|
First light came at 4:30 a.m., and though John and I were
awake (sort of), we didn't get out of bed until we heard Bill pound on the
window of the van at 5:00 a.m. Thus began a day of hard work: our first day on
the houseboat.
We were each given specific duties to be done, as efficiently as possible, to
ensure that we could leave dock by 9:00 a.m. John and Danny would drive into
Page at 6:45, to be at Doo Powell at 7:00 in order to pick up the ski boat.
They would then take it and the canoe to the boat ramp, where they would
launch both vessels and wait for us just outside of the Wahweap Marina. At
7:00 a.m., Bill would be at the Wahweap Marina Boat Rental to sign for the
houseboat and go through orientation. The rest of us (Erika, Janice and
myself) would load carts with our belongings and take them to the houseboat
once it was ready.
In the meantime, we had last minute preparations to take care of before
leaving the campground for the marina (which was why we were up so early) ...
and we were so efficient that we were done by 5:30 a.m.! Bill announced that
we still had an hour before we could pull the motor home out of the
campground, so John and I made the best of it by sneaking away into the back
of the van...
We arrived at the loading dock at 6:30 a.m., and everyone left to see to his
or her duties. Erika and Janice and I unloaded the motor home and placed our
belongings into wheelbarrow carts, which we would later roll down to the dock.
Once everything was outside and lined up in plain view, we conducted a last
minute check to make sure that nothing was forgotten.
Meanwhile, Bill was at the boat rental shop when they opened at 7:00 a.m.
After doing paperwork, he was taken to the houseboat to go through what was
supposed to be a brief orientation period. The houseboat, however, had some
major problems that were unacceptable: the refrigerator didn't work, and there
wasn't an ice chest. So, he was taken to another boat -- one that was supposed
to be in better condition -- and his orientation session continued somewhat
unproductively, because the representative didn't know a thing about
houseboats! She couldn't even back the boat out of the marina. She tried to do
so at first then admitted that she couldn't do it. Bill took over and drove
the houseboat to the loading dock.
At the same time, John and Danny returned with the ski boat, and they had
slightly better luck than Bill. John backed the boat trailer down the boat
ramp perfectly on the first attempt. They launched the ski boat. Then they
pulled the canoe off of the van and tied it to the back of the ski boat.
Everything was going smoothly for them until they left the dock. That was when
they capsized the canoe as they tried to tow it behind the ski boat at full
speed. Once the canoe was caught in the wake, it flipped over!
As for the rest of us, we had lots of luck getting the carts loaded and down
to the dock. Since we were there so early, we didn't have to worry about all
of the carts being used by other patrons. We had four carts -- the maximum
allowed per boat -- so it didn't take us very long before all of our
belongings were on board. After we were finished, Erika and I went to park the
motor home; all of the parking spaces near the boat ramp, however, were taken,
so we had to park in another lot, one that was further away.
Around 8:30 a.m., we left the dock, and our adventure began. We met John and
Danny just outside of the marina buoys, and after we took them on board, we
tied the ski boat and the canoe to the back of the houseboat. We had a few
problems keeping the canoe upright, but eventually we managed to keep it from
capsizing.
Soon we were in the open channel, the houseboat at full speed, coasting over
the waves, as we headed to our first destination: West Canyon, which was where
we would find what was supposed to be the "premier hike of Lake Powell". We
would spend our first night there then hike the
West Canyon Trail in the
morning. Along the way, John and I took turns navigating, which involved
looking for green and red numbered buoys along the main channel -- these buoys
were mile markers, and they corresponded to numbers found on our Lake Powell
map. The two of us sat up on the front deck, watching for these buoys through
a pair of binoculars, and we called out the numbers as we saw them. Little did
we know, Janice and Danny had disappeared. We later found out that they were
on the roof of the houseboat, "christening" it.
When we finally arrived in West Canyon, John and I volunteered to take the
speed boat out to look for a campsite for the night (a place for us to moor
the houseboat overnight). We weren't exactly sure what sort of site we needed,
so we suggested a quaint little cove about two miles into the canyon. Bill
moored the boat there temporarily so that the rest of us could play and
explore the canyon, stating that we would find a better site later. While he
and Erika stayed on board the houseboat, the rest of us took the speed boat
out to do some water skiing. (Now that they were alone, they had their chance
to "christen" the houseboat. They thought that they were the first to do so,
but during dinner they learned that Janice and Danny would hold that honor.)
Janice was the first one to ski that morning. Then, when she was done, it was
John's turn. Though Janice was able to ski slalom, John was not because the
boat was not powerful enough to pull him out of the water. He had to get up on
two skis then ditch one once he was up. As he did so, my hat -- my new hat --
blew off of my head into the water! John left the ski next to my hat as a
marker to indicate where it had landed, but by the time we got back to it, my
hat had sunk underwater, never to be found again.
Once John was done skiing, his adventurous spirit suggested that we go explore
the canyon, perhaps even find the West Canyon Trailhead, before we had to
return for lunch. We took the speed boat deeper into the canyon, into side
canyons that became too narrow for our vessel, towards the very end, until the
waters became too shallow and cluttered with debris for us to pass. We figured
that that was where we would find the trail, but we didn't dare continue on
for fear that we would wreck the boat on the logs that were floating in the
lake. At that point, we turned back.
After lunch, we took the houseboat out of the little cove and began to look
for a campsite for the night. About a mile away, we found a larger cove -- one
with a sandy beach -- and we called that camp. Once we were settled and the
houseboat was moored, John and I decided to take the speed boat out to play.
As we were leaving the cove, John turned to me and asked, "Do you want to
drive the boat?" I had never driven a motor-powered boat before, but I was
completely willing to learn, so I said, "Sure!" He gave me a brief instruction
period, taught me how to use all of the instruments. Then, I was ready to
drive.
And I loved it! Though I still didn't have the confidence to drive the speed
boat very fast, I enjoyed zipping through the water, the wind rushing at my
face and through my hair. It was very exhilarating.
We didn't take the speed boat very far, for John was feeling a little amorous.
We drove the boat into a cove, where we gave it a proper "christening".
Upon our return to the houseboat, it was suggested that we do a little hiking
near our campsite. Earlier that afternoon, John had discovered that there was
a trail nearby, and he guessed that it led all the way to the top of the
canyon. Bill argued that it probably didn't -- and if it did, it would be
eight miles away! "I think you're wrong," John countered, and with that the
challenge was on.
Bill stayed with the houseboat, but the rest of us accepted the challenge.
With John in the lead, we followed the trail through a wash and over ridges
until we came to a point where rock climbing and scrambling was required.
Towards the end, the narrow trail began to switchback all the way to the top
of the canyon wall. All along the way, we kept Bill updated on our progress
via walkie-talkie, and he watched us through the binoculars. When we finally
made it to the top, a half an hour later, he stood on top of the houseboat and
took a picture of us as we waved back to him.
Once we made it back to the houseboat, we were all hot and sticky from hiking
in the heat, so it was bath time, which meant that it was time to jump in the
lake and take a bath. Clean and refreshed, we climbed back on board the
houseboat, served drinks, and ate dinner. Then, once we saw the first star --
around 8:30 p.m., it was time for bed.
That night, John and I slept on the roof of the houseboat, in our sleeping
bags, on top of an air mattress, and under a star-filled sky. It was the new
moon, so the night was dark enough for us to see millions and millions of
stars. Using his star chart, John pointed out constellations until we fell
asleep. Then, when we awoke at 12:30 to heed the call of nature, we saw the
most stunning sight: the lake, which was calm and still like glass, bore the
reflection of the stars above. "I try to take you to nice places," John said.
Return to Another Verley Adventure. |
