Starvation

Nick

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Aug 9, 2007
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Sometimes life gets hectic and you just have to shirk some obligations and go do something fun. This was one of those times. It had been a while since Nate and I made it out on a trip, so we pulled together a quick one out to Starvation Reservoir near Duchesne this past weekend. All I'd seen of it was the nice view where the highway crosses over, but I'd heard they allowed primitive boat camping on the shore, so I was all over it.

The forecast had a little turbulence the first day but looked good the rest of the weekend. As we approached the lake, the skies got darker and darker. By the time we were launching, it was spitting on us and windy. Great time to launch for a multi-night boat trip!

Lucky for us, the sun broke through and we had a beautiful afternoon motoring around the lake checking out the scenery. We tried fishing for a while but had no luck. I had meant to stop by the fishing store on the way out of town for more lures and bait but totally forgot. Whoops.
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The south end of the reservoir was by far the most scenic.
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The weather (and the light) just got better as the evening winded down.
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Caption contest?
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We had our eye on a really sandy spot on the north end of the lake, but when we tried to beach, we found that the water was incredibly shallow. So much that we wouldn't be able to get the ramp to dry ground. Wet dogs are no fun, so we went looking for something else. We ended up on a rockier beach but with an incredible view of the sunset.
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It just got better and better. Sorry about all the pictures.
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It was a magical night on the boat. We stayed up late, watching the moon eventually set over the glassy waters. A surreal experience. And then this happened. That, my friends, is one of the consequences of staying up until 5am. #rampfail
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The sun punched us in the face much earlier than we would have liked. We answered it by motoring out to deep water, cooking breakfast and going for a swim.
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We spent the next few hours cruising around fishing and swimming. I brought along my snorkel set and we anchored up in a shallow cove and hung out for a few hours exploring the depths of the crystal clear waters. As I was out snorkeling, the wind suddenly changed direction, swinging the boat nearly into the shore and breaking free from our crudely set anchor. I climbed back in and motored away just in time, but it was clear the weather had shifted. We were getting hit with a solid 20+ mph wind so we decided to go tie up to a beach and give the dogs some shore time.

We deployed the bimini and took a nap as intense wind slammed the boat back and forth. Later in the afternoon, it seemed the wind would never stop. We decided to just stay in our spot and hope it would calm down a bit. I didn't take many photos, but I did take this one of a family of ducks swimming by. Notice the little ones riding on mom's back. They went back by a bit later. Cool scene. (sorry about the poor quality, I need a longer lens)
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The beach that we tied up to for the second night. There's Sage out looking for her frisbee.
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As the sun dropped, the wind calmed down a little and made for a decent night out on the boat. Once again, we both slept on the boat. This time more due to necessity as there was literally nowhere to put a tent on shore. Sometime in the middle of the night, the wind kicked back up and by 5am I could feel the rain on my face. Fortunately it didn't really pour and we were able to sleep in until 7. Upon waking, the skies looked mean as hell and the wind was fierce. We pulled in anchors and ran back to the ramp for the drive home. It was a nice, close destination for a quick trip. Only 2 hours from Salt Lake. I'll be back!
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Nice. It's been years and years since I was out on Starvation, but it used to be a very regular haunt way back in the day. I've got some acreage just a few minutes from there.

- DAA
 
Was that Sunday morning you got rained on? My brother and I were camped up on the wall at Wall Lake and I kept telling him how awesome the sunrise was from there. Only to wake up to nasty overcast.... I was bummed out.
 
Was that Sunday morning you got rained on? My brother and I were camped up on the wall at Wall Lake and I kept telling him how awesome the sunrise was from there. Only to wake up to nasty overcast.... I was bummed out.

Yep. It never actually rained all that hard, but it was nasty out with dark skies. As we drove west toward Strawberry it all cleared out and it was a beautiful day.
 
image.jpg Our beautiful sunrise. :thumbsdown:

Your trips are making me think if I get a boat it would be a pontoon. I like the idea of beaching them and camping out! Looks like a lot of fun.
 
View attachment 17371 Our beautiful sunrise. :thumbsdown:

Your trips are making me think if I get a boat it would be a pontoon. I like the idea of beaching them and camping out! Looks like a lot of fun.

Awesome that you backpacked up there so early. I'd love to see more pics and hear about it. The pontoon boat is a blast. They certainly have a stigma for being slow boats but modern toons are actually pretty impressive. For a fraction of a cost of a fiberglass boat, you can get one with a huge motor that can easily pull skiers and handle any rough weather. Driving it up onto the beach and camping is a huge bonus. At first I was packing camp chairs and stuff to hang out on shore until I realized how awesome it is to just sit around in the comfort of 'the living room' and still be surrounded by the outdoors and incredible scenery. Comfy couches, great music and a grill. Maybe a little late night fishing off the back. We string up little LED string lights over the bimini at night and don't even wish we had a campfire. Kind of like an RV without a roof or walls!
 
Hey nick I have a boat and have boat camped flaming gorge for years and would love to go on a boat camp trip this summer and show you around if interested.
 
Hey nick I have a boat and have boat camped flaming gorge for years and would love to go on a boat camp trip this summer and show you around if interested.

That would be awesome! I'd love to go there this year but haven't penciled in any dates. What is the prime time up there?
 
I go up all year but from now till september is great boat camping. As for the fishing from now till mid august the salmon, bass, and trout fishing are all good if you know where to go.
 
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