by John Dubock » Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:41 pm
SandHollow shouldn't get 'crowded' ...its a huge lake, not cheap to camp either. $25 bucks for a tent in a concrete area meant for pull in RV's. Great place though for views, its filled in over the years. Primitive camping is happening around the lake, that could make access easier to the water, haven't done the primitive in years there....
Quail Creek is deserted most times now due to SandHollow. No showers, quiet, just a few miles to SandHollow. For $2 you can take showers at SandHollow.
Red Reef is above the freeway, no showers, real small, great hiking. The mountain biking at Gooseberry in Hurricane is world class in case the wind shuts down. Its an amazing view lake, like Moab with water. ATV'ers are the pits though, they race up the sand hills in the distance. The following story is true, I swear! I think its around 2004
Mild mannered sailing family loads the trusty wagon early in the sailing season and drives 300 miles to an unknown, new lake in the southwestern desert near the aptly named town of Hurricane, UT. No time for omens, whats in a name anyway, these cowboys don't rig sails!
Arrival at Ranger station uneventful, its a spanking newly painted entry station, they don't even have a phone hookup, not that it matters in the desert. We chuckle, "who ya gonna call for pizza out here!
They said "camp anywhere, just be aware the lake is alive, its filling, growing six inches an hour, every hour. As in your picnic table has to move UP each hour or go under.
We do a quick circle tour of this giant lake with red rocks going into the blue water, is this Moab? Can we sail under Arches? It passes the Starboard Sanity check, never mapping out the Dreaded Walk of Shame.
The lake IS ALIVE, we get on our knees and watch 3 inch high lakeside dikes breach. This isn't an ocean tide, back n forth, once the lake breaches its gone forever, albeit 2 inches deep. Like watching a lava flow. Silent force of nature stuff. A portent of whats to come…
Its getting hot, time to rig, scare up some wind. Free Formula 138, 7.9 session saver sail, send Troy as the first probe, Trevor has his back. He gets a couple rides but senses some strong wind approaching. Passes board to me, 20 minutes later I get hit by the first squall lines, act like a hero and avoid a beach pass.
The next gust is 45 knots, literally rips the sail out of my hands, its all I can do to hang on for dear life as the offshores push me away from shore and safety. Its blowing so hard my BODY IS A SAIL, my arms are battens, and not small carbon, hollow ones either. I get within 30 yards of shore and still can't hit the beach.
Exhausted I crawl under the sail as a one hour lightning, hail, mega rain storm attacks from all angles. As I drift with the slight current I can make out in the haze a 16' mast with the neon Starboard TikiMan flag flying, a sign from the boys that all is well, at least the car didn't slide into the lake.
I drift toward the earthen dam, through a new island of trees, lost in a fog of rain, but I can see my goal, a mile away is the soft beach with humans. This Walk of Shame has been done before, I’m good at it.
I finally fall onto the beach, having drifted for an hour, storm has cleared, the beach is steaming from the pounding minutes earlier. I'm busy doing the math: 20 minutes of sailing, 60 minutes of walking home, could be worse! I’m saved but here comes some goggle glassed beach-goer breathing way too hard, "hey I thought you were a drowning BOAT and I called 911!" Something tells me I need to exit this scene, no one will notice a black clad wetsuit silhouette walking on top of a dam on his way home. My board is wide but thats ridiculous!
I'm half way up the earthen dam, and suddenly two cop cars roar into the red sandy beach area, tossing mud,sirens echoing off the dam, and at the same time THE BRAND NEW 30' RANGER BOAT arrives doing high speed corkscrews ala BayWatch just off the beach with lights, sirens, bullhorns. Lights, Camera, Action! All we need is a helicopter and SWAT team. The little town of Hurricane, UT population 2,500 is coming to the rescue!
Now the cops order me down, hey I'm not packing any heat in this skin tight wetsuit, it was goggle boy that called, not me! I'm just your average mild, mannered walk of shamer. I've already been punished enough!
Turns out the poor Rangers got the call, freaked out, had to: ditch the check in gate, find the pristine 30’ Rescue Boat, tear off the plastic, find the fuel, the keys, the trailer, the regulations, the radio frequency, drive it a mile to launch it, then maneuver all over the lake all at mach one speed! They sped up to the boys who were lounging at the car on a spit of land, guarding the 16’ high Starboard windsock, nearly opened the hull on unmarked rocks and the boys said "boat? nah that's my Dad, he does this all the time, he'll survive"...
So the cops believed my story and goggle guy got a hot lecture on pulling the trigger way too fast. I noticed the cops had what we call in Utah slightly "crimson napes"
So the cops gave me a ride, wet wetsuit, mud and all in the back seat, unhand-cuffed back to the lads. The math equation was starting to equal out!
Little LaVerkin and the well named burg of "Hurricane" had a story to tell. Dang windsurfboarderssailors! Some cattle were probably rustled while the entire police force scrambled to save me and my boat.
Needless to say when we showed up at SandHollow Reservoir six months later to check in, the Rangers said "oh no! You're not planning on windsurfing again are you!" As we pulled out I had to say "make sure the boat has keys and gas, we're capable of anything".
First ever attempted rescue, well worth it, got to see the lake up close and personal and she's a beauty...
The wind actually picked up quite a bit around 7. Too bad I was too tired. 
