Following my prior post on sights around Page, Arizona, I’ve finally gotten around to editing and compiling the photos from camping overnight at Lake Powell.
We did an overnight trip with Hidden Canyon Kayak, who were supremely knowledgeable of the area. Our guide, Dave, along with providing us with food and shelter over 36 hours, was also excellent company to have show one around the various slot canyons and also at the infrequent idle moment at camp.
The Lake
The lake itself is a man-made reservoir, resulting from the creation of the Glen Canyon Dam, which also resulted in the creation of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. This is also governed by the amazing staff of the National Park Service.
Taking 11 years for the water to fill up after completion of the Glen Canyon Dam, the water is an amazing blue green. The canyons, cut by the Colorado River over millions of years, form an odd shaped shore. From the sky (or on a map), the lake looks like veins or plant roots.
Boarding our vessel and departing from Wahweap Bay, we visited a few bays to find a spot a to camp for the night. While our guide looked around, we took the opportunity to hop into some kayaks and explore some of the rock formations.
The Sandy Terrain
After a lot of kayaking, we did some hiking to explore the amazing terrain; to check out the slot canyons (photos below) and a small arch.
The dessert sand, which we learned is sandstone from the Jurassic period, is soft and fine. The canyons and the dessert terrain looked hard but is brittle and sometimes crumbled under foot. These small rocks are weathered and eroded over time and created the fine sand (watch your camera gear!).
It’s amazing to think that on a subsequent visit, whenever that may be, this landscape may be unrecognisable.
At sunset, the landscape turns into an amazing orange hue. The twilight hours of Golden Hour (and Blue Hour) here are a photographer’s dream.
Soon afterwards, nightfall settles in and slowly, the stars come out. Camping under the stars was truly special. I’ve never seen stars as bright as we did then. There was absolutely no light pollution. Then, the nigh full moon came out and it was so bright, it woke me up. Stunning.
I’m really bummed I didn’t have a tripod or some other implement I could have used to take star trails but it’s vivid in my memory.
Exploring Slot Canyons
The next day, we explored more slot canyons of different sizes. A lot of them were really narrow – particularly one, where before we could even got to shore, we navigated one canyon where our kayaks just fit. Instead of using our oars, we moved forward by paddling with our hands or pulling along the walls.
The word? Such an amazing and memorable time. We’ve gotten a taste of America’s stunning canyons and can’t wait to do another trip. Hidden Canyon Kayak are a great bunch whose trip provide everything you’d need… just bring yourselves!
