HUH?!?

Tiff Mapel

Tiff Mapel

Escalante-Class Member
Reading the various articles about the unprecedented rise in Powell this fall, and I come across this tidbit:

Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the U.S., rose more than 20 feet (6.1 meters) from its mid-September low — dwarfing its gains from this year's snowmelt, Hoerling said. Still, the lake remained just over a quarter full, and 15 of its 17 boat launches remained unusable as of Friday.

So... I wasn't aware that we had 17 boat launches? Anyone care to clarify this?

Tiff
 
I count 7 or 8 that are real ramps, not currently usable. There are a number of others that are primitive by launching from dirt with no docks or other facilities near by. Seventeen is not real, must be a typo or active imagination. Chuck
 
And other is the key. We have 4 cut offs in the list. Not sure what the Bullfrog Spur is, and bunch of primitive launches which are just unmaintained dirt to the lake when water levels are high.
 
I've been to Piute Farms a number of times fishing. There was a asphalt ramp there when the Navajos had their Marina there but the asphalt was removed when the marina went away. Still the dirt/gravel ramp worked well....but it's all high and dry now. Chuck
 
David Fordham said:
If you (or anyone) can get m the elevation where they can launch at I will update the db (y)
Click to expand...
Might not be able to nail down the minimum for the valet ramp. It was reliably reported on FB that APM opened it at 3538 for boats 30 feet or less. So, 3540 may be the right level for boats of any size, sans houseboats maybe. APM website wasn’t showing it open when I looked this afternoon. If I were going to try this winter, I would just give them a call. With new “low water ramp” scheduled for completion in a couple of months, you can put the 18th ramp on your DB! 😉
 
Well, I actually laughed at that reference to "17 ramps", and David of course nailed it--it's just another example of somebody trying to write something quickly, pulling what they can from the internet, not even bothering to see if what they were describing makes any sense at all. But I'll defend the media here to some extent--not every article is bad; there are quite a few informative and insightful pieces out there, and I really appreciate those. But as often as not you'll see some pretty lazy reporting written by people who clearly have never been to Lake Powell.

My favorite "tell" to pick out the less useful (or accurate) pieces is when they lead with the usual reference to "40 million people who rely on the Colorado River," as if that's the only source of water those people use. And the number 40 million isn't quite right either... but it's used so often that it's the number everybody repeats as if it's a given. And it's not. That's a topic for another time.

But I agree--WW is probably one of the best sources of accurate real-time info about Lake Powell compared to almost any other place you might seek it out...
 
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