Bullfrog North (Executive) Ramp

[Bigcatpt]

NPS said in their last official statement that the ramp will not be useable until the water level hits 3525. They have always said the ramp construction will be completed by May 1st. Never have they said it will be functional and open for launching by May 1st. They have never mentioned adding boiler plates or more gravel. I know there are boiler plates sitting way off to the left side of the ramp about half way up the hill. I hope they will use them. But if I am a betting man there will be no more work done on the ramp (no boiler plates or more gravel) and no launching will happen until we hit 2525+. I hope I am wrong. For what its worth I measured the grade of the ramp yesterday while I was there. It is a 12% grade. This means for every 1.2 feet of lake elevation gain we will flood about 10 feet of ramp. The water level as of yesterday 4/24 was still 8 to 10 feet (I didn't actually measure it) from the bottom of the ramp. So it will take almost a foot of water gain to touch the bottom of the ramp. Then we will need another 3 feet water gain to get the water at the end of the cement ramp to be 3 feet deep. That should flood about 25 horizontal feet of ramp. I think this is the minimum needed to start launching small boats. The next 2-3 weeks will prove us all right or wrong. Keep praying for rain and snow. We need it.

 

[mann4ducks]

Thanks for all the replies and research. Helps out to plan options. We already have two boat that have left from page. Maybe will have acouple more this weekend
Thanks again

 

[Ryan]

There was a Facebook post that claimed there is very little slope past the end of the concrete. Like 35’ of mostly flat ground.

No idea how true that is, but could be a reason not to count on the boiler plates.

NPS has stated 3525 is the magic level for this ramp. They also have stated they are “committed” to keeping access to both ends of the lake. I haven’t heard what the access will come from at lower (current) water levels.

 

[jksmoot]

Why is there a house in that picture?

 

[Rainbowbridge]

Why is there a house in that picture?

That 'house' is where you could get root beer floats in a distant Shangri-La known as Dangling Rope....

It's beyond weird to see it in that pic. I'd bet wordlings can relate.....

 

[SBennett]

That 'house' is where you could get root beer floats in a distant Shangri-La known as Dangling Rope....

It's beyond weird to see it in that pic. I'd bet wordlings can relate.....

It freaked me out when I saw it, didn’t know where I was at….

 

[Not Yet You Bet]

This is what Wayne said in his last report.

The water level at Lake Powell remains steady at 3522 MSL, as it has for the past two weeks. The launch ramp at Wahweap is still in operation and working well. The Bullfrog ramp is scheduled to open no later than May 1st. Both ramps will have boiler plate metal sheets in the water for boaters to drive on while launching and retrieving their boats. Boiler plate will only allow two boats to launch at a time so there will likely be an increase in wait time at the ramp as the number of boaters coming to the lake increases.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

This is what Wayne said in his last report.

The water level at Lake Powell remains steady at 3522 MSL, as it has for the past two weeks. The launch ramp at Wahweap is still in operation and working well. The Bullfrog ramp is scheduled to open no later than May 1st. Both ramps will have boiler plate metal sheets in the water for boaters to drive on while launching and retrieving their boats. Boiler plate will only allow two boats to launch at a time so there will likely be an increase in wait time at the ramp as the number of boaters coming to the lake increases.

I hope the ramp opens as predicted. But, I got my information from the NPS news release. Now we will just have to see what actually happens.
The lake needs to rise for sure, to help all of launch ramps work properly.

 

[Bigcatpt]

Why is there a house in that picture?

That "house" is what is left of the Dangling Rope Marina. They decommissioned it and dragged it up lake and parked it in the middle of Bullfrog Bay. Not sure what their plans are for it.

 

[Blackjack]

I hope the ramp opens as predicted. But, I got my information from the NPS news release. Now we will just have to see what actually happens.
The lake needs to rise for sure, to help all of launch ramps work properly.

I hope the ramp opens as predicted. But, I got my information from the NPS news release. Now we will just have to see what actually happens.
The lake needs to rise for sure, to help all of launch ramps work properly.

We are currently hanging out in our Bullfrog slip. We are sitting in 27 feet of 60 degree water on Q dock - which is second set of docks down the walkway after the Dock Store. There is currently no work being done on the Exec ramp. There are two trucks with empty boat trailers attached in the upper parking lot, but we have not seen any private boats (except for those in the slips). There are maybe three other boats occupied in the slips down here. Eerily quiet but nice. We met three guys with kayaks this morning at the base of the ramp that were dropped off by Whitey in Escalante Canyon a week ago - and they were taking out this morning. They said they saw about 6 boats total during their entire trip on the Lake. Nice paddle with no boat wake !

Pics attached show the end of Bullfrog Bay, metal plates to the left side half way down the ramp, overview of the ramp from the top, and rocks along the edge of the concrete. The metal plates are stacked about halfway down, far off to the left side of the ramp (looking down the ramp). They are definitely not “staged” and ready at this point.

Someone placed a 36” (or so) wooden stake on the left side of the ramp at the end of the visible rock shelf and it is marked in black marker with 1” increments . See photo attached. I am assuming it was placed at the edge of the water a few days ago. For future reference purposes, there are 10 black marks visible above the surface of the water. Based on best guess looking at the grade and elevation, using the stick for reference, I estimate the water will need to rise 3-4’ to reach the edge of the concrete. I will try to get some intel from Exec Services while we are here. We are here until tomorrow and I will post updated pics if anything changes.

 

[thekid26]

We are currently hanging out in our Bullfrog slip. We are sitting in 27 feet of 60 degree water on Q dock - which is second set of docks down the walkway after the Dock Store. There is currently no work being done on the Exec ramp. There are two trucks with empty boat trailers attached in the upper parking lot, but we have not seen any private boats (except for those in the slips). There are maybe three other boats occupied in the slips down here. Eerily quiet but nice. We met three guys with kayaks this morning at the base of the ramp that were dropped off by Whitey in Escalante Canyon a week ago - and they were taking out this morning. They said they saw about 6 boats total during their entire trip on the Lake. Nice paddle with no boat wake !

Pics attached show the end of Bullfrog Bay, metal plates to the left side half way down the ramp, overview of the ramp from the top, and rocks along the edge of the concrete. The metal plates are stacked about halfway down, far off to the left side of the ramp (looking down the ramp). They are definitely not “staged” and ready at this point.

Someone placed a 36” (or so) wooden stake on the left side of the ramp at the end of the visible rock shelf and it is marked in black marker with 1” increments . See photo attached. I am assuming it was placed at the edge of the water a few days ago. For future reference purposes, there are 10 black marks visible above the surface of the water. Based on best guess looking at the grade and elevation, using the stick for reference, I estimate the water will need to rise 3-4’ to reach the edge of the concrete. I will try to get some intel from Exec Services while we are here. We are here until tomorrow and I will post updated pics if anything changes.
View attachment 18085View attachment 18081View attachment 18084View attachment 18086View attachment 18087View attachment 18088

thanks for sharing!

 

[Buffalo]

Their goal was to complete construction of the extended ramp by May 1st. They did it. Too many people thought the goal was to have an open and functioning ramp by May 1st. I think NPS chose their words carefully and people either didn't read very closely or chose to read into it whatever they wanted to.

I came up with a May first launch date because that is what the Aramark employees told me. The NPS statements are usually off. They said they were waiting “for the cement to cure” four days AFTER I watched heavy equipment driving up and down the entire length of the ramp. Those ruts in the cobble came from a front end loader with a full bucket of cobble, not someone trying to launch. And if there is NO possibility of those boiler plates being used why have they hauled them down there? What’s actually happening on the ground does not match the NPS statements.

 

[Coho975]

Of that 500 KAF of water coming from FG, 81 KAF is scheduled to be released through May. Outflow was up about 20% today.

 

[Bigcatpt]

I came up with a May first launch date because that is what the Aramark employees told me. The NPS statements are usually off. They said they were waiting “for the cement to cure” four days AFTER I watched heavy equipment driving up and down the entire length of the ramp. Those ruts in the cobble came from a front end loader with a full bucket of cobble, not someone trying to launch. And if there is NO possibility of those boiler plates being used why have they hauled them down there? What’s actually happening on the ground does not match the NPS statements.

All good points! NPS doesn't seem to really know their head from their hind end. I hope they throw down these boiler plates and gets boats launching by May 1st. I will be down there again this weekend so I will be able to give live daily updates Thursday through Sunday. If they really intend to launch boats on May 1st the only way that I can see that happening is with boiler plates. They have 4 days to make that happen. We will know a lot more of their plans and intentions by Sunday. My wager is on no boiler plates and no launching on May 1st and no launching til we hit 3525+. Should we start a poll? What the over/under?

 

[Bigcatpt]

Of that 500 KAF of water coming from FG, 81 KAF is scheduled to be released through May. Outflow was up about 20% today.

Do you mind sharing your source for this info? I figured that the 500 KAF would be released over several months so they could still optimize power production at FG and not waste the water just for the sake of getting it to LP.

 

[Piece-O-Crappie]

All good points! NPS doesn't seem to really know their head from their hind end. I hope they throw down these boiler plates and gets boats launching by May 1st. I will be down there again this weekend so I will be able to give live daily updates Thursday through Sunday. If they really intend to launch boats on May 1st the only way that I can see that happening is with boiler plates. They have 4 days to make that happen. We will know a lot more of their plans and intentions by Sunday. My wager is on no boiler plates and no launching on May 1st and no launching til we hit 3525+. Should we start a poll? What the over/under?

You have no idea how valuable your information will be for a LOT of folks, including my group. Our annual trip was planned for 30 April - 7 May (which is our NORMAL time....first week of May), with anticipation of launching 1 May, so whatever you can provide will really help out for our contingency planning. Thank you in advance!

 

[Bigcatpt]

You have no idea how valuable your information will be for a LOT of folks, including my group. Our annual trip was planned for 30 April - 7 May (which is our NORMAL time....first week of May), with anticipation of launching 1 May, so whatever you can provide will really help out for our contingency planning. Thank you in advance!

I understand! Our annual spring fishing trip is the end of this week. Knowing we would have no ramp we are choosing to rent a pontoon boat so that we can still go fish. Its pricey but it is going to be worth it. Together with family chasing fish that have not seen a boat or a jig in 4 months should be epic! Now for those of you that want to get ramp updates just go subscribe to my paid update service at www.bullfrogrampupdate.com. It will cost you $10 per login to get the latest updates and pictures each day. Hey.... I have to pay for my boat rental somehow! With a couple thousand people watching this thread it should be quite profitable. I will probably quit my day job and just fish at LP for awhile. Kidding of course. I wonder how many people already checked out that website? People are pretty desperate right now!! I will update this thread Thursday mid morning as cell signal is available. That will be the first opportunity to lay eyes on the new ramp in daylight.... at least since I last saw it on Sunday.

 

[Coho975]

Do you mind sharing your source for this info? I figured that the 500 KAF would be released over several months so they could still optimize power production at FG and not waste the water just for the sake of getting it to LP.

Sure, I attended the BOR working group meeting last week, via Webex. Here is a link to the thread I responded to, there is a chart on the 5th post down. You are correct in your assessment, among many other factors they consider.USGS water level gage

 

[Youngfishfam]

I understand! Our annual spring fishing trip is the end of this week. Knowing we would have no ramp we are choosing to rent a pontoon boat so that we can still go fish. Its pricey but it is going to be worth it. Together with family chasing fish that have not seen a boat or a jig in 4 months should be epic! Now for those of you that want to get ramp updates just go subscribe to my paid update service at www.bullfrogrampupdate.com. It will cost you $10 per login to get the latest updates and pictures each day. Hey.... I have to pay for my boat rental somehow! With a couple thousand people watching this thread it should be quite profitable. I will probably quit my day job and just fish at LP for awhile. Kidding of course. I wonder how many people already checked out that website? People are pretty desperate right now!! I will update this thread Thursday mid morning as cell signal is available. That will be the first opportunity to lay eyes on the new ramp in daylight.... at least since I last saw it on Sunday.

I would probably subscribe to your update service! It will be much appreciated! We'll be on the water one way or another next Wednesday.

 

[Skip]

Ramp pour is complete and crushed rock lines the bottom to the water line. 10 feet from end of ramp water is 1' deep, 20' out the water is just under 2', 30' out the water is just over 2'.