theater" prices, too). Ice is expensive but plentiful, so you can keep coolers alive.

We ended up staying out five weeks (because it was so fabulous, especially when the lake was "closed" and empty), and we practically starved by the end (we had planned to make a trip into Page to re-stock after two to three weeks, but by then the lake was closed so we would not have been able to do that and get back on). Oh, we had enough fuel to get back, so we knew we didn't have to starve if we were willing to end our trip -- but we didn't want to do that, so we were down to strict rationing for the last week and a half. I think we split one olive on the last day :mrgreen: This year I'm bringing much more food (especially staples such as rice, canned fish, dried fruit, nuts, etc. which I did have, but just not enough - because I was trying to lighten the load), and fishing gear. Oh what I would have given for a striper that last week! But we had nothing to fish with.

Sunbeam
 
We should be on the Lake somewhere between the 10th and 12th of Sept.

We run a 13" pitch (2" less than at sea level) on Powell, with a carved 90 hp Honda. Drop in pitch--not in diameter. You have about 3-4% loss of power per 1000 feet--so lets say at 3500 feet, you will have somewhere close to 12% loss of HP.
 
On the grocery issue...I agree with Sunbeam. Convenience store at best...and at the time of year we are there...tail end of the season...they are running their inventory down so pickings can be slim. I always recommend that folks provision for the duration before they leave the launch ramp.
Fuel is available at Wahweap...basically mile 0...at Dangling Rope at about mile 42...and at Bullfrog/Hall's Crossing at about mile 94.
The motorsailor might have some issues depending on draft...we beach our boats much of the time...and operate in very skinny water some of the time. If they bring a dingy along...should work out OK.
I am of the opinion that lat/long waypoints are of limited use on Lake Powell...the waterways are so convoluted that they won't do much good...I don't use them...so I don't have any for reference. Get the Stan Jones map...it will serve you well. If you have a plotter...and can get the map for the lake...it will be useful too.
Water levels are highly variable at Powell...and greatly influence beaches/campsites. We will not know where we will be until we get there! If you want to be with the group you need to stay with the group. If you separate from the group your chances of reconnecting are poor.
However...the general idea is to leave Oak Canyon on Sunday after the gathering and head for the Escalante river area (mile 68) for a day or two...then to Hall's Crossing for supplies (mile 94)...then to Forgotten Canyon (mile 106) for a day or two. This will probably be the furthest upstream canyon as we usually turn around here and head back downstream...visiting various canyons until we land back at Wahweap on Friday. Usually end up with about 300 miles total trip.
 
Roger G,
Your friend with the motor sailor (Macgreagor 26?) or Hess 26?. Should have no problem on the lake. The launching ramps may be shallow, and he might need a tongue extension, or cable for the trailer if the boat's draft is deep. The anchorages always seem to have deep places near the beaches where we anchor.

Lat and Lon, we have hundreds, but they are not good the next year, because of the changing lake levels. Go by river mile markers--and they are the guide posts. The Naviioncis app is great. Skipper app is based on the topo maps, and I have marked some of the anchorages, including Oak Creek Canyon on Active Captain--if you don't have Active Captain, get the free app!

Phones on the lake are sporadic. I have a Verizon phone which I activate only on Lake Powell, when I am in view of Navajo mountain--ATT & T is only good at State Line/Page area--and occasionally near Bull Frog.

We find that having enough food for 3 weeks on the lake is no problem, but the Admiral gets fish for every other day. Rice, beans, greens, cabbage all do well. Dry and dehydrated food last very well.

Sunbeam, can you elaborate on the lake being "closed". I was not aware that the lake was ever closed-but open year around.

We should be by there in 2 days, and drop the boat off. That will give some idea of what the lake level will be in Sept-but there was some hard rain in the last few days with high run off.
 
thataway":3cxmh6u3 said:
Sunbeam, can you elaborate on the lake being "closed". I was not aware that the lake was ever closed-but open year around.
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Last fall, after I had been on the lake a couple of weeks, the federal government shut down and thus the lake was closed. No-one could launch, and if you went to the marinas that have launch ramps (or food!), you were required to pull out and leave. But, if you were already on the lake, you could stay there as long as you did, literally, stay out. Since we had been planning to stay on the lake during this time, we did want to stay. But... this meant that a re-provisioning trip into Page was not possible, nor was a stop at any of the larger marina stores. Having the lake to ourselves (basically) was magical, but man, we got hungry! I had brought long-lasting staples, but had cut back on the amount (as compared to previous boats)in an effort to keep the boat light. After a week or so of the closure, we found out through "side channels" that it would be okay to go into Dangling Rope (no ramp there so no requirement to take out). And it was. But the store was pretty slim pickings (hello Corn Nuts, single servings of milk, American cheese food product, and other assorted "odd" snack-size servings of things). Of course by then it looked like Manna to us! :D

After a couple of weeks (IIRC) of the closure, the lake re-opened, but that was around the time we were planning to take out anyway, so we didn't stay out much longer after that. Even the Wahweap marina store looked like a supermarket to us by that point.

Now that was an exception, for sure, but I still would never want to "really" re-provision at the marina stores, save for milk, ice, and the occasional treat. I suppose it depends somewhat on one's taste and diet though.
 
We are launching at Bullfrog this year, so the heavier staples will stay in the camper. We can replenish when we come back to that area to refuel. Hopefully, no government shutdown this year, otherwise it's catch as many striped bass as possible.
 
The last time the government shut down people who live in the Lake Mead NRA on leased land had to leave their homes and could not return until the government reopened. One older woman had to live in her store in a nearby town until she could get back to her home.
 
We really want to join this cruise... but won't be able to get to Powell until the 23rd or 24th. Do you think there is anyway to catch up with the group? Perhaps by launching somewhere else? I know phone service is minimal there so, unless someone has a SATphone, we wouldn't be able to call and find out where you are. Chris, any idea of the itinerary this year and where you might be right around then?

Thanks, Mary
 
Mary, the Oak Canyon gathering is the 20th and 21st, and Chris says they are heading up the Escalante River after Oak Canyon. If you get there the 23rd or 24th and head right up the Escalante, you may well catch them coming back down! You also MIGHT be able to make a VHF radio contact when you are out in the main channel to find out where they are.


maryvmcclain":h6i4jne8 said:
We really want to join this cruise... but won't be able to get to Powell until the 23rd or 24th. Do you think there is anyway to catch up with the group? Perhaps by launching somewhere else? I know phone service is minimal there so, unless someone has a SATphone, we wouldn't be able to call and find out where you are. Chris, any idea of the itinerary this year and where you might be right around then?

Thanks, Mary
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Mary...if you launched at Hall's crossing you would have a good chance of catching the group as we go by. Depending on what day you are there we will either be headed upstream to Forgotten Canyon...or heading back downstream. We stop at Hall's both ways for supplies/ice/fuel/water/ice cream and the lake there is fairly open...so cell phones and radios sorta work. Wish I could be more exact but with the conditions changing like they do there is no telling where we will be when.
 
Mary,

I did this my first year at Powell (2012). I did the trip with a friend who could not get away from work in time to arrive with the group. After consultation with the gang here on the forum, we basically did as Chris suggested in the previous post. We launched at Bullfrog at around 2:30 p.m. on the Monday after the main (Oak Canyon) get-together, and planned/hoped to intercept the group on their way up to Forgotten Canyon (Defiance House is up that one). Thataway had kindly given us his phone number, so we were able to exchange a few voice mail messages and knew we had a pretty good chance of finding the group, although we knew it was possible to totally miss them.

Lo and behold, just as we launched at Bullfrog, Thataway and a couple of other boats were fueling and having ice cream at Hall's Crossing, right across the way. We fell in and we were off! First time on Powell, wow, amazing :)

Had a great evening group potluck, and then next morning hike to Defiance House. After that Chris/Rana Verde and our boat ended up losing the group (it's so easy to do as you know, and then nearly impossible to make VHF contact), but having a great time anyway, as he showed us the ropes and many good spots on the way back to Wahweap. We nearly solved the world's problems over a campfire in Rock Creek Bay, but not quite... maybe this year :D

Anyway, for me the meetup plan worked out really well, but there was a certain amount of luck involved, plus Thataway's logistics service via his phone number. Someone with a Verizon phone would be your best bet, as they have the most service (I have a Verizon mi-fi but not a phone).
 
We left Thisaway at Big Water boat storage this AM. Yesterday we had typical Powell weather. It was 98 when we arrived. There were camp sites with hookups, but the gal at the desk made a good suggestion for one which was long enough for the RV and boat (a little over 70 feet) plus the Yukon. We ran the generator until 10 PM--but by then the temperature was down to 68. We had a light rain, had to take in the awnings as the wind picked up to about 30 knots. IN the middle of the night I had to take in the largest slide because the wind was up to about 40 knots--and several tenters left the campground because they could not stabilize their tents. All was calm for a beautiful sunrise.

Several people told us that this is the busiest they had seen at Powell for many years, if ever. Castle Rock cut has plenty of water at this time. We always enjoy the drive North on 89 from Kanab. Today did not disappoint!
 
thataway":1omyx95d said:
We always enjoy the drive North on 89 from Kanab. Today did not disappoint!
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Oh that is a really nice stretch! Last year on the way to Powell I drove much of that (southbound) in the late afternoon/early evening and it was all corals and pinks. Really brought out the color in "Color Country." Then we turned east out of Kanab and the full moon rose the rest of the way to Powell. What a welcome that was.

Nice to hear the water is up a bit over last year.
 
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