Tiff Mapel
Escalante-Class Member
Good morning, Wordlings,
Our Lake Powell Magazine adventure takes us to Anasazi Canyon today. With pics! And back in 2009, we were able to get over the waterfall. There's an amazing sculptural slot canyon that doesn't go back very far. It ends in a tight crack where water pours out of the rock. Canyon tree frogs cling to the walls---it's a magical place. It will be a long time before we can get over that waterfall again.
Enjoy! And Happy New Year!
Tiff
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Anasazi Canyon
Published in Summer 2005 issue
One of the most scenic and intriguing canyons in the mid-lake region of Lake Powell is Anasazi Canyon. It is located between navigation buoys 52 and 53, between Oak Bay and the mouth of the San Juan River arm. At the entrance lies a massive slab of barrier sandstone, with access to the canyon on either side of it, depending on where the water level is. The safest place to enter would be on the right side of this rock. If you choose the left side, go slowly and watch for underwater hazards.
Upon entering Anasazi, you’re greeted with a wide alcove to the right, which sweeps you to the left and sends you in every direction after that. It’s hard to have any sense of direction, as the canyon winds around like a maze, quickly losing you among the Navajo Sandstone walls. Like Iceberg Canyon, Anasazi has towering walls that come straight out of the water, and the canyon can get narrow at times. The black streaks of desert varnish add to the beauty of the walls, and the canyon seems to go on forever, winding around and back on itself. The sun lights up the sandstone, and the soft orange glow will captivate you as ripples of light reflected off the water mesmerize you. If you take a houseboat in Anasazi Canyon, be sure to go slowly and watch for other boaters. Anasazi Canyon is best explored with a small runabout or jet ski.
Before Lake Powell, Anasazi Canyon was called “Mystery Canyon.” It was likely named by a river runner, who probably got lost trying to find his or her way out; hence the “mystery” of where the canyon actually spilled into the old Colorado River. Later, when the canyon was assigned the name of “Anasazi,” it was named for the ancient Puebloan people who inhabited the area for hundreds of years, before vanishing around 1250 AD. Interestingly enough, Anasazi Canyon contains no ruins or petroglyphs. It is surmised that the ancient people accessed the canyon by way of Navajo Mountain. However, its difficult and narrow slots make it hard to get in it, so they probably didn’t use this canyon as much as others.
Anasazi Canyon has two other named canyons that branch off from it. As you go into Anasazi, the first branch you come to on your left dead-ends at a pile of dryfall a short way in. As you move back up the main canyon, the first right branch you come to is called Moepitz Canyon. The origin of its name is unknown. Depending on where the water level is, you can generally beach your boat in Moepitz and hike up as far as you can get until the canyon gets narrower, and you’re blocked by either dryfall or a massive chokestone. You can get beyond the impasse with rope and a few other hikers, if you’re so inclined. The hiking is narrow and challenging and will eventually access Navajo Mountain, but be prepared for a strenuous, wet adventure.
Back into the main channel of Anasazi and heading east, you’ll come to another branch to the left called Lehi Canyon. Lehi was likely a Mormon pioneer, or according to another source, Lehi Canyon was named for Dan Lehi. An article in Outside Magazine in June of 1995, said that a Paiute guide named Dan Lehi led a 1959 survey party into the canyon from Moki steps coming off the North Rainbow Trail. Whatever the history of Lehi Canyon, this is one gorgeous slot that is not to be missed. Lehi Canyon splits to the left a short way in, so be sure to take the right fork where the best part of the Anasazi Canyon maze awaits you.
Again, the water level will dictate what your hike will be like at the water’s end. Normally, you can beach your boat on sand, and hike into one of the lake’s most scenic, yet unknown sites. In a small pocket to the left of this narrow canyon are two arches high in the wall, one right in front of the other. Between the arches is a pool, and it cascades down a small waterfall into a plunge pool beneath the first arch. Nowhere else at Lake Powell are there double arches like these two.
When the water comes back up from the spring runoff, you’ll probably be able to get your boat in and underneath the two arches. You may even be able to swim into the slot from where the water plunges down, where it created the two arches long ago.
But wait! More amazing scenery awaits you yet! The canyon keeps going, beyond the pocket of arches and to the right. About a quarter of a mile up, you’ll end in a large alcove, complete with a small waterfall, cascading from the rim about 40 feet or so into a clear, shallow pool.
On the first occasion I visited this site last year, the streambed was flat and sandy, and was an easy walk from the double arches. When I visited this magnificent canyon again, this spring, a flood had come through, removing much of the sand and leaving rocks and cobbles in its wake.
That’s the way it is in Lake Powell country—it’s never the same place twice. It is a shifting, changing, and always beautiful environment. Be sure to visit this waterfall when the spring runoff hits. If the lake level is up enough, you may be able to get in above the waterfall and discover what’s on top of it. Another pool? A slot canyon? A great view?
Set the adventurer in you free—immerse yourself in the splendor of Anasazi Canyon!
Our Lake Powell Magazine adventure takes us to Anasazi Canyon today. With pics! And back in 2009, we were able to get over the waterfall. There's an amazing sculptural slot canyon that doesn't go back very far. It ends in a tight crack where water pours out of the rock. Canyon tree frogs cling to the walls---it's a magical place. It will be a long time before we can get over that waterfall again.
Enjoy! And Happy New Year!
Tiff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anasazi Canyon
Published in Summer 2005 issue
One of the most scenic and intriguing canyons in the mid-lake region of Lake Powell is Anasazi Canyon. It is located between navigation buoys 52 and 53, between Oak Bay and the mouth of the San Juan River arm. At the entrance lies a massive slab of barrier sandstone, with access to the canyon on either side of it, depending on where the water level is. The safest place to enter would be on the right side of this rock. If you choose the left side, go slowly and watch for underwater hazards.
Upon entering Anasazi, you’re greeted with a wide alcove to the right, which sweeps you to the left and sends you in every direction after that. It’s hard to have any sense of direction, as the canyon winds around like a maze, quickly losing you among the Navajo Sandstone walls. Like Iceberg Canyon, Anasazi has towering walls that come straight out of the water, and the canyon can get narrow at times. The black streaks of desert varnish add to the beauty of the walls, and the canyon seems to go on forever, winding around and back on itself. The sun lights up the sandstone, and the soft orange glow will captivate you as ripples of light reflected off the water mesmerize you. If you take a houseboat in Anasazi Canyon, be sure to go slowly and watch for other boaters. Anasazi Canyon is best explored with a small runabout or jet ski.
Before Lake Powell, Anasazi Canyon was called “Mystery Canyon.” It was likely named by a river runner, who probably got lost trying to find his or her way out; hence the “mystery” of where the canyon actually spilled into the old Colorado River. Later, when the canyon was assigned the name of “Anasazi,” it was named for the ancient Puebloan people who inhabited the area for hundreds of years, before vanishing around 1250 AD. Interestingly enough, Anasazi Canyon contains no ruins or petroglyphs. It is surmised that the ancient people accessed the canyon by way of Navajo Mountain. However, its difficult and narrow slots make it hard to get in it, so they probably didn’t use this canyon as much as others.
Anasazi Canyon has two other named canyons that branch off from it. As you go into Anasazi, the first branch you come to on your left dead-ends at a pile of dryfall a short way in. As you move back up the main canyon, the first right branch you come to is called Moepitz Canyon. The origin of its name is unknown. Depending on where the water level is, you can generally beach your boat in Moepitz and hike up as far as you can get until the canyon gets narrower, and you’re blocked by either dryfall or a massive chokestone. You can get beyond the impasse with rope and a few other hikers, if you’re so inclined. The hiking is narrow and challenging and will eventually access Navajo Mountain, but be prepared for a strenuous, wet adventure.
Back into the main channel of Anasazi and heading east, you’ll come to another branch to the left called Lehi Canyon. Lehi was likely a Mormon pioneer, or according to another source, Lehi Canyon was named for Dan Lehi. An article in Outside Magazine in June of 1995, said that a Paiute guide named Dan Lehi led a 1959 survey party into the canyon from Moki steps coming off the North Rainbow Trail. Whatever the history of Lehi Canyon, this is one gorgeous slot that is not to be missed. Lehi Canyon splits to the left a short way in, so be sure to take the right fork where the best part of the Anasazi Canyon maze awaits you.
Again, the water level will dictate what your hike will be like at the water’s end. Normally, you can beach your boat on sand, and hike into one of the lake’s most scenic, yet unknown sites. In a small pocket to the left of this narrow canyon are two arches high in the wall, one right in front of the other. Between the arches is a pool, and it cascades down a small waterfall into a plunge pool beneath the first arch. Nowhere else at Lake Powell are there double arches like these two.
When the water comes back up from the spring runoff, you’ll probably be able to get your boat in and underneath the two arches. You may even be able to swim into the slot from where the water plunges down, where it created the two arches long ago.
But wait! More amazing scenery awaits you yet! The canyon keeps going, beyond the pocket of arches and to the right. About a quarter of a mile up, you’ll end in a large alcove, complete with a small waterfall, cascading from the rim about 40 feet or so into a clear, shallow pool.
On the first occasion I visited this site last year, the streambed was flat and sandy, and was an easy walk from the double arches. When I visited this magnificent canyon again, this spring, a flood had come through, removing much of the sand and leaving rocks and cobbles in its wake.
That’s the way it is in Lake Powell country—it’s never the same place twice. It is a shifting, changing, and always beautiful environment. Be sure to visit this waterfall when the spring runoff hits. If the lake level is up enough, you may be able to get in above the waterfall and discover what’s on top of it. Another pool? A slot canyon? A great view?
Set the adventurer in you free—immerse yourself in the splendor of Anasazi Canyon!
Further up, the canyon is very tight/vertical, followed by a a couple more fantastic walking corridors and interesting features that were not laked.
