Cathedral in the Desert

hatchcanyon

hatchcanyon

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Cathedral in the Desert

Have you ever been there?

Travellers from the 1950/60ies described this place as a magic one. Lateron it sunk into the rising waters of Lake Powell.

In June 2004 the reservoirs level had fallen that much that we could float with a boat into this great hall. Even it had not fallen completely dry we got an idea about it must have impressed people in these earlier days.

CathedralDesert01_12.jpg
 
No, but I hear it's incredible. Backpacker magazine recommended this as a place to see when the waters of Lake Powell drop. Someone needs to go and post a TR, hint hint. :cool:
 
I was there with the water level about the same as your photo, was very cool back in there!
 
Went there when water level was low and there was a island to the right of the boat. Not bad getting into from the top. Worst is a 85 ft free rappal. Two or three shorter ones as well.
 
Was there a few years ago, hit it within 8 feet of low water. Came in from the top ...... not by boat (easy). One 85 ft FREE rappal and a couple shorter ones. There was a island to the right where the boat is, and a nice waterfall from the V in the rock just in front of the boat. I'll dig up some pics and trip info for the overland route.... may be a day or two, heading out for a couple days in Idaho.
 
I've been. I was there with fairly low water levels in 2012, lower than the picture. We upclimbed the slot thing that the waterfall cuts through as it pours down, then headed up clear creek for a while. There were lots of green pools with dragonflies, and then there was a rope for up climbing a 15 foot wall. Next was a slimy, pothole laden chute that we worked our way up. Only with the most ridiculous teamwork (human ladders and tossing people) were we able to get the four of us up that slippery chute. Eventually we got to a green swampy thing with trees, and the vegetation became too thick to continue barefoot, so we turned back. The leap from the waterfall at the end back into the lake was fun. Ultimately wish it had no lake, I can only imagine walking in here on foot. (Full disclosure, I hate Lake Powell and see it as an obstacle to getting to the places it inundates.)
 
Gorgeous. Would be so much more so without the water.... I look forward to reading about the overland route. So many places on the must-be-explored list.
 
"Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get nearer the ceiling?"
A somewhat hypocritical David Brower quote.

Transfer all of that water behind half full Glen Canyon Dam to Lake Meade (which is 39% full). As we all know Glen Canyon Dam is a poorly designed, leaky piece of crap, built for water skiers and party boats, in between unstable porous sandstone cliffs. Not for water storage or electricity (ok technically it can help the grid in emergencies during spikes in demand).
And besides Glen Canyon Dam is butt ugly, in insult to the eye and senses.

I missed my chance in 2005 to see Cathedral in the Desert. I one day would like to pull up my canoe and wander into it. It makes total sense to restore it. Economically, socially and environmentally. I think exposing these treasures for the world to see would be beneficial to us all.

:moses:
 
The quote above about the Sistine Ceiling was made out of context by me. My apologies. Brower made the comment in newspaper ads at the time in reference to plans to dam the Grand Canyon, not Glen Canyon. But it does seem, IMO, "somewhat" hypocritical all the same.
Brower, as head of the Sierra Club in 1956, in order to save Dinosaur National Monument from the Echo Park Dam, he agreed to a plan to flood Glen Canyon. It was not inadvertent.
 
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It is a magical place whether the water is really low like this April and in 2005, or just sort of low like it is right now with the water at the top of the falls. I wish we had a better record of the other places that no one talks about that haven't seen the light of day since the 60's. I drove through the top half of Labyrinth this past weekend. And by that I mean I saw the tops of the cliffs nearly crushing my boat on each side and looked at my depth finder reading of 100'+ and groaned about what a canyon it must be down there. Glen Canyon... what a place.
 
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Dungeon Canyon and Labyrinth were some of the most impressive and tragic losses. After the confluence with the San Juan, Glen was almost like a hallway with each side canyon being a doorway on the sides of the halls. Walk into the side doors, and there's a little world with its own character in each one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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