THE RETURN OF GLEN CANYON

 

The NRA recreation area at Hite, Utah, is one of the spookiest sites we have seen in years of RV camping. Arriving early one evening in March, we were reminded of one of those sci-fi movies where all the people have vanished, leaving homes and stores open and lighted. The small, empty grocery store appeared to be fully stocked and ready for customers; the second floor of the fire department was lighted (and a rescue dummy was hanging from a hook); and the gas station was useable for credit-card holders. The toilets were not only clean and in operation, but were lighted and heated. Barbed wire fences surrounded much of what had recently been a thriving campground.

 

The visitor’s center worker at another campground had warned us about Hite, saying that only one ranger was left in charge of the place-we promptly named him or her the Lone Ranger--and that probably the campground was closed until further notice. As our Rand McNally atlas showed a tree and tent there, we took a chance and found the deserted site.

 

The next morning the ranger actually appeared. He explained that because the water level at this (northern) end of Lake Powell had fallen too far for boating and other water uses, scarcely anyone wanted to stop there, so the NPS had closed it down, but left it ready to reopen if the mountain snowpack melted and restored the water level. (Judging by a sign we saw indicating that the area has been closed due to lack of appropriations, there is obviously a political issue at work as well.) Indeed, it may reopen in a few weeks.

 

Back in the sixties, there was a huge uproar about damming the Colorado River to create Lake Powell. Edward Abbey and other environmentalists were enraged. The Sierra Club published The Place No One Knew, a book showing Eliot Porter’s photos of beautiful Glen Canyon, warning that it would be drowned forever. Like many environmental decisions, this one was decided by politicians. Glen Canyon was filled (or “reclaimed,”), and Lake Powell was created. The Glen Canyon Recreation Area was created in 1972 on  more than a million acres of land and water. Lake Powell, 186 miles long, has become a favored spot for racing motorboats and other water uses, as well as providing water and electricity for much of the Southwest. Except for some members of  the Sierra Club and other die-hard conservationists, opposition has gradually died down over the years.

 

Now upper Lake Powell is drying so much because of our changing climate that the magnificent ochre and sienna cliffs of Glen Canyon are again visible. We reveled in the scenery and enjoyed having the deserted site to ourselves.

Snow caps the mountain peaks above the canyon, and its melting may soon at least partly restore Lake Powell. This would be a mixed blessing, allowing for water recreation and for more important water uses, but much of Glen Canyon would disappear again.


Text and photos copyright 2016 by Carol Stone and Thane Puissegur