First timer, advice appreciated

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Jesse Dee

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Hello everyone.

I'm planning on my first trip to Powell come mid-late September. I've read just about everything I can find but a lot of things seems to be older (some 2002). Any current information would be appreciated.

I'll be camping off my 1985 20' Bayliner (hold the jokes :)) for 4 days. I'd like to launch at antelope point and head out towards dangling rope. I'm a nervous Nelly when it comes to fuel, and a carbreuted v8 doesn't have the greatest range. I plan on filling the boat (30gal) and keeping 10gal in spare cans.

I'd like advice on camp spots (I read punkadoo's post and south of dangling rope sounds promising) prefer sandy for tent camping and protected if possible, I don't want to lose the boat!

I've read you cannot gather firewood. Is there a place to purchase firewood? Strictly for night time activities, cooking will be done on a propane stove.

What is the weather like mid-late September?

Are the floating pump and dump stations just for dropping off waste or are there toilets available? I've got my portable toilet ready!

I want to do some exploring and fishing while I'm there. Any must see spots? My friend wants to see rainbow bridge.

I really don't know what to expect, I just want to be prepared and gather all the info I can.
I'm somewhat experienced (mostly with common sense), owned my boat for 6years, and spent a lot of time on Roosevelt, canyon, Apache lakes. Powell is massive and is somewhat intimidating.

Thank you all!
 
My first piece of advice is to get a good map. We are north enders, and the few times we've ventured south we've found it very easy to turned around in the Padre Bay Area.

Second don't put your tent up on a high point, try to get some wind break. We tent camped once, and each day when we returned to camp found out tent flattened. The sand doesn't hold the tent stakes all that well when the winds kick up. We ended up weighting out tent with large rocks in each corner. The tent pegs & sand bag weights just didn't do the job.

They do have floating toilets than can be used to dump your portable toilet, they are placed about every 20 miles on the lake. If you are going up near Dangling Rope, you will find it near the mouth of Rock Creek.

We love Sept. on the lake, we've done a Sept trip for 30 years. With school back in, the crowds are diminished. Daytime temps are usually in the high 80's/low 90's, but the water temp is still in the 70's. In 30 years we've only.y had 2 weeks where we had several days of all day rain, and a handful of other days with rain. That said, when it rains, IT RAINS. Even a little rain can bring significant run off, be sure to look up when you pick a spot and be sure your camp won't be in the path of any waterfalls or runoff

Have a blast
 
Do you have a charplotter loaded with maps of Lake Powell that leaves a breadcrumb trail? If not, make absolute sure you know about the ATONs and have a pair of binoculars and a good map (as PowellBride said).
 
Thank you Powell bride! I'm especially happy to hear the crowds are diminished. I don't trust folks doing 60+mph and possibly intoxicated.

Gem Morris, I have a chartplotter and good binoculars. I was going to look for a stan Jones map? I think that's the one everyone here said is good.
What are ATONS? Thank you
 
You've picked the ideal time to visit Powell. With some reasonable preparation there is no reason to be intimidated. The biggest potential for problems is the wind, but with a little luck you could spend the entire time there with no considerable wind events. If the wind does come up, typically it starts in the early afternoon. The worst case scenario is to get off the large bodies of water and find a protected cove. The problem with that is if it does keep blowing until dark you are pretty much stuck there so my advice is to be close enough to your camp to get back if the wind comes up. If you leave early in the morning you will be able to see alot by mid-afternoon when you will want to be close to camp. Try to leave antelope early and have a place in mind somewhere in the Wetherill/Dungeon/Rock Creek/Friendship area. Should only take a few hours to get to that area from Antelope. There are a bunch of very cool places to see within an hour or so of any of those canyons. At the entrance to Last Chance on the west side is a huge alcove worth seeing, it is not visible until you swing around the corner on the left. There is a pretty little cove across from friendship that is unnamed but locally known as dove. Friendship is protected from the wind and usually has sandy beaches available this time of year. You would be about 30 minutes from Dangling Rope. If you do make it to Rainbow Bridge there is a gorgeous slot canyon about a mile from the entrance of Forbidding Canyon back towards Dangling Rope on the other side of the main channel called Cascade. It is on the map. There is an arch in the Oak Canyon area called Eye Arch. It is hard to see unless you are right up against the wall on the north west side of the main channel. It is impressive. I would limit your distance from your camp to eye arch. You will never see it all and this trip will be a primer for the next one. Enjoy your time there, be safe. Listen to Powell Brides advice. Never camp in any washes of anywhere a flash flood could get you, you should be familiar with that warning with Apache and Roosevelt in your past. peace.
 
Sorry, I should have been more helpful. ATONs are Aid To Navigation. They are the green and red channel marker buoys. They are numbered (beginning at 1 at the dam and continuing to about 134 at Hite). The rule for using them is "RED RIGHT RETURN". That is, when you are Returning to where the water comes from (upstream) keep the Red buoy on your Right.

They are spaced so that typically when you round one corner you can see the next one. But sometimes it requires binoculars and careful scanning to see them. They mark the deepest part of the channel but only if you follow the RRR rule above.
 
Bird'snest, thank you. So much information, I can't wait to get out and put it to use.

Gemmorris, thank you! I'm feeling nautical now :)

Roscoelab, I'll be singing that for 2 weeks now. Thank you!

I surely do appreciate all the advice and information folks, I really do.
 
AP to Dangle is 32 miles staying within the ATONS (Aids-to-Navigation) red/green buoys which I strongly recommend for easy up/downlake cruising if you are unfamiliar. Know which side the buoys go on. Old mnemonic device: Fishermen proceed out of the rivers, harbors and inlets to fish at sea. Remember that and the phrase "Red, Right, Returning" will make sense as in 'Returning Home from the sea' the buoys go on the right.

You CAN gather firewood though the supply may be scarce depending on location. Everyplace seems to carry firewood for sale. I've even seen from Walmart-to-gas stations-to-the marina stores.

The floating restrooms are indeed also floating restrooms?upload_2017-9-5_10-15-1.png

Must see spots are everywhere and one trip will not suffice My first trip was spent mostly catching flies in my mouth. Old timers are the ones that can keep their mouths closed while looking at the sights.

Goblin said:
Here are a few other points that we like as IBT (I Been There) Squares:
  1. Cathedral Canyon across from Cascade is also a spectacular E-Ticket ride (for those that remember an E-Ticket at Disneyland.) You'll need to go slow and have a helper or two watch the sides and push off if necessary but, you can get a long ways and some places it is very hard to even see the sky. At this level I turned a 27.5' Sea Ray around at the very end of the main canyon. Just don't make the 90 degree left turn at the end of the main canyon with a normal boat or you will be backing up pretty soon. At most levels you will be reluctant to make that turn anyway so it is kind of self correcting... i.e., When your rear end starts eating your underwear, stop and turn around.:cool:
  2. Anasazi has a cool double arch part way back but goes underwater at about 3610'-3615'. At the back of Anasazi there is a waterfall (top is at about 3640'.) If you can be creative and anchor there...we dropped anchor off the stern (sandy bottom) then swam a line to rocks at the fall. It worked well with the additional aid of several large rubber fenders against the rock wall. Why did we do that? .... Well there is a very nice albeit short slot area with sand and a very chilly swimming hole. The walls serpentine going up so you cannot see the sky and feel like you are in a cave.
  3. The right forks of Mountain Sheep are nice. Particularly on a jet ski or kayak(for those sporting a 'Millennial Mullet' aka 'Man-bun'.) just kidding...calm down folkso_O
  4. Wetherill is good:
    • Left fork is short and ends with a huge boulder (egg rock) that has fallen and trapped between the walls. The rock touches the water at about 3640' so below that it is suspended up in midair.
    • The right fork goes for more than a mile and much of it is barely wide enough for a PWC or kayak.
  5. The Skycave (proper name unk) in Rock Creek featured on the cover of Lake Powell Magazine:
    • At about 3596' the entrance becomes visible and navigable a few feet lower.
    • The open ceiling goes awash at about 3628'
    • Once awash it is of little interest unless you have scuba gear.
  6. Across from the Skycave the huge water cave in Rock Creek is always navigable and certainly an IBT Square.
  7. On the Escalante among other things:
    • Cathedral in the Desert is fully accessible.
    • La Gorce Arch (both sides) are fully accessible at this level.
    • Entering Davis Gulch for La Gorce on the right side there is a nice smaller pretty arch @ 3635'. I think Wayne calls this Pelvic Arch or something like that.
    • If at La Gorce you might as well go to Doug's Finger (proper name unk) across from Davis Gulch and see the 2 huge alcoves (some call them caves but that might be a bit generous.) Whatever the proper terminology, there are lovely hanging gardens there.
That's enough for now. Anybody need lat/longs or topo map image or GE image or actual photos/video of some of these places at various water levels....let me know and I can post them....otherwise,

Check 6,
Goblin
Click to expand...
 
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Jesse Dee said:
... I have a chartplotter and good binoculars. I was going to look for a stan Jones map? I think that's the one everyone here said is good....
Click to expand...
Stan Jones map is good but not exactly to scale. It is also at fool(err full) pool which is not the case right now - about 69' lower than fool(err full) pool.
I have a great many .gdb files with a personal database of Powell. I use them to squirt my chartplotter before or during each trip. It includes 4-5 hundred points accumulated over the last twenty years, a number of routes, and a great many snail trails to allow me to fly blind at just about any water level.... Most of the data is from the Escalante and south with far fewer from the northern fjords. By the way, a Norwegian once told me he was conceived in the back of a fjord. I said, "Me too, except I think it was a Chevy." {Dramatization, may not have happened}

Goblin
 
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You will have no trouble getting to DR with the fuel you have. It will be at about Buoy 40 for the Dangling Rope Marina. You should be able to purchase additional fuel there.(HIGHLY Recommended). It is good to keep the extra 10 as well personally I would opt for 20. I used to have a bit smaller boat but a carbureted 350. I had 37 gallons after I added a 19 gallon tank. I always carried 10 extra gallons to give me 47 gallons for just in case. For sandy beaches I would suggest Dungeon Canyon which is very close to DR. As is Friendship Cove.
 
And by the way dangling rope's location is not obvious. It's tucked away around a corner in an alcove on the west side of the lake. You can't see it from the main channel.

Also a marine radio is not mandatory but it is nice
 
Here's some shots from CID I took the first of November, 2008. 15 shots total, but could only post 5 at a time.

Cropduster was less than a year old. On board was my wife, her mother, her mother's childhood friend (both in late 80's) and myself.
We went quite a ways back into CID. The data page says the water level was 3624. Could not go to the last step up.

Those of you who posted back then may remember John Powers during the flame wars. He really ripped me for taking a houseboat in there. However since it was winter, there were absolutely no other boats anywhere around except Dreamweaver and his friend fishing. So I didn't keep others from going in.
I was close to the walls, but never touched them. Needless to say both thrusters were invaluable.

It was surreal...incredible. Everyone must go in there sometime. When the lake is higher I bet the experience is better...if that's possible.

My PC screen savor was of the bow shot coming out of CID with the sun starting to filter in...showing all the carp. Fantastic.
weeds
1st 5 are going in.IMG_0863.JPG IMG_0864.JPG IMG_0865.JPG IMG_0866.JPG IMG_0867.JPG IMG_0863.JPG IMG_0864.JPG IMG_0865.JPG IMG_0866.JPG IMG_0867.JPG
 
Weeds, Did you get Cropduster all the way to the back? I thought it was snug when we took Still Dancin' in there at 3555'. There was a nice beach under the waterfall then.
 
Jesse Dee said:
Hello everyone.

I'm planning on my first trip to Powell come mid-late September. I've read just about everything I can find but a lot of things seems to be older (some 2002). Any current information would be appreciated.

I'll be camping off my 1985 20' Bayliner (hold the jokes :)) for 4 days. I'd like to launch at antelope point and head out towards dangling rope. I'm a nervous Nelly when it comes to fuel, and a carbreuted v8 doesn't have the greatest range. I plan on filling the boat (30gal) and keeping 10gal in spare cans.

I'd like advice on camp spots (I read punkadoo's post and south of dangling rope sounds promising) prefer sandy for tent camping and protected if possible, I don't want to lose the boat!

I've read you cannot gather firewood. Is there a place to purchase firewood? Strictly for night time activities, cooking will be done on a propane stove.

What is the weather like mid-late September?

Are the floating pump and dump stations just for dropping off waste or are there toilets available? I've got my portable toilet ready!

I want to do some exploring and fishing while I'm there. Any must see spots? My friend wants to see rainbow bridge.

I really don't know what to expect, I just want to be prepared and gather all the info I can.
I'm somewhat experienced (mostly with common sense), owned my boat for 6years, and spent a lot of time on Roosevelt, canyon, Apache lakes. Powell is massive and is somewhat intimidating.

Thank you all!
Click to expand...
Jesse, Your gas plan should be more than sufficient. When we first started going to the Lake, we had a 1984 18' Invader with the Chevy 4 banger OMC I/O. It only had an 18 gallon tank. I carried 2- 5 gallon cans extra, and never had a problem. Just don't pass a marina without filling up. We went from the Confluence to Hite, and back, with a gas stop at Halls without touching the spare gas. The only time we got into it was pulling skiers.
 
Jesse Dee said:
Hello everyone.

I'm planning on my first trip to Powell come mid-late September. I've read just about everything I can find but a lot of things seems to be older (some 2002). Any current information would be appreciated.

I'll be camping off my 1985 20' Bayliner (hold the jokes :)) for 4 days. I'd like to launch at antelope point and head out towards dangling rope. I'm a nervous Nelly when it comes to fuel, and a carbreuted v8 doesn't have the greatest range. I plan on filling the boat (30gal) and keeping 10gal in spare cans.

I'd like advice on camp spots (I read punkadoo's post and south of dangling rope sounds promising) prefer sandy for tent camping and protected if possible, I don't want to lose the boat!

I've read you cannot gather firewood. Is there a place to purchase firewood? Strictly for night time activities, cooking will be done on a propane stove.

What is the weather like mid-late September?

Are the floating pump and dump stations just for dropping off waste or are there toilets available? I've got my portable toilet ready!

I want to do some exploring and fishing while I'm there. Any must see spots? My friend wants to see rainbow bridge.

I really don't know what to expect, I just want to be prepared and gather all the info I can.
I'm somewhat experienced (mostly with common sense), owned my boat for 6years, and spent a lot of time on Roosevelt, canyon, Apache lakes. Powell is massive and is somewhat intimidating.

Thank you all!
Click to expand...

I am going to be redundant to some of the other replies, but: If you have a keel guard, the best way to anchor is like a houseboat. Put the bow on the beach, and use 2 anchors at a 45 degree angle from the stern, to the beach, (don't forget a shovel, we always carried one of the army surplus folding ones)

In addition to the main side canyons, there are a couple just downlake from DR on the left, as you go uplake, that are quite protected, and should have small beaches at this level. You have to look for them.

We have always taken our firewood with us. What you find on the lake is not much. we did chop down and burn Tammies one year!

The Stan Jones map is good for knowing where you are. It and the Lake Powell Magazine maps are all we ever used. Since it is your first time on the lake, stay between the green and red bouys. Do WEAR POLARIZED SUNGLASSES!!!! If the water turns light green there is a rock just under the surface.
 
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