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Lake Powell Adventure 2006 – Day 2

Synopsis: Motor to Camp II at Davis Gulch, with a midday hike break at The Rincon. (Monday, November 20.)

Breakfast on the houseboat.

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After breakfast, we undocked the houseboat and chugged south while Bill K. and Petey roared north on a snipe hunt for the items Karl had demanded.

Motoring along. The Rincon is becoming visible off the bow.

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Martin on the upper deck.

Photo by Kathleeen Gruetzmacher.
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Reid and Erin.

Photo by Kathleen Gruetzmacher.
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After an hour or so, we passed one of several floating outhouses and then landed at The Rincon for some hiking.

Map of our hike at The Rincon.

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Houseboat moored near The Rincon. Karl is visible chugging up the slope below us.

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Interesting burrow. We saw a number of these throughout the trip but couldn’t identify them. The sand scattered around this one appeared to be moist, suggesting that it had been thrown out recently.

I’d love to hear any ideas on what these are!

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Tracks in the sand.

Photo by Gracia Coffin.
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Onwards and upwards. That’s Karl and Don far above. I’m not sure how Karl went from speck behind us to speck ahead of us.

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View from our high point. Items of interest, L-R: Martin (sleeping), my dad, Melissa, Gracia, the end of the Waterpocket Fold (tilted red cliffs), Lake Powell heading north, The Rincon (red cliffs with yellow blobs on top).

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Erin and me at the high point.

Photo by Bill Priedhorsky.
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From far up high, we saw (and heard) a motorboat come around the bend and tie up at the houseboat. We assumed it was Bill K. and Petey.

Descending talus below the hard spot.

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Petey, having dug a giant hole.

Photo by Kathleen Gruetzmacher.
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I located a falling-apart old air mattress quite a ways up the slope and dragged it back to the boat.

We got the houseboat and lunch underway pretty much simultaneously. This was not going to be a trip for weight loss.

Photo party on the upper deck.

Photo by Kathleen Gruetzmacher.
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Captain Don and First Mate Bill K.

Photo by Kathleen Gruetzmacher.
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Eventually we arrived in the Escalante Arm and headed up. The view was amazing — nothing but mirror-like water and red slickrock cliffs. It felt like it sometimes does for me in the Boundary Waters, that we were at the edge of the world and the water and cliffs simply went on to infinity.

(I couldn’t help noticing the nasty white bathtub ring left by the lake, though.)

Me admiring the view in the Escalante Arm.

Photo by Erin Tatge.
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The Escalante Arm.

Photo by Erin Tatge.
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We were headed for Davis Gulch. Pretty soon some folks climbed into the motorboat in order to scout out prospects for camping and hiking. They zoomed off, and we followed ponderously in the houseboat.

Petey, Bill K., and Karl loading in to scout out a campsite.

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Roaring off into Davis Gulch.

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The walls grew higher and higher, and soon towered over us, overhanging bulbously. The channel grew tighter and tighter, and Don ordered all free hands to the corners of the boats in order to fend off the rocks. Don was handling the giant boat like a ballerina, somehow managing to maneuver in a winding space that wasn’t too much wider than the houseboat itself.

Then... BANG!! We hit a corner, and the noise echoed off the cliffs. The whole houseboat shook (fortunately, it turned out there wasn’t any significant damage). Kathleen, who was manning the relevant corner, reported that it was very exciting.

Fortunately, this was the last challenge, and around the corner there was a nice alcove campsite with a good landing. The motorboat crew came back as we were tying up and reported (unfortunately) that there wasn’t much in the way of hiking, as the end of the water not too far ahead was jammed with driftwood and stinking mud as far as was visible.

Alcove dampsite at Davis Gulch.

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Davis Gulch.

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Moored in Davis Gulch. The end of this peninsula consists of slickrock gouged numerously and deeply by various boat propellors and keels. Good work, bozos!

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After dinner, we had a campfire in the alcove and explored the smoke and sky with my dad’s fancy new green laser.

Reid preparing a small tumbleweed bonfire.

Photo by Erin Tatge.
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My tumbleweed fire.

Photo by Gracia Coffin.
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Please continue reading on Day 3.

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