Kayaking to Antelope Canyon from Lake Powell
Antelope Canyon. Everyone knows about Antelope Canyon. Even if you haven't heard of Antelope Canyon, you've seen pictures of it. It is the most photographed slot canyon in the world. That's an impressive feat, because slot canyons are awesome.
Anyway, Antelope Canyon is located near Page, Arizona. Most people who go to Antelope Canyon visit it from the top via guided tours from the Navajo Nation. Tina and I want to do that version of the trip, but we didn't plan ahead far enough to reserve a tour.
But that's fine, because slot canyons typically have two ends. Antelope is no different. It starts on the Navajo Nation, but ends at Lake Powell. You can go in from the Glen Canyon side and visit the lower part of the canyon that way.
Of course, in order to do that, you have to have a kayak, paddleboard, boat or other watercraft. This adds a layer of excitement to the trip, and I'm a fan of that. So we rented a kayak and headed to Antelope Point Marina. Starting early in the morning, the lake was like glass. There was no wind. It was cold, but we got from the Marina to the canyon pretty quickly.
We rented our kayaks from Antelope Point Marina: www.lakepowellhouseboating.co...
Once you're in Antelope Canyon, you simply paddle upstream until you run out of water. Beach your watercraft and start hiking. Lake Powell was really low when we went, so we had more hiking than kayaking. Which was good. You see, we're hikers, backpackers and canyoneers. We aren't very experienced kayakers.
We'll come back to that.
We hiked up the canyon for several miles until we came to a dryfall that we couldn't climb. I've heard a few different stories about what makes you turn around; a gate, a sign, a Navajo Tribe member on a chair.....For us, it was the dryfall. Since I cannot confirm any of the other obstacles, I'm going to go out on a limb and say the dryfall is the official turn around point.
And....well, that was it. Climb in the kayak and go back the way you ca......HOLY CRAP! What we found on our way out was not same Lake Powell we experienced on the way in. About 4 or 5 hours had elapsed since we saw the lake last. In that time, a LOT of boats had barrelled through this section of the lake. Since it was fairly narrow, extremely deep and bordered on both sides by sheer cliffs, the waves from the boat waves had just bounced back and forth between the cliff faces, becoming progressively worse. And then there was the wind that had kicked up, freezing us in place or even pushing us backwards during the worst of the sporadic gusts.
I am not exaggerating this. We joked around in the video, but there were honestly a couple moments where we both thought we had gotten in over our heads. Sure, they weren't long moments, but they were long enough for me. We found one spot where we could beach the kayak, catch our breath and then keep going. This was especially nice since I was beat from fighting the wind and you just couldn't stop; the wind would push you backwards, or into the rocks where the waves might capsize you.
I am positive that none of these conditions would make a seasoned kayaker blink.
The point is, if you are NOT an experienced kayaker and think, like we did, that this would be an adventurous way to go hiking, take the kayaking portion serious.
But aside from that, highly recommended. (Although I don't think Tina will do it again....)
Music by Epidemic Sound:
In Our Hands - Ten Towers
Feeling Minnesota - Gavin Luke
Blues for Ricardo - Matt Large
If you click on the links below - and especially if you buy from these links - I'll get compensation. So that would be cool. No, I'm not sponsored by them, but I love the products.
Filmed on:
GoPro Hero 9 Black:
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Canon EOS R:
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Canon 35 mm f1.8 lens
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Weebil S gimbal for your DSLR:
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17 апр 2022
