Wahweap

Nick

-
.
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
12,949
Audra and I spent a few days exploring Glen Canyon this past weekend with my sister and her family, including three of my youngest nieces and nephews. They don't camp much but they had seen photos and really wanted to come and do a little exploring with us. At first I was thinking September would be the perfect time for it. Typically the monsoons have died down and the temps are still nice. But as the trip approached, it started looking pretty rough with all of the turbulent weather associated with the pacific hurricanes we've had this year. I knew their camping gear wasn't the most robust, so Audra and I got down a night early to scout out a prime campsite.

It took longer than I expected to get to Wahweap. So long in fact that we only had about 90 minutes from when we launched to race up the lake and find a campsite. Coming out of Bullfrog, I'd be seriously concerned about finding one at all, but it turns out Wahweap is loaded with good sites. But we didn't want good, we wanted great. We got to Face Canyon during golden hour to find all the best sites taken. On the way out, we came across this group parasailing. It is illegal here, but it doesn't seem like there is a lot of enforcement of any of the other rules either. Oh well. Fun to see, I guess.


wahweap-face-canyon-1.jpg


It soon became clear that we wouldn't find the perfect spot that night, so we decided to just find a patch of sand to drive the boat onto for the night. We could wake up and find a site and then go pickup the family from the ramp. But it turned out that small patch of sand we found next was the perfect site. Possibly the most perfect I've found all year.

We tied up the boat and started setting up camp for the next 4 nights. This was the view to the east that night.
wahweap-face-canyon-2.jpg

It was calm, clear and very hot that first night. We sat out on the boat admiring the stars. I ended up sleeping right on the floor of that boat that first night. It was just too hot to go to the tent.
wahweap-face-canyon-4.jpg

In the morning, I poked my head over the edge of the boat to see some nice color on the horizon.
wahweap-face-canyon-5.jpg

And then the light hit the rocks above camp.
wahweap-face-canyon-6.jpg

And then camp. It was such an incredibly beautiful scene. I couldn't stop taking pictures.
wahweap-face-canyon-7.jpg

Under beautiful skies, we motored back to the Wahweap launch ramp to pickup my sister and her family.
wahweap-face-canyon-8.jpg

We went straight back to camp and proceeded to setup and play in the warm water. Everyone loved paddling around the Sea Eagle.
wahweap-face-canyon-9.jpg

There was a school of Blue Gill hanging around the boat which made for a fine opportunity for all three of my nieces and nephew to catch their first ever fish.
wahweap-face-canyon-10.jpg

We spent most of that first day close to camp just exploring and playing. Nikita tried to catch fish as usual, but she did a better job of getting hugs and pets.
wahweap-face-canyon-11.jpg

Me and a nice Largemouth Smallmouth Bass caught off the back of the boat in camp that evening.
wahweap-face-canyon-12.jpg wahweap-face-canyon-13.jpg

That night I broke out my new DIY fishing light I made. All together it was only about $20 to make and it performed very well. The light consists of some PVC from Home Depot, a bit of wire I had laying around, an 8 AA battery pack from Radio Shack and an $8 string of waterproof LED lights from Amazon.
wahweap-face-canyon-14.jpg

Here is a short video of the small baitfish circling around it at night. I dipped my iPhone 5S right in thanks to the LifeProof nuud case.

The next day we went up to Rainbow Bridge. Audra and I hung out in the boat with the dogs while everyone else hiked. I didn't really get any great photos that day, but it was a great day with great weather. I think the highlight was watching people try to dock at the crowded string of docks at Rainbow Bridge.

After a stop for ice cream at Dangling Rope, we went back to camp as some thunderstorms rolled through the area. My nephew really loved exploring the slickrock domes around camp.
wahweap-face-canyon-15.jpg

The storms that evening made for some awesome light. It rained a bit all the way into the following morning, but by 10am, it was once again beautiful and sunny.
wahweap-face-canyon-16.jpg

My sister with a nice mid-morning catfish in camp. We caught a lot of larger ones at night too.
wahweap-face-canyon-17.jpg

Later that day we went over to Cookie Jar Butte. I'd wanted to explore the potholes around here for a while, but I'd left my hiking shoes at camp and the slickrock was too steep for what I had. I'll be back for that later.
wahweap-face-canyon-18.jpg

We did do some more wake boarding while we were there though. That's my brother in law catching some air. This was his second time wake boarding. Not too bad.
wahweap-face-canyon-19.jpg

We found a nice spot just below Cookie Jar Butte to park the boat and play for a while. wahweap-face-canyon-21.jpg

I found a friend.
wahweap-face-canyon-20.jpg


Next we went over to Labyrinth Canyon and followed it all the way to the end of the water. It was very cool and very narrow, but also particularly sad because all you really see are the tips of the walls with lots of water hiding the rest. It got so skinny at times that I only had a couple feet of clearance on each side of the boat.
wahweap-face-canyon-22.jpg wahweap-face-canyon-23.jpg

We stopped at the Dominguez Butte floating restroom on the way back to camp. Turns out there is great fishing near the floating restrooms!
wahweap-face-canyon-24.jpg

My sister and wife fishing and soaking in the late afternoon sun. Soon after this photo was taken, I learned the hard way not to ever kick a catfish. I caught one and as I went to release it, it fell on the back deck of the boat. I knew those things had big, sharp spikes on their fins, but before I could think, I used my foot to get the fish back into the water. Luckily the bone in my big toe kept the spear from going all the way through it. I'm not sure if it's venom or what, but the 'sting' that those things give is INCREDIBLE PAINFUL!!!
wahweap-face-canyon-25.jpg wahweap-face-canyon-26.jpg

We motored around in the evening and caught a few more stripers before heading back to camp for dinner.
wahweap-face-canyon-27.jpg

In addition to the green fishing light, I recently installed some color changing LED ambience lights under the edges of the seats of the boat. Flipping them to red makes for an incredibly awesome star gazing experience. Looking off the back of the boat with the green water makes you feel like you're kind of drifting through space. Good times.
wahweap-face-canyon-28.jpg

The next morning was time to go home. While everyone packed, my sister and I ran over to the floating restroom to clean out the portapotti. We took an extra hour on the way back to catch more than a half dozen nice stripers.
wahweap-face-canyon-29.jpg


It was an awesome trip, particularly because the weather turned out so good and I was able to go with family. We decided while we were there to just leave the boat at Wahweap for the foreseeable future. It's so much cheaper than towing it around and it solves the problem of keeping snow off the boat here at home. It also makes it so much easier to quick and easy trips down there. I used to only want to go for 4-5 days because of the trouble and cost of towing, now 3-days sounds pretty nice. I'll probably do a handful of off-season trips down that way if any BCP'ers would like to join. Just let me know. I'm getting another knee surgery sometime in November, but if all goes well, that will be the one that actually fixes it. :)

A lot more photos here for anyone interested in seeing the full set:
https://plus.google.com/photos/1135...s/6062683233658097745?authkey=CO2ihpSk7aWLyQE
 
Cool photos, I like the wake boarder one. And I never realized they had largemouth bass in Utah. I was really big into bass fishing growing up back east, before moving west.
 
I love Lake Powell. The fish light is cool and cheap. I hope you guys get out on that boat a lot. Are you going to go much during the winter?
 
@Joey - There are plenty of LMB in Utah. Powell in particular has a pretty healthy population in certain years, depending on water levels and brush. A friend of mine has a blog dedicated pretty much solely to LMB fishing around Utah and Idaho. http://www.krakenbass.com/

@TannerT - I think now that we're storing the boat down there, I'll definitely get in at least a few winter trips. I did a February and an April trip this year and it was awesome. Not super warm for swimming, but no one was there and the glass/reflections were unbelievable. Also a great time for exploring canyons in low water. And in a warm spell, it's really not even that cold out there in mid-winter. Two words: Tumbleweed bonfire!!
 
Stan and I would be up for a trip sometime! Anyone an Arrogant Bastard fan?
 
Anyone an Arrogant Bastard fan?


We used to live in Del Dios and still have friends around there, we go there every time we are in town. It rocks.
 
We used to live in Del Dios and still have friends around there, we go there every time we are in town. It rocks.

You seem to be the only one who knows what it is. To those who haven't had the pleasure, it's a kick-ass beer. Or so my sweetie tells me, I don't like beer. But every vacation we go on he has to find where they sell Arrogant Bastard. We promise to bring enough for everyone. :cool:
 
I don't know what Arrogant Bastard is, but I've been called that before, so I'm sold! I'll keep you in the loop. Any plans to be up this way next month?
 
I don't know what Arrogant Bastard is, but I've been called that before, so I'm sold! I'll keep you in the loop. Any plans to be up this way next month?

Actually yes! Will be in the Zion area October 29-November 2, have plans w/ @Miss Buffalo for the 1st. The rest I'm just making up as I go along.
 
Stan and I would be up for a trip sometime! Anyone an Arrogant Bastard fan?
Yeah, Stone Brewing. Did the brewery tour last thanksgiving while visiting So Cal. My friend in SLC who brews beer keeps wanting to clone that one. I plan to help him drink it. Great beer!
 
Beautiful campsite and awesome night shots. I bet you could sell a ton of those fish lights to all of the people that crab along the Jersey shore.
 
Nice write-up and pics. I like the spirit with which you approach the abomination of LP. The crowds there suck and all the beautiful canyons it covered is such a loss, but I like that you use it as a boat-based, desert exploration. That's nice and if there is room I would to join a trip down there. I'll gladly be the tumbleweed collecting boy and the bringer and shaker of the whiskey sours. Keep us posted. Also good luck with the knee surgery; hope it's a great success!
 
I wish I was as cool as @Nick! The Lake Powell adventures you go on are phenomenal, and the moments you capture in your photography is the best!
 
Thanks guys!

Nice write-up and pics. I like the spirit with which you approach the abomination of LP. The crowds there suck and all the beautiful canyons it covered is such a loss, but I like that you use it as a boat-based, desert exploration. That's nice and if there is room I would to join a trip down there. I'll gladly be the tumbleweed collecting boy and the bringer and shaker of the whiskey sours. Keep us posted. Also good luck with the knee surgery; hope it's a great success!

It's a never ending struggle to reconcile my hatred of the dam with how much I have enjoyed these trips. It's a total love-hate but totally worth it. It's like a whole new massive chunk of beautiful desert is now available to explore. My biggest complaint (aside from the dam) is that it's tough to have the boat AND go on big hikes without having someone stick around and tend to the boat. I wish I could just park it like a car and take off for a few days. You should definitely join us sometime. We currently have an opening for a tumbleweed collecting whiskey shaker. PM Sent!
 
I love Lake Powell!! And am envious. Awesome pictures again.
I wish I could go as often as you go. Love to take my kayak on the lake.
If you go again next year let me know. I always need an excuse to play and camp a bit at Lake Powell.
 
Yvonne - I don't know about next year, but depending on your schedule, we might have a spot this year. I'll shoot you a PM.
 
Hey Nick nice write up. But I have to tell you the bass you are holding is a small mouth. Even though its mouth is big you can tell the difference by the vertical lines on it. A large mouth has one large horizontal bar. Oh and yes I'm writing this at 4:45 am because of the sweet lightning storm that woke me up.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top