Lake Powell 2004 - Utah Outdoor Activities

Well another great year behind us, I honestly don't know what we would do if we didn't have our annual trip to Lake Powell to look forward to all winter. All though with the current water conditions each year we question whether we will be able to make our trip or not.

Fortunately this year was slow to warm, and we were able to make our trip early enough in the year to not have a lot of concerns. July had not heated up to much by the time we left, but just for the record is was HOT, HOT, HOT on the lake. We launched from Bullfrog Marina, and sure the conditions are changing but there is still plenty of lake to enjoy. We like to drive down the night before in the cooler conditions, and launch at the crack of dawn to insure low traffic, and less launch stress. The cement ramp was still accessible when we arrived so our launch went off without a hitch.

Our plan was to return to a canyon (Knowles) that we had not been able to access for a couple of years, but had enjoyed so much we never left it the last time we were there. So up the channel we went, the mouths of the canyons are a little hard to spot with all the new walls so we missed the canyon on our first buzz by, but we circled back. The canyon was just as beautiful as I remembered, but the camping was well nonexistent, so back down to Hansen Creek which has always been known for its good camping. There were more boats in Hansen's but as the water resides so do the beaches. It seems that what was under water before were mere cliffs, and steep slopes, of course they will come to a smooth bottom some were but I really don't ever want to see that! So after our morning jaunt 14 miles up the lake, and back; we found a great cove off the main channel about 1 mile prior to the mouth of Hansen Creek. I was a little worried about camping on the channel, but as we boated around during the week, that seems to be your best option. The cove we found actually jutted back off the channel about a quarter mile so the ruff chop really didn't get back to us, not to mention we were almost completely encircled by steep slopes. Our private bay was no more then 7' deep at most but that worked out well for our little runabouts, and the kids to swim there hearts out.

Picture of our private bay!

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We of course did all the traditional Lake Powell activities, swim, ski, wake board, cliff jump, fish, and bake!! It was a great trip all in all, we were actually able to ski the channel. During early morning and late evening the chop would minimize enough to gut it out if your a dedicated skier. But we were not satisfied with that, so off we went to look for that glass water that we have come to love, and expect from Lake Powell. Now Moki Canyon has always been known for its depth and the numerous arms that jut off in every direction, so we thought it would be a sure find for some nice water - wrong. The boat traffic was so thick it was actually scary, due to the low water the turns are pretty narrow and sharp so I don't recommend playing in there even though plenty were, it was just to dangerous for my liking. The canyon only goes back about 5 miles, and there is very limited camping, all though we did locate a fun camp, that if you got lucky and were brave enough, it would probably make for the ultimate camping site. So with our plans to ski Moki shot down we headed for the wall for some fishing.

If you search long enough and get a little lucky this picture above is just the kind of campsites that you may locate.

Taken By Utah Outdoor Activities

Our next route of travel found us back in Hansen Creek looking for a ridge to do a few low, and safe cliff jumps, (I believe they refer to that as an oxymoron safe, and cliff jumps). The obstacle relating to cliff jumping that you will encounter this year is that all of the cliffs are huge!!! But of course if you are dedicated to your cause you will find the perfect ledge to meet your needs, and expertise, which of course we did. But keep in mind that cliff jumping is the number one cause for injury, and death at Lake Powell.

Cliff Jumping Lake Powell

Cliff Jumping At Lake Powell. If you participate in this activity you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Okay so on to the really good part, we eventually did find our oasis on the lake, which was not only great skiing but turned out to be an excellent fishing hole. Crystal Springs Canyon, from the Channel does not appear to go any were but as we investigated it turned out to run back several miles, and lucky for us there was only two house boats camped inside, just for the record there really was no beach camping available. So with only two other boaters competing for the water it made for a great secret. The canyon had large bays around each corner so it was easy for each of us to pick our own little section and ski our hearts out, which of course kept the boat chop down to nothing. When we tired of skiing we pulled into a large alcove were we would be out of the way of the other boaters and drowned an anchovy or two. What a great idea that turned out to be! We hit the jackpot reeling in one large healthy striper after the other, yahoo!!!! Fortunately we were able to access the fish jackpot enough to load up and we will enjoy striper all summer long. See our fishing Lake Powell Article!

Crystal Springs Canyon - Lake Powell

Picture inside Crystal Springs Canyon

Taken By Utah Outdoor Activities

Well as our trip came to an end we headed back to the marina to find that while we were gone the ramps had been closed. We new the water was dropping fast but we had no idea just how much. The primitive ramp was being used heavily, and no one seemed to be having any trouble, in fact as we pulled out they were launching a very large house boat from it. We were able to use the concrete ramp due to the fact that we were now a lot lighter then when we launched and we have a small boat by Lake Powell standards.

I understand that everyone is concerned about the water levels at Lake Powell, I am also, but I dare say we had just as good a trip as any we have taken over the years. So don't let the low water spoil your plans, just be prepared to take a little extra time to find those sweet camping spots and enjoy!

Below are some more scenic photos of Powell:

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