My Very First Adventure - Spring Break 2008 - The Disastrous Part

My time spent in Zion NP was absolutely amazing.  It's probably the most free and relieved I have ever felt.  My Spring Break 2008 plan was very ambitious, I had no sense for how far away things in Southern Utah are, so I figured I could hike everything in Zion then kayak around Lake Powell, all in one week.  While I have called this part of my trip the Disastrous Part, I don't regret it.   I learned two very important lessons 1) my impressions about gigantic dams are correct; and 2) I can get help when I need it.

Perhaps an inaspicous start: a pile of giant tires I could not explain.  

Lake Powell has held a special place in my brain as the last large reservoir built in the West, and one that flooded out a well documented, beautiful area.  When it comes to water policy, Glen Canyon Dam (which created the reservoir) is one of the trickiest issues.  It flooded a tons of beautiful, deep canyons full of endemic species and irreplaceable artifacts, and turned an exciting section of river into a still water reservoir. But it also provides some hydropower and an important vacation spot for hundreds of people and why rip out 7 million cubic meters of concrete so soon after it set. But...  It's a complex issue, and I have my biases toward what I call "natural."  Anyways, I love Western water policy and thought it was important that I visited this reservoir I had read so much about.  There are lots of beautiful canyons to explore, but they are not in the Arizona end of the reservoir, where I was.

  My first day there I took a tour of the dam, which was rad!  The Bureau of Reclamation actually built the interior of the dam to look good during a tour, because there was so much interest in viewing Hoover Dam after it was built.  The tour guide had lots of fun facts about how long it took to build, how much water it stores, and the hydropower it generates.  Love it or hate it, the fact that we can build a structure that big and permanent is pretty amazing.  More amazing though is the way the Colorado River always wins, whether through drought or flood.

The reservoir (which was pretty low in 2008, when I visited)

Me and the reservoir and bridge.  

Hydropower.  

7 million cubic meters of cement.  

After my dam tour, I went in search of paddles for my kayak.  I've got this problem, a problem I've had since I got the kayak, where I just forget to bring the paddles to the boat.  There are lots of places that rent kayaks in Page, Arizona, but only one of them was open early in March.  They were super-rad and let me borrow a paddle for free.  How cool is that?

Because I can. 

 Me and what's left of Glen Canyon, downstream of the reservoir.  Pretty amazing, right?

 That night I found a most-excellent camping spot out on a beach.  As a "primitive" camp area, there were very few people.  I loved it!

Primo camp site.  Note the rocks holding down the tarp.  There are also rocks in each corner of the tent.  

My trip around the reservoir the next morning was disastrous.  Let me preface this with a word about my kayak:  it's a sit-on-top kayak, so it's great for working around still-water places and great for my adventuring alone (because it's easy to carry and hop back into if I fall off) but sits pretty high outside the water.  Another preface: I don't weigh very much, so wind has a pretty strong effect on me.  Now for the story.  No on had told me the wind blows throughout the afternoon in Northern Arizona.  I tootled around the area of the reservoir near my campsite.

I checked out "Lone Rock".

I noticed this sweet alcove.

Then the wind started to blow.

And because I stood so high out of the water, it blew me onto this beach.

Where I stayed for five hours.

During hours 1-2 I tried to paddle out against the wind the only way I know how: swinging my arms furiously and singing Mormon church hymns (the only songs I can remember when I'm scared).  

I dealt alright with the first four hours because I had seen a motor boat come into the canyon I was in.  However, at hour four of my stranding, the boat drove out and neglected to see me jumping up and down and waving my life vest.  I hit rock bottom.  I cried.  I climbed to to the top of the cliff to see if I could get cell service and got just enough to receive a voice message from my dad that said "Becka, can you call your mom and sister?  They're worried that something has happened because they haven't heard from you today.  I hope you're having fun."  Oh, there were so many more tears.  But I couldn't call and lie to my mom, there wasn't enough of a cell signal (and I can't lie to my mom, she can hear when I'm upset (on another note, Brent can smell when I'm upset)).  Good thing my dad had told me I should be able to make an emergency call, even with little service.  Also good thing I saw the sign coming into my camp site that said "Call 911 to Contact Park Service."

So, despite telling everyone I would be just fine and nothing really bad would happen, I had to call 9-1-1 to get the Park Service to come rescue me during my first vacation by myself.  Even this could not go smoothly.  I had to jump up and down on the cliff to get a signal.  Then when I got hold of the operator I offered to give them my GPS coordinates (because I'm responsible and always bring my GPS unit with me (thanks, Dad)), but they said it wasn't a big part of the reservoir and they didn't need them to find me.  I thought it was going to be easy, the boat would be there to get me in 10 minutes.  After 15 minutes of waiting I hiked back up and saw that I had missed a call from the 911 operator, who said the boat couldn't find me.  Why hadn't they asked for my coordinates.  Once I was able to get hold of the operator again, I stayed on the cliff until I had flagged down my rescue boat (complete with flashing blue and red lights).

The guys that came to get me were so cool.  They told me they spent the entire day rescuing people stranded by the wind.  They also mentioned they had seen my tent, which had not fared well in the wind.

Oh this tent.  My parents may have received it for their wedding.  They were kind enough to let me borrow it.  Nothing broke in this storm though.  

Back on the southern shore of the reservoir, I wanted to go home immediately.  Unfortunately, I had to return my borrowed paddles.  So I surveyed the damage done by the wind and ravens (one of them ate my Ramen Noodles), stayed the night, and returned the paddles the next morning.  The drive back home was actually pretty great (and a route I don't often see during the day).  Taking Highway 89 from the north end of the state to the south (well, maybe from the middle to the south) takes you through a number of small towns in the Wasatch mountains.  And that's nice.

I'm happy to report that I haven't called 9-1-1 since this trip and have had many successful solitary vacations since.  I'd also like to put in a plug a the National Park Service (NPS).  The federal government sequester is looking to have a major impact on the NPS, potentially preventing some parks from responding as quickly as they were able to when I needed help.  However, there are lots of ways to lend support to the NPS, you can buy a parks pass (and then use it), or donate to the National Park Foundation or to the park of your choice.  So if you're planning an unforgettable vacation this summer in one of our national treasures, maybe think about ways you can help the parks function to their best.