Lake Powell During a Heat Wave

I launched around 8 a.m. and the temperature was already 90 degrees. The heat was oppressive in the kayak so I keep the 19-footer going at a pretty good clip. Because the marina did not allow you to tow a kayak I had to squeeze the kayak onto the boat. It took up most of the space.

I stopped around noon and set up my tent at a great beach camp site near river mile marker 26 just to get out of the sun. The scurrying lizards kept getting underfoot but I finally managed to get into my tent and change into my swimsuit. After a freshing swim I was cooled off enough to get a little rest. I napped for awhile then kayaked in the small bay around my campsite.

The gas gauge on the 19-foot boat had not changed from the full position all day and I got a little worried about the amount of fuel I actually had so I head out to Dangling Rope Marina at mile marker 44. The nice young man who refueled my boat told me several other folks had been in earlier complaining that the rental boats' fuel gauges had not been working. I felt relieved to learn that I now had enough fuel to get back to Wahweap Marina.

I passed many houseboats along the way to Dangling Rope Marina.

I zipped back to my campsite and kayaked a bit more then prepared for a fabulous sunset, moonrise and a huge parade of constellations I had never seen before. I could make out the big dipper but didn't know the others, having not seen them for years in New York.

The moon rise and was so bright I had to cover my head to get to sleep. I slept out under the stars on top of my sleeping bags and the lizards and bats didn't bother me. I woke around 6 and started packing up camp. I took a brief swim to cool off then loaded my 16-foot Dagger Meridien-SK onto the 19-foot boat and took off. By 8 a.m. I was so hot I thought I was going to pass out. When I saw that my Chapstick was melted I decided to cut my Lake Powell trip short since the heat wave was definitely getting to be too much for me.

After stowing all my gear, loading up the kayak and returning the 19-foot boat I was so hot and tired I just sat in my air-conditioned car for a while looking at the view of Lake Powell. I think a kayaking trip here should be made anytime other than summer months. I was still glad I did it but was really exhausted by the heat.

I took this photo of the Glen Canyon Dam on the way out of Wahweap. They started building this dam in 1956 and completed it ten years later. It took 17 years for Lake Powell to completely fill for the first time.

My plan had been to drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to hike and camp and photograph there but after my near heat exhaustion I decided to head down to Flagstaff and pick up Route 40 East and head home. I had had a great trip and wanted to see my husband and deliver all my RAW photographs. I drove to Santa Rose, New Mexico, then stayed the night, got up early and drove to St. Louis, Missouri. I rose at 5 a.m. to make sure I could get across the Mississippi River before any more levees broke. I made it across and headed into Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and home.