Glen Canyon, 4-1-16

[gnwatts]

I had mixed feelings about visiting Lake Powell, the first time in about thirty years. But I was going with @Nick, @slc_dan and @Artemus, so I knew it would be memorable, how could I turn it down? Hanging with Artemus was great, as we are the same age and I did not feel so old.
Like I said, I had mixed feelings. Obviously the thought of a beautiful canyon submerged below was bitter sweet, but I felt it was time to give in and explore it, with the best guide anyone could have.
We met in Green River and headed south, and car camped in Goblin Valley, in a spectacular canyon. After a slightly rainy night we headed south to Bullfrog, got the boat in the water and took off.
Captain Nick and Dan, relaxing in perfect weather:



My apologies for not knowing exactly where we were at any given time, but it did not really matter.
Art at the helm, with Dan and Mya:










Art and Dan in someone's Cathedral:




We camped that night off of a side canyon.



The next morning the reflections were beautiful, so I attempted to capture them. Again, it is bittersweet, these drowned trees, but they were interesting subjects:

Dan creating a masterful cup of joe:






Nikita, in deep thought:








Well my plane has just been announced at DIA, so I will have to cut this short. To be continued.....

 

[Artemus]

Great Greg! I don't like to use this word often but this was an epic trip because of all the adventures and misadventures you will be reporting on. This was sure the trip of reflections wasn't it? Great TR, can't wait for the rest.

Nice britches Underscore !

 

[Nick]

Epic indeed, @Artemus! I have half a novel written just to describe the incident on the last day. Will it ever see the light of day though?? Undecided. Great pics, Greg. Looking forward to the rest. Now I just have to figure out how to copy these over to the BCP server so they don't all go missing when you move things around on your photo site!

 

[Artemus]

Epic indeed, @Artemus! I have half a novel written just to describe the incident on the last day. Will it ever see the light of day though?? Undecided. Great pics, Greg. Looking forward to the rest. Now I just have to figure out how to copy these over to the BCP server so they don't all go missing when you move things around on your photo site!

Yay, publish! I wrote up flash flooding my truck into oblivion here (link kindly not provided) ostensibly for lessons-learned purposes so you should teach others about whale danger through our adventure. We all got us into that mess and you got us out so take the risk.

 

[slc_dan]

Nice britches Underscore !

I can get you a pair, actually probably not.

 

[gnwatts]

Thanks gentleman for your comments.
The next day we set off on another glassy day to drop off Dan and Artemus to climb the Rincon:



I had no intention of trying this, so I hung out with Nick, Nikita and Sage. We broke out our bottle of organic Prosecco (after dropping those two maniacs off) and drank to their success. We would be picking them up in a few hours, so we headed back to camp to relax.
Their climb was successful, so we drank a bottle of champagne.
I must say, I was extremely embarrassed regarding the setting up of my tent the previous evening. Granted the wind was blowing pretty hard, I got the inner tent up pretty easy, but the fly was mysteriously refusing to cooperate. It was my mental condition, as i had hallucinated an impossible to find "pouch" that the top cross pole fit into on each side above the doors. I was truly ashamed of my backcountry abilities as Art came over to assist, after seeing and hearing me voice my irritation. We continued to look for aforementioned pocket, it was getting comical, not unlike a Laurel and Hardy movie. Finally, Nick and Dan came over, filled with pity and disgust at my inability to succeed in a basic camping chore. Finally I gave up. Coincidentally the wind stopped after the tent was up.
Jokes came my way, well deserved I must admit. There was no pocket found, but I am still looking. I needed some whiskey after that.




After Art and Dan got back. we all enjoyed a dip in the cold but refreshing water, with Sage as lifeguard:





Art, hiking up a beautiful side canyon:




The next stop, Cathedral in the Desert. I had been both excited and dreading seeing this sacred place. I soon got rid of the negative vibes when we approached it through an incredibly tight canyon, you could see the golden light, hinting at what lay beyond:




Photographs of this place are difficult, as I try to connect an emotional feeling to an image. Emotions in this place, will overpower any attempt to photograph it, at least for me.





The sounds and light were merging, especially when Dan brought out his guitar and voice. A truly sublime experience.
















What could top this place. Not possible.
But the next campsite up the Escalante in 50 mile(?) canyon came close. In a natural sand barrier across the canyon, with the submerged Gregory Arch adjacent, it was a spectacular place. This time I left the friggin tent in the boat, preferring the sand. Adjacent to the camp spot was an immense overhang, defying scale (this is less than half the height of the actual cave) , Nick and Dan:




Nick and Sage:














Next morning:



So we packed up to explore more of the Escalante, turning into a side canyon. As Nick has mentioned, there is a book to be written. Suffice it to say the boat stopped at about 20 miles an hour, as a hidden rock kind of got in our way. After maybe an hour of pushing and pulling, we were able to extricate ourselves from this rock. With no damage. Quite exciting!










From the sand bar, with the submerged Gregory Arch to the left:



As the man said, And that is that.

Thanks Nick, Dan and Art for a truly unforgettable couple of days.
Thanks for looking.
Greg

 

[chandlerwest]

Wonderful