We had hustled to load the rig and get out of town as quickly as possible, as we had a five hour drive ahead of us and didn't want to be up any later than we had to. We no sooner got about 30 minutes down the road and encountered a long lasting traffic jam. Oh well, we had a full tank of fuel, food and drinks, and I had brought my piddle pail this time. We were set. My 70s Spotify playlist was jamming on the radio and the time seemed to go by quickly. Gotta love me some Doobie Brothers.
Once the traffic jam cleared up, it seemed that we were in Camp Verde in no time. We filled up with fuel, what a mistake that was at $3.25 a gallon, and headed over to Starbucks for a solid dose of caffeine. Two large Nitros later, we were back on the highway. If you haven't had a Nitro with salted caramel foam at Starbucks, you're really missing out.
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| This pic was shot the next day. |
A couple of hours later, we pulled into the campground where we'd be staying for the weekend. Wahweap Campground, which is just a stones throw from Lake Powell. I had never been to this campground and the reviews were mixed. Though it was after 10:00 PM, and we couldn't see anything, I loved our campsite. It was huge, and very sandy. There was a nice picnic table and a large fire ring. Bianca's friend Marija had gotten there ahead of us and had set up her accommodations already.
We had camp set up in about five minutes. We then sat up for maybe a half hour or so visiting with Marija, before we decided to retire. We'd made the decision that we wouldn't get up super early, as there was just no need. We'd plan on waking up and enjoying some coffee and breakfast.
Our plan was to drive over to Antelope Point Marina, on a different part of the lake about thirty minutes away. We'd hop on our boards and paddle into Antelope Canyon, a popular tourist spot where one can see miles of very unique, very scenic slot canyons. Once we'd paddled as far as we could go, we'd pull the switcheroo and change into hiking gear and hike as far into the slot canyons as we wanted.
With temps in the low 60s, we couldn't have slept any better. We had the large air mattress and were super comfortable. We were greeted with a gorgeous sunrise and our first look at our surroundings.
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| Def not wilderness camping, but we weren't expecting that. We loved it and will definitely camp there again. |
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| I like fresh blueberries and I cannot lie. Throw em on top of some granola and you've got yourself a solid camp breakfast. |
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| Let's hope not anyway! |
After a relaxing morning, we were on the road by 9:00 AM. We made quick work of the drive. We pulled into the 14 day parking lot and spread out our gear to get ready.
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| A little slice of taxpayer funded heaven |
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| The electric air pump doing it's thing. If you operate inflatable rigs, as we currently are, and you haven't acquired an electric pump, you're really missing out. They are worth their weight in gold. |
After about 40 minutes of falderal, we were finally ready to load up and head down to the launch area. The launch area at Antelope Point Marina is huge. There are many lanes and it must be at least a half mile long. We were able to drive the rig right down to the water and unload.
We launched around 10:30 or so. The winds were negligible, as was the power boat traffic. The water appeared as a pleasant "emerald green" color and was nice and cool, though not cold. It felt great to be on the way!
The further you go into the canyon, the narrower it gets. It's amazing to see the big cliffs and the huge slabs of rock that have cleaved off over the eons. The occasional times when the din of the power boat motors disappeared, produced an incredible, quiet, peaceful atmosphere.
Until......
After maybe an hour of paddling, we reached the end of the road, so to speak. It was time to throw on the hiking gear and get to it. I was stoked to get to the narrow parts of the slot canyon.
After maybe 15 minutes, we were ready to start hiking. Well, two of us were. Marija announced that she had forgotten her hiking shoes and as she was wearing only a very flimsy set of flip flops, she'd proceed sans shoes. Well, crud!
There were tons of folks milling around the area. I strongly suspected that as we progressed further into the labyrinth, the crowds would thin out considerably. Thankfully, I'd be proven correct. As we got a couple of miles in, most of the folks had turned around. There were very few other people in there. Unfortunately, the initial 1/4 mile or so of the canyon was covered in graffiti. It takes a special kind of human being to deface such an incredible place. I just don't get it.
The aforementioned graffiti not withstanding, the scenery was spectacular from the start!! Yowza!!
Once we started to get into the really spectacular scenery, I didn't want to stop. Eventually, I scarfed down a PBJ as I was walking. Not sure that all of the other members of the party were happy with my choice to not take a break! I can only hope that they'll forgive me. Did I mention that despite being barefoot, Marija was still hiking with us at this point? Unbelievable. I had to tip my cap to her, as that is rough terrain.
After a few miles, we eventually came to a fork in the trail. Of course, we took the route less travelled!
It was definitely a great choice! The canyon narrowed, dramatically. There was quite a bit of scrambling involved.
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| The wall was sheer, and very slippery. It definitely took some doing to make it to the top. |
As you spend time in the canyon, you can almost get a feel for how they form. When the wind picks up, it really whips and it picks up the sand, and basically sand blasts you. Extrapolated over the eons, that would have a huge impact.
The hunger pangs began to attack with more ferocity. Marija had stayed behind while Bianca and I had forged ahead to do more exploring. We made the difficult decision to turn around as it was getting a little late in the day. We turned around and headed toward where we had left Marija.
She was chillin', none the worse for wear. We began the trek back to the boats. We had a couple of miles to cover, but it went relatively quickly.
Thankfully, all of our gear was where we had stashed it. We made the switcheroo back to our paddling gear and got underway. The water was beautiful as we pulled away from shore.
At this point, I shut off my GoPro and stashed it in my bag. The seas were starting to get rough and I was afraid that if I bilged in, I'd lose it. I kept an eye on Bianca and Marija behind me. They appeared to be managing. As I entered the main body of the lake, I couldn't believe the depth and breadth of the waves. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced on an SUP. What can you do? Just keep paddling.
After 30 minutes or so, I saw a small cove where multiple paddlers had sought refuge. I pulled in to wait for Bianca and Marija.
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| I'm in the cove, looking outward at the main body of the lake. |
It was nice to be out of the waves and to be able to hop off the board and cool off. Within 10-15 minutes, Bianca pulled in. We chatted for a few minutes while we waited for Marija. As Marija came by, we waved her onward. We knew that we were less than a half mile from the end. We left the protection of the cove and reentered the main body of the lake.
After a relatively quick period of time, we made it ashore. As I was collecting my gear and my board, I heard an ear piercing shriek. I turned around just in time to see Bianca fall spectacularly off her board, creating a veritable yard sale of SUP gear. There were maybe 100 onlookers who got to see it, but sadly the GoPro didn't capture it! I gave her a solid 9.5 on the dismount!!
As we made the trek back to camp, my hunger had reached a near insatiable level. It was at this point, that something magical once again happened. My taco fairy made a delivery. I heard Marija in the back seat fiddling around with her cooler. Soon enough, three Del Taco tacos and sauce were placed in front of me!! Hell Yes!!! Within what seemed like seconds, a scene straight out of a Harry Potter movie occurred, as the tacos almost instantly apparated into my stomach. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. That would definitely tide me over until dinner.
We got back to camp and relaxed. Bianca whipped up a spectacular dinner of carne asada tacos. They were seriously amazing!!
We ate dinner as the sun was setting. The stars and sky were utterly spectacular. With a minimal amount of ambient light in the area, we were really enjoying the night sky.
After a stroll to the showers, the yawn monsters were attacking with a vengeance. We retired and slept quite incredibly in the cool temperatures. We left the rainfly off the tent and it was so comfortable.
The morning sunrise the next day was spectacular from the tent.
After a relaxing morning of coffee and breakfast, we began to break down camp. We bid our goodbyes to Marija and decided to go check out Glen Canyon Dam, as we'd never actually seen it up close. It was pretty cool.
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| That little area where the kayaks and paddleboards are on the shore is where we started our Glen Canyon to Lee's Ferry trip this summer. Pretty cool seeing it from so high above. |
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| What a massive, awe inspiring structure the damn Dam is. |
We hiked for a few miles and decided to call it a day as it was getting close to 4:00 and we were eager for a late lunch. We grabbed lunch, and headed South on I-17. We reflected on the trip we'd just taken, and how fortunate we feel to live in Arizona, a beautiful state that is loaded with so many recreational opportunities. We've been lucky enough over the last few years to explore so many areas of the state. We just can't get enough!
We'd hoped that we would have an easy, pedestrian drive home. That didn't happen. It ended up taking us over 4 hours to get home from Flagstaff. It was a crappy drive, but an awesome weekend. Definitely one of the most adventurous weekends we've had! We simply love that part of the Southwest!
