Choose Your Vessel
⚠ Pickup-time conflict: you leave Eden at 9 AM Thu Jul 30, but the White Hawk's earliest pickup is 12 PM and the Jay Flight's is 4 PM.
Either message the host for early/prior-evening pickup (Jay Flight offers a $45 flexible pickup add-on) or book the extra night of Wed Jul 29 — toggle below.
The Ledger
Toggles & numbers persist on this device. Both trailer figures are real, all-in Outdoorsy checkout totals (protection, service & taxes included). Each rig also holds a refundable $500 security deposit during the trip — not counted in the totals since it comes back.
Contender 1 — The Favorite
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2017 Jayco White Hawk 25BHS — Liberty, UT (Steve, Military Host)
$923.76 all-in at checkout ($90/night) · Outdoorsy listing ↗
Real price breakdown
$90 × 4 nts = $360 · protection $139.75 · prep $200 · service $64.50 · taxes $159.51
Security deposit
$500 hold (refundable)
Sleeps
8 · queen + double bunks + dinette
Length / Weight
29 ft · 7,250 lbs GVWR · 900 lb hitch
Mileage
1,000 trip miles included · ~500 needed — FREE
Pickup / Return
12 PM / 6 PM
Towing kit
WD hitch + brake controller PROVIDED
Cancellation
Moderate
For
- Fully stocked: cookware, dishes, camp chairs, linens, hoses, leveling blocks
- Bathroom w/ shower, AC + furnace, full kitchen w/ oven
- Clean, well-maintained, new listing — host is responsive
- Weight-distribution hitch & brake controller included
Against
- $500 deposit held during the trip
- No pets
- Rule: "No travel on unpaved or forest service roads" — Frying Pan is a paved-road NF campground off paved UT-25, but confirm with Steve before booking
- 12 PM pickup day-of doesn't work with a 9 AM departure
Add-ons: backup camera $50 · firewood $15 (useless — Stage 2 fire ban at Fish Lake) · Bluetooth brake controller $50 (already provided, skip).
Contender 2 — The Budget Play
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2018 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 264BH — Ogden, UT (Justin, 18 trips, 4.3★)
$625.29 all-in at checkout ($100/night) · Outdoorsy listing ↗
Real price breakdown
$100 × 4 nts = $400 · protection $129.75 · service $40 · taxes $55.54 · no prep fee
Security deposit
$500 hold (refundable)
Sleeps
10 · queen + 2 full + bunk + sofa + dinette
Length / Weight
29 ft · light (half-ton towable) · 285 lb hitch
Mileage
Unlimited
Pickup / Return
4 PM / 10 AM
Towing kit
Brake controller NOT provided
Cancellation
Strict · Instant book · Pet friendly
For
- $298 cheaper all-in ($625.29 vs $923.76) — though generator + dump + early-pickup add-ons eat $255 of that, netting ~$44
- Unlimited miles; instant book
- Sleeps 10, pet friendly, flexible host (early pickup add-on)
- Generator add-on available — Frying Pan has no hookups
- AC, hot water & fridge confirmed working in July 2026 review
Against
- Comes empty — no cookware, no linens, not even toilet paper
- Aug 2025 review: torn awning, broken oven, cracked microwave frame, water damage — eyes open
- Cleanliness rated 3.7 / Value 4.0
- Need your own brake controller
Add-ons: generator $25/day · linens $25/day · dump fee $110 · propane refill $35 · flexible pickup/dropoff $45.
Dry-camp reality check: Frying Pan has water spigots + flush toilets but zero hookups. Nights at 8,850 ft drop into the 40s — the furnace runs on propane + battery, but AC only runs on generator/shore power. Four nights on one battery is tight; the Jay Flight's $100 generator add-on (or your own) is the honest fix. The White Hawk lists "no generator" in its policies — ask Steve what the dry-camping plan is.
The Saga — Jul 30 → Aug 3
Thu · Jul 30Departure & Landfall
9:00 AM
Leave Eden for Fish Lake · route ↗
~240 mi · ~4.5 hrs towing · fuel up before Richfield
2:00 PM
Check in & settle at camp · Frying Pan ↗
Group site opened Jul 29 — early arrival possible
Fri · Jul 31JAWS Day 1 — the kids' show
9:00 AM
JAWS Meet & Greet — education, safety, mentor partners
Frying Pan fire pit
11:30 AM
Lunch break
12:45 PM
JAWS diving & activities · Joe Bush Rec Area ↗
Kids' gear list on the calendar event
6:30 PM
Dessert & group activity
Frying Pan group site
Sat · Aug 1JAWS Tournament + Regional
8:30 AM
JAWS pre-dive meeting — safety & rules · Twin Creeks ↗
10:00 AM
JAWS Tournament competition (to 2 PM)
2:45 PM
Fish count — all divers back
Twin Creeks picnic area
5:30 PM
JAWS banquet dinner
Twin Creeks Pavilion
6:30 PM
JAWS award ceremony & prize raffle — free gear for all JAWS competitors
Sun · Aug 2Utah State Championships — your day
7:00 AM
Pre-dive meeting · Twin Creeks ↗
All divers depart together
7:30 AM
Travel to starting dive locations — swim/kayak only, no loaded guns
8:00 AM
Competition — 6 hours (loaded guns 8 AM – 2 PM only)
2:45 PM
Fish count — all divers back
5:30 PM
Championships banquet dinner
Twin Creeks Pavilion
6:30 PM
Awards & $10k prize raffle
Mon · Aug 3Homeward
12:00 PM
Check out of Frying Pan, tow home
Jay Flight return is 10 AM — another reason hours matter; White Hawk return 6 PM is comfortable
Tournament Intel
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2026 Rocky Mountain Regional / Utah State Championships — NFSA
Entry
$50 / diver · $10 / guest
Includes
Group campsite (4 nights!), pavilion, 2 dinners, dessert night, raffle, awards
Raffle
$5/ticket · $10,000+ in sponsor prizes
Format
Individual · freedive only · swim/kayak only on comp day
Conditions
60–70°F water · 15–30 ft vis
NFSA membership
Free (required, + waiver + survey)
Scoring: up to 20 perch — 1 pt each + 1 pt/lb · 1 trout (any type) — 5 pts · unlimited carp & sucker — 3 pts each. DWR limits: 4 combined trout/salmon (only 1 over 24"), muskie must be 40"+. No chumming; flashers OK. Dive flag + float mandatory or you're DQ'd.
Base Camp
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Frying Pan Campground — Fishlake National Forest
recreation.gov ↗ · 3 mi north of Fish Lake · 8,850 ft
Group site
INCLUDED in entry fee (NFSA reserved Jul 29 – Aug 2, first-come within group)
Water / Toilets
Drinking water + flush toilets
Hookups
NONE — dry camping
Roads
Paved roads & parking spurs
Fire status
Stage 2 restrictions — NO campfires
Cell service
None → hence Starlink
Individual sites in the same campground are bookable at your own cost if you want your own pad for the trailer — the group site holds 30 vehicles, so likely unnecessary. Ranger district: 435-836-2811.
Comms — Starlink Plan
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Starlink Mini — Roam
Hardware
$199 (Mini kit, new customer)
Roam 100GB
$55 / mo
Roam 300GB
$80 / mo
After trip
Pause to $5/mo standby (unlimited low-speed) or cancel
100GB is ample for 5 days of messages, email, maps and a couple of movie nights. Runs off a USB-C power bank or the trailer battery. You keep the dish for every future trip — this is gear, not a fee.
Quartermaster Links
COOLER
Igloo MaxCold Glide 110 Qt wheeled — $139.99 ↗
168 cans · 5-day ice retention · wheels for the beach at Joe Bush
LICENSE
Utah DWR fishing license ↗
Required for all divers — verify current resident rates
ᚠ Njord favors the prepared
The old Florida voyage lives on at /florida-voyage-archive