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Lake Powell: Labyrinth Bay
Hollywood monkeyed with it after dam builders put it there, now what are you going to do with it? Hint: sea kayak!
GETTING STARTED
GETTING THERE Take Hwy. 98 southeast out of Page toward the power plant. Near milepost #299, turn left toward Antelope Point. In about 4 miles, proceed through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area entrance station ($10 fee). The launch ramp is a mile straight ahead.
WHEN TO GO April can be windy but uncrowded. May is often pleasant. June through September is busy and too hot for long hikes away from water. October and November are generally uncrowded with comfortable temperatures. December through February is cold. March is variable.
GUIDEBOOK Paddling Arizona by Tyler Williams
INFORMATION Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
The 1968 movie Planet of the Apes opens with a scene of a space ship falling from the sky into a deep blue
lake surrounded by a vast expanse of petrified sand.
The landscape was director Franklin Shaffner's vision of a distant planet - a planet, we would later learn, ruled by
sophisticated overgrown chimpanzees. The landing zone is totally sci-fi, perfectly surreal, and located right out our
back door.
The film location was, of course, Lake Powell, nature's step sister in a landscape family that includes unrivaled
Grand Canyon, and the picture-perfect San Juan Range. Unlike those other natural wonders, Lake Powell is a creation
of man, the result of Glen Canyon Dam backing up the mighty Colorado River. Where once was a maze of hidden canyons,
now there is an open body of water; a reservoir we call a lake, named after a luminary who would have disapproved of
its creation.
But alas it is there, and as corrupted a landscape as it might be, the place is still damn beautiful. Spires of
orange sandstone soaring out of cobalt water beneath a looming mountain? C'mon, Hollywood couldn't produce this stuff
. . . er, never mind.
Most who visit Lake Powell do so from the comfort of a house boat. The luxurious floating RVs match the incongruous
locale seamlessly, but opportunities also exist here for smaller, simpler boats. Open bays feeding sheltered coves
leading to narrow flooded defiles make the lake perfect for kayak exploration. Lake Powell's shoreline twists for
nearly 2,000 miles. A lifetime could be occupied paddling here. But if you only have a long weekend, there are still
worthy options.
For a three-day paddling trip, the relatively new Antelope Marina is the best launch point. Located several miles
east of the more popular Wahweap Marina, the Antelope ramp starts paddlers that much farther "up lake," where open
water and innumerable side canyons await. Still, an oft-congested channel must be passed before reaching the
goods.
Wakes from big boats bounce around the quarter-mile-wide access channel, creating turbulence that serves as a good
test of your boat balance for the journey ahead. If you can't handle the wakes of the several-mile-long access
channel, you should think twice about venturing far onto the open waters of Lake Powell. Wind-driven waves that form
with little warning will dwarf the predictable wakes near the marina.
A few hours of paddling should have you past Navajo Canyon, a long narrow arm that can lure inattentive navigators
into its depths. Lake Powell's myriad islands, bays, and headlands create a confusing maze. Remember to have a map
handy, and keep track of your landmarks.
About 10 miles from the Antelope ramp, the lake opens. The first bay to the south is Labyrinth Canyon, a good
destination for long weekend outings. Labyrinth, like many Lake Powell inlets, offers several secondary coves, each
with its own lake-front beach. Not that waterfront camping is requisite to paddling on Lake Powell. A key advantage
of using smaller boats is the ability to carry short distances to small, secluded camps that are inaccessible to the
floating houses.
From your new backcountry home, a wondrous land of slickrock is at your doorstep. A 10-minute walk from the water
will take you to a vacant landscape of painted cliffs, fragile sandstone crossbeds (watch your step!), and mysterious
slot canyons. The bed of Labyrinth Canyon has a couple different sections of narrows, with various segments emerging
from the lake depending on the water level. In the slickrock above, you might discover eerie gouges in the sandstone,
remnants of boat hulls run aground during periods of much, much higher water. Returning from your reverie in the
dusty desert, the sight of a lake can be shocking. Washing off in its cool waters, the shock is of a different sort,
and oh so nice. This is an experience that even Hollywood couldn't dream up.
Flagstaff, Ariz., writer Tyler Williams, an admitted paddling junkie, is a regular contributor to Inside/Outside Southwest. He is the author of five books including Paddling Arizona, and the newly released Arizona Summits - South. (funhogpress.com).
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