Kayak Lake Powell - Moki Canyon

[Kuya]

The view from my tent when we were camping in Moqui Canyon, Lake Powell.

I have wanted to Kayak Lake Powell for a few years now, so when the priests in my ward asked me for some recommendations about their summer high adventure I quickly suggested Lake Powell! They all seemed to be very excited about that. None of them had ever been on a kayaking excursion before, this would be a first for most everyone on the trip :)


This High Adventure started off right. The youth in our ward had planned a temple trip to Manti to do Baptisms for the Dead. This was a really neat experience for me. It has been a while since I have helped a youth group do Baptisms for the Dead, and it was great to be able to help. I had the opportunity to do all the conformations (with Brother Anderson). The spirit was strong that day and it was neat to be a part of it all. One of the really nice things about the Manit Temple is that I dont feel rushed in that temple. The temple workers took time to shared experiences with us and to talk to us. It is always so nice when that happens.


After the temple the Priests went their separate ways. We were on our way to Lake Powell! We met Brother Johnson in Hanksville, and from there we made a detour to Leprechaun Canyon. The bottom section of Leprechaun Canyon is non technical and VERY pretty. It was a perfect place to stop and work our legs. It wasn't a long hike and before we knew it we were in the middle of the beautiful narrows that are known to some as Leprechaun's Belfast Boulevard. The boys all had a blast in that canyon. We attempted to climb up some of the obstacles, but had to start heading back before it got to dark. needless to say, it was a very enjoyable hike.


Before we knew it we were at Stanton Park at Lake Powell. I expected to be fighting for a campground, but to my great delight, we drove right down to the lake not even passing by another campsite. For that first night we had a whole peninsula all to ourselves. Camp was quickly setup and it wasn't long before we were all chowing down on our tin foil diners. This first day was success! So far everything was working out as planned!


DAY 2


Come morning we all woke up and began the process of packing up our Kayaks. This was the first day of the kayaking portion of our adventure. For many, this would be the first time in a sea kayak. It was an exciting morning.


The destination for this day was Moki canyon. We were told that there was OK camping in that canyon, and that the canyon was very pretty. Since this canyon was only about 4 miles from where we were camped in Stanton Campground, that seemed like the best place to begin our adventure.


The weather was overcast and a little windy. The overcast weather was a true blessing, but dealing with the wind demanded that we learn fast how to maneuver the kayaks well. It wasn't to long after we began our trek that some of our boys tipped over their kayaks. This only proved to be a good learning experience for us all. I was impressed with how well the boys worked together to get the problems solved.


The kayak trip to Moki canyon was beautiful! It was truly amazing to see all the colorful kayaks, so small, against the HUGE sheer 300' redrock sandstone cliffs. This is what I had come for! The majesty, the beauty, the color, and peacefulness, the awe and wonder; that was why I had longed to be here in a kayak. It was perfect!


A few hours after we left camp, and about 5 miles later, we finally found our way into Moki Canyon and located the perfect camping spot. We landed on a peninsula that had a gradual smooth rock beach to dock our kayaks on both sides, and in the middle was a sandy bar where we could pitch our tents. On the other sides we found some small hills and cliffs where we could go to have the privacy we needed for our "personal" moments. Most importantly, we had cliffs all around us that accommodated the jumping skill levels of all the youth. Ranging from 0 to 50 feet, we all had cliffs we could entertain ourselves with. The campground was PERFECT!


We spent all day here relaxing, swimming, napping, and messing around. Some of the leaders went out fishing and had a wonderful time. Only Brother Johnson caught fish though. But the ones he did catch were huge! Brother Jensen had a few bites as well.


All in all, this day was wonderful. The sun was hot, the water was warm, and the opportunity for FUN was plentiful. The cliff jumping was amazing too. I don't think I have ever been to a place with better cliffs to jump.


DAY 3


Today was the day we would escort our Young Men's Presdient back to his car so he could go home. But before we made that trek we hopped into our kayaks and explored more of Moki canyon. During the exploration we found more high canyon walls, beaches, camping spots, cliffs, and beautiful alcoves! Todd our blow up turtle came with us on all of these adventure. The young men had a blast with that turtle. They even attracted the attention of some of the ladies passing by ;)


I managed to swamp my kayak 3 times on this little adventure! That was an adventure in and of itself.


Once we were all done exploring, we gladly spent some more time cliff jumping and swimming. The weather was HOT and being in the water was really the only way to deal with it.


After the swimming and cliff jumping was over, we packed up our kayaks and headed back to Stanton Creek Campground, where our cars were parked. The paddle back was smooth sailing and much quicker than our trip getting to Moki Canyon. Once back at the cars, we set up camp and sent Brother Johnson on his way.


A storm blew in that evening, and the 30 min of 50 mph wind weren't too fun to deal with. We blame Brother Jensen for asking Bishop what he would rather deal with. Bishop was asked if he would rather have wind or sun, and Bishop chose to have wind. Well.... That evening we had plenty of wind! Bishop got what he asked for LOL!


The storm looked nasty, but really we only dealt with the wind and a few sprinkles. In the end it ended up being a blessing. We enjoyed the cooler weather that evening. It made sleeping much easier. Before we went to bed, we found ourselves all gathered by the lakes shore goofing off and having fun teasing each other. funny stories were being shared and all seemed to be having a good time. It was then that Bishop took the opportunity to have a devotional with us. It is moments like these that make High Adventure Camps worth doing. Bishop took 45 min and talked with us about his concerns and asked all of us to enable the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. He pleaded with all of us to come to the Saviour, and if needed, to go to him (the bishop) so that he could help us. It was great to her him talk about the potential of the youth and to encourage all of them to be stronger: to avoid pornography, and to do things that strengthen their testimonies. All in all, it was a very good devotional. We should have had one every night! :D Noted for next time! :)


DAY 4


We woke up to a calm and peaceful lake the next morning. To finish off our trip, we all got back in the kayaks one last time for a quick trip around the nearby inlets. There was lot of fun stuff to see, and of course the boys had fun swimming, and swamping each others kayaks. The cliffs weren't ideal for jumping off of, so not much of that happened, but we all did enjoy the easy paddling and swimming.


soon after noon, we were all back to the cars and packing up. All were looking forward to the hamburger waiting for them at Stan's Burger Shack in Hanksville. A huge yummy Hamburger, fries, and shake were AWESOME after eating freeze dried meals every day for 3 days. I know I LOVED my hamburger and hot fudge - cookie dough shake!


The rest of the drive few by. Brandon, Wes and Kale were in my car, and we were talking the whole time. Huge thanks to them for keeping me entertained the whole way home. It was great talking with them. We sure do have some AWESOME kids in our ward!


So.... the trip was incredible. Lake Powell was everything I hoped it would be. I can't wait to do a trip like this again!

[Slot Machine]

Looks and sounds insanely fun Blake! Awesome report!!

Taking a kayak looks like a blast! How long did it take you to paddle to/from the Stanton campground to Moqui Canyon?

Battling the wind on the lake seems spooky, did you have any concerns about not arriving at your destination?

Did you get a chance to peek at into any of the slots in the Moqui area?

[Kuya]

Thanks Bob :D

It was about a 5 mile paddle, and it took us about 3-4 hours to get there. That was mainly cuz our group was getting use to paddling. The trip back only took us a little over 2 hours.

I don't know if I was concerned about finding a campground in Moqui Canyon, we knew that it would be an adventure to find one, and we lucked out and scored an AWESOME one. One of the days we did paddle around Moqui, and we found a lot more potential spots for camping. There were a handful of house boats parked in there, but there were some places we could have camped that were accessible to us, and not a house boat.

I so wish I would have brought my ropes along. there was a 100' free rappel right next to our campground that would have been awesome to do. We could have set our rope like 20' short and just rappelled of the rope into the water. Next time hopefully :D

WE did venture down some of the canyon in Moqui, but the coolest thing we found were the Alcoves.

[Absolute Gravity]

That looks so fun . Been wanting to get into kayaking for a while now. Just have to figure out how to tell the wife that I NEED a kayak... I have a feeling she's going to want new flooring in the house in return.

[Kuya]

It was a blast! I would love to do some more kayaking down there. I went on a trip to Canada a few years on a Sea Kayaking adventure and fell in love! Kayaking in Lake powell was just as much fun though. Definitely more high adventure to be had in Lake Powell. Anyway those are my only two sea kayaking trips.

I hear ya, I'm still trying to convince the wife that I NEED a Kayak too.

[Sandstone Addiction]

Loved your report Blake! I too, have wanted to do this for a long time.

The YM (14-19) in my ward went to LP a few weeks ago and I was talking to the owner of one of the 3 boats that went and he said that the fuel bill for his boat alone was $800. That's just crazy.

Anyhow, I had never realized how much of an advantage you have in finding a suitable campsite with a kayak. With no need for anchorage, you have a lot more options for sure.

Thanks for sharing.

[Kuya]

Thanks @Sandstone Addiction. Kayaking Lake Powell was a wonderful way to experience the lake.

We initially were gunna have a speed boat come with us, but after the owner of the boat said the gas would cost about $500, we figured we would just stick with the Kayaks. Even the kayak rentals were a bit pricy. I think they cost us about $100/Kayak, and we had 6 that we rented. BUT, it was worth it.

It was really fun for me to try and identify all the camping options available to a kayaker. There are plenty :)

[Sombeech]

Awesome!

[accadacca]

SO Rad!

[kvolk]

Where did you rent the kayaks? Can you direct me to any resources that you used in planning such as maps, guide books etc.

[Kuya]

Where did you rent the kayaks? Can you direct me to any resources that you used in planning such as maps, guide books etc.

We rented our Kayaks from UVU and UofU. BYU has some as well (But they were not available the week we needed them). The kayaks from UofU were AWESOME!

Because we were kayaking with a scout group, we were limited in where we went. Mostly I just researched some of the canyons near the Bullfrog Bay area, and we went to some of of the destinations that seemed the coolest. Google, Google Maps, and Google Earth were the main things I used to plan this trip.

I would love to do this again, but head down to the Escalante Arm of Lake Powell. The side canyons in there look AMAZING!

[pyenye]

Such a pure adventure!!

[kiwi_outdoors]

is there any way to access reasonably current imagery looking down at the Escalante river arm of Lake Powell?

[Byron]

is there any way to access reasonably current imagery looking down at the Escalante river arm of Lake Powell?

Just the other day I saw pictures of where Lake Mead is right now...which to say is quite low. I would imagine there's something out there regarding Powell as well...search Glen Canyon or Powell water levels currently and something is bound to bounce up...don't know a straight to resource, though.

I'm a bit of a Powell junkie and with the water level being as it is, if you're coming up from the lake it's likely similar to what it is when the water is higher...those are some big walls down there and it's pretty deep. But if you're hiking down the Escalante it'll be a long haul and probably really messy when you hit the water. What are you planning on doing? Hiking, boating?

[kiwi_outdoors]

canoeing, with a trolling motor and a 100AH Lithium battery. It may be impossible due to lack of practical put-in sites.

Messy = mud wallow I presume.

[Byron]

canoeing, with a trolling motor and a 100AH Lithium battery. It may be impossible due to lack of practical put-in sites.

Messy = mud wallow I presume.

Maybe not so bad up that arm...if you go to the satellite image on Google Maps, it appears the imagery was taken just this year. The high water is near the mouth of Explorer, which seems just about right. Although landing on the Escalante River might be a problem, it looks like the other arms are doable...Forty Mile is a great canyon, Bishop, Willow. Heck, if you can land on the river, go up canyon to Cow...which is the first big canyon you'll encounter on the right (it's long and has two forks at the top). That canyon, although the name isn't sexy, is fantastic. Big walls, flowing water and a great campsite under an overhang just downstream of the confluence of the two forks. The left fork has a really nice granary in it...worth a visit and even better if you spend the night in there.

I've explored the lake many times in my little boat and wouldn't have any concerns about going up in there right now. Heck...I'm getting ready to go on vacation and may just do that.