September 15-22, 2002: Lake Powell, Utah, Tidbits

One of many trip reports under the SilGro home page for Alan Silverstein and Cathie Grow.
Email me at ajs@frii.com.
Last update: March 27, 2024
(Previous trip report: 2002_0808-11_CataractCanyon.htm)


Just three of us aboard my 62' houseboat! (Cathie Grow, John Yockey, and me.) Couldn't find any other takers. We had a ski boat, a kayak, and a sailboat! Here are excerpts from some emails I sent...


By the numbers...

My hikes: I counted five, ranging in times from 10:45, 3:25, 3:20, 1:40, to our short jaunt up to the pottery sherd cave.

Kayaking: Three times, twice at night, including my 5+ hour outing.

Sailing: Three times, all at night, twice with Cathie.

Took John out skiing: At least 12 times, if I count right! (grin) (Sunday evening Rincon, Monday evening Flying Eagle Cove, Tuesday morning Rincon, Tuesday evening Twin Edens, Wed morning Twin Edens, Wed afternoon Twin Edens, Thu morning Balanced Rock, Thu afternoon near Rock Creek, Thu evening Balanced Rock, Fri morning Balanced Rock, Fri evening Rincon, Sat morning Rincon/Iceberg.)


...Guess who I ran into at Aleson Arch (formerly Flying Eagle) last Monday evening? Famous photographer David Muench! I even took pictures for him on his camera! Since he was not comfortable climbing into the bay of the arch itself. This was a really cool experience!

And, it was at 5:30 pm that I met him and his daughter Zandria, after starting out on the hike at 7:55 am. Cathie turned back after an hour at the base of the climb out of the Rincon, and John headed down (with radio) after the second Iceberg Canyon overlook point at 1:20 pm. I continued on alone to complete the Iceberg Canyon Grand Tour Part 2...

It's hard to imagine how remote this place is and how amazing it was to encounter other people at all, never mind David and Zandria.

...I had chatted with him and his daughter some for a while before knowing who he was.

The rest of the story: After the long hike past three Iceberg Canyon overlook points (spectacular 600-foot drops), I was ready to head back to the boat directly. I got overhead it on the rim of the Rincon, in sight, on the radio. John suggested I might as well continue to the arch, so I thought, what the heck, why not? I arranged for a 6:45 pm ski boat pickup at the lake beyond the arch (instead of hiking down to the houseboat), and it was about 5:10 pm now.

So you see I almost didn't add the arch at the end of the hike. And I was short on time to get around to it, I figured to spend 15 minutes there and cruise down. Seeing people there was amazing.

David told me he'd been to the arch before but couldn't recall how to get below it. I was going to help David and/or Zandria climb up and down over a big boulder into the arch base if they wanted. I went over it first. He handed me his camera through the hole below the boulder (too small for a person), and asked me to take some photos for him. I noted it was a nice camera, said sure, asked if I should start with a shot of him (nice photo of him in that direction). He said, "No, I don't need my picture taken, shoot the arch!" How many? "The rest of the roll!" He had 15 or so left.

So finally I said, "hey, who are you anyway?" thinking maybe he was Stan Jones. When he told me, I was floored. And it was then clear what he wanted. (grin)

I worked with him for 20 minutes waiting for the right sunlight and taking his directions. After handing back the camera and climbing back over, I wrote a release on the back of his daughter's business card allowing him to use the photos. (grin) He was doing a book (or website?) on Utah arches.

Unfortunately it was 6 pm and I had to leave fast to meet John and Cathie at Flying Eagle Cove as prearranged for pickup at 6:45. I was out of radio contact with them now at the arch. I stayed 15 minutes longer than I'd planned, rushed down, and was just in time. They brought me a swimsuit, towel, and shampoo like I asked (ahhhh), and then we towed John for skiing before dark.

I got Zandria's business card with David's mail address on the back (no email for either of them). I intend to update my Powell hikes list and send him a copy "for what it's worth" with an offer to explain or even guide any of the hikes if he's interested. For example he'd never heard of Peekaboo Arch.

[2023 retrospective: To my disappointment, David never told me if he used any of my shots, and I didn't see them appear in any book either.]


This gives you a bare idea of a snippet of the week. It's such a rich, incredible time! It's overwhelming. For example, the sunset Wednesday night on Navajo Mountain from Balanced Rock Canyon, with the nearly full moon rising, was probably the best one I've ever seen. Let's hope the pictures turn out.

[2023 retrospective: They did, but of course were on film and have never been digitized!]

(Next trip report: 2002_1127-1201_LakePowellThanksgiving.htm)