OCR Text |
Show Pleases tf mmp ou$ dmlng early spring season By Hartt Wixom Vernal Express Outdoors Writer We're approaching that camping season. For some "roughing it" means climbing into the camper for a trip to Bear Lake, or Flaming Gorge. Others will actually meet the outdoor challenge by sleeping in tents, or possibly backpacking into the desert or southern canyonlands. Some will sleep out in boats, cooking over a driftwood beach fire. Early in May one of our family's annual an-nual rituals was to rent a houseboat. This is not always easy for such popular ren tals at say. Lake Powell, but it combines with excellent largemouth bass fishing if you can manage a reservation. Contact the Del Webb Corp. (they manage all four marinas at Powell's Hite, Bullfrog, Halls Crossing and Wahweep), 3800 North Central Ave., Suite 1501, Phoenix. Arizona, 85012. These marinas also rent boats-outboards of your prefer less luxury lux-ury at lower prices. At Flaming Gorge you can usually rent boats at Cedar Springs Marina. Dutch John, 84023, Lucerne Valley Marina. Manila, 84046, or Buckboard (Wyo.), 82935. The Gorge has a number of boat camn sites, with running water, picnic I i i. UTE PITCHER. Glen Murray, is about to send the baseball on a blazing mission to a batter at home plate. tables, toilets etc. which marina officials can show you on maps. At other waters, like Bear Lake, you'll find ample camper slots at places like the state park marina just south of the Idaho line, and Rendezvous Beach on the southwestern corner. The latter has beach space, as does the public property proper-ty along the eastern shoreline. Ice departing Bear Lake in late April has improved fishing for warm water of May. Same is true on other waters recently defrosted. But that is not always the first order of business. You'll want to make certain on any first outing of the year, that you have everything in order. Camper prompane-butane tanks are seldom full, check wires, fuses. You may have lost a tie-down somehwere forgotten over a long winter. Tents may need parts or patching. pat-ching. However, with a special Spring-bar Spring-bar I have long used, I just make sure I have the tension bars-poles, and stakes along with tent. You could always have mildew if stored wet, however, so unroll and clean with water (then dry) to be certain it serves you for many years to come. While it is too early for high country camping, some places bloom early, a natural attraction for May adven-turerers. adven-turerers. One is Capitol Reef National Park's Fruita campground. You'll like the greenery there, plus hiking and sightseeing sight-seeing adventures. Ditto Zion National Park, although Bryce Canyon is still too cold, and snow too deep. Canyonlands and Arches near Moab offer warm camping-hiking, far better than mid-summer's heat, along with the beautiful Escalante country out of Boulder. There is the possibility this time of year (especially this year) of flash floods. But that usually affects those who carelessly park cars or camps in low washes. From northern Utah you'll want to check the map for routes into southeastern warm country via 1-15, U.S. 28-29 to Salina. then south to Kanab or easterly along 1-70 to routes into Powell. Moab etc. which skip old and flooded routes through Spanish Fork Canyon. You can also reach Price and points south via Duchesne to U.S. 50-6. But there are many other camping hot spots at lower Wasatch Mountain sites now open- ing up. and Willard Bay, Pineview Reservoir, Yuba Reservoir, Tooele County scenery. One of the best factors: no mosquitoes are out yet. However, you will have to be careful with snow-melt and rain soft shoulders. Fire wood is often wet: vou may have to bring your own for a weiner roast-campout. There will be little visiting of bird refuges like Farmington Bay possible, since high water has forced forc-ed Canada geese and other waterfowl to nest right on or alongside dike roads. It also rules out one of my spring-time activities, carp shooting on the waterfowl refuges If open, the refuges offer a wonderful world of bird Watfu photography. ""--.3 8., While you're at it you wii, ljk , f some f,ne fishing. Most ofT'k(H'.; mentioned are offering som SMalS'2S8''eSl"n',l6"tr'll'i5 |