Travelogue

Camp LifeSeven days down, seven to go. We had reached the halfway point of our trip, and had already seen and done so much that it felt like we had been away for a month - but in a good way. But there was still lots of fun and excitement awaiting us over the next 7 days.

Today I would experience both my trip highlight and trip lowlight, all in the span of one hour. As Charles Dickens once said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I’ll explain more later.

Breakfast cookingThe day started like any other on the river: rising to the 5:00 call for “COFFEE,” the guides cooking us breakfast in the kitchen down by the river, taking down our camp and loading everything onto the boats, and getting ready for another day on the river.

Then, we set off down the river for just only a mile or two before stopping at the entrance to Blacktail Canyon, which for me, as well as most of the others in our group, would be a true trip highlight.

Let's hit the riverAfter beaching the rafts, we made our way up a short path and soon entered the cool, deeply shadowed world of Blacktail Canyon, a magnificent narrow slot canyon, less than a mile long, composed mostly of overhanging Tapeats Sandstone.

It felt like we were entering a cathedral. We found ourselves lowering our voices to a whisper. There was a sense of reverence and spirituality about the place.

Entering Blacktail CanyonUnlike the smooth sandstone of other slot canyons we had been in, this one had angular blocky walls of stone, rising up steeply on both sides of a narrow, twisting and turning trail.

The walls were so close together that the sky was only visible through a very narrow gap at the top, revealing a fantasy land of stone and shifting shadows. The walls of the canyon were lit up in golden, turquoise and purple hues.

Ivan, our musical guidAlthough the canyon went on for almost a mile, dead-ending at a deep pool of dark green, algae-filled water, most of us stopped less than halfway through, because we found Ivan, one of our guides, sitting on a large rock with his guitar.

As Ivan started to play, we all sat down on the nearest rock, because no one wanted to leave. This was much more interesting than an algae-filled pool.

The acoustics in the canyon were beautiful and the music was mesmerizing.

Cosmo joins inEventually Ivan shared his guitar with Cosmo, the most amazing 13-year-old I have ever met, who played a beautiful rendition of House of the Rising Sun.

We leaned back, listening,and gazing up at the sky through the narrow canyon walls.

It was truly a magical moment which none of us would forget. Back on the river, the guides told us that even they had never had such a moving and spiritual experience in that canyon before. Thank you Ivan and Cosmo (plus others: Tim, Gib, Van, and Paolo).

We were mesmerizedBesides its sense of reverence and great acoustics, there was one other thing about Blacktail Canyon that was special, but in a geological way.

The Grand Canyon is a geologist’s paradise, because its distinct layers of rock, ranging from 200 million to almost 2 billion years old, allow geologists to study the earth’s history. The oldest rocks are on the bottom and the youngest rocks are on the top

Looking upOccasionally, however, there are gaps in the geological record that occur when rocks or sediment are eroded away, and time goes by before new deposition occurs and forms new rock layers on top of the eroded surface. This missing piece of the geological record is called a “uniformity,” or sometimes “The Great Unconformity” (TGU).

Well, it turns out that one of the best places to see and touch a TGU is in Blacktail Canyon, where 500 million year old Tapeats Sandstone (lighter colored rock) sits directly atop 1.75 billion year old Metamorphic Gneiss, leaving a 1.2 billion year gap in the geologic record. You can actually span all that missing time with your thumb and forefinger.

Walls of Blacktail CanyonUnfortunately, I only found out about this after doing research when I got home.

Ok, that was the “good times.” Now onto the not so “good times.” After leaving the peace and tranquility of Blacktail Canyon, our day was about to drastically change.

Before we settled into camp tonight, we had two fairly big rapids to run, but nothing that required drawing them in the sand this morning or stopping to scout them out.

Our little concert hallThe first one was Bedrock. This is a description of it from Western River Expeditions:

An enormous chunk of hardened metamorphic and igneous rock splits the current in two. The best run is on the right side, which requires adept and precise handling to bring a craft around the rock and into calm water. The left side is an unforgiving place, as the river pinballs through a narrow rock studded channel.

Before entering the rapid, Kayla, whose boat we were in today, explained how she was going to take the line to the right side of the rock as suggested.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened, resulting in what was the most terrifying moment of the trip - both for us in the boat, and our comrades behind watching.

Back down the river we goRather than getting to the right of Bedrock (large boulder in the river) as we should, we were drawn too far to the left and slammed right into it, getting pinned and almost flipping the boat stern over bow. Herb and I were in the bow of the boat, which was tilted bow-side down at more than a 45 degree angle. Water was rushing in up to our knees.

Kayla kept her cool and yelled for us to climb up to the back side of the boat that was sticking up in the air (the “high side”). I amazingly remained calm (for the moment anyway), and Herb and I were able to climb up over her seat and she grabbed my hand from the stern and pulled me into the stern.

Aerial view of Bedrock RapidNow all five of us were crowded into the stern, which caused the weight to shift enough to set us free from the rock. Kayla jumped back into the rower’s seat and we went flying out of control to the left (wrong) side of the rock, hitting a few more rocks along the way before finally ending up in the pool at the end, where everyone greeted us with cheers.

Kayla had to do all that with just one oar, because one of the oarlocks was twisted out of position.

She had done a great job getting us out of a very precarious situation which could have had a much worse result.

Stone Creek WaterfallThe calm I had managed during the height of the crisis was now gone, and I was shaking and could hardly speak. Herb’s first words: “You can plan the next vacation.”

The amazing thing was that Herb’s camera, which was strapped onto one of the bags in the bow, had held on. Even more amazing, when he went to pick it up afterwards, the strap broke in his hands. Somehow it had stayed on long enough to get through the chaotic and violent slamming in the rapid, but decided it didn’t need to anymore. Thank God or we would have lost all the photos we had taken so far.

For some reason, Herb didn’t have his GoPro running through this rapid, so I had to go on the internet to find an aerial view of Bedrock Rapid. Wow!

Safelyl settled into campI was a bit shaken, but we had to get right back on the horse again, because Deubendorff Rapid (9), an even bigger rapid, was just around the bend.

At this point I was pretty numb. Kayla ran it perfectly and we were home free (at least for today).

Immediately after running Bedrock and Deubendorff rapids, we pulled onto a beach and walked the short distance to picturesque Stone Creek Waterfall. It was lovely and I finally had stopped shaking.

River cocktail hourThat afternoon when we landed at Thunder River Camp (Mile 135), our guides announced that we would be staying there for two nights, rather than our usual one.

WOO HOO! We practically danced with joy at the thought of not having to take down camp tomorrow morning and set up camp again somewhere down the river again tomorrow night.

Thunder River HikeFinally, a day of leisure - hahaha. Who was I kidding. The guides had an 8-hour hike planned for tomorrow.

Well, we would worry about that tomorrow. Tonight all I wanted to do was join my friends in the river for cocktail hour. A warm beer never tasted better.

The next morning we awoke as always at 5:00 am to the sound of one of our river guides announcing “COFFEE.” But today was going to be different, because for the first time the entire trip we would be staying in the same campsite for two nights.

Thunder River HikeSo no rushing around taking down the tent, packing our bags, forming a fireline, and loading up the boats.

This morning we had a more leisurely breakfast, but not too leisurely, because today we were hiking from the campsite to Thunder River Falls, a strenuous 8-mile (out-and-back) hike with 2,500 feet elevation gain, which would take us an estimated 8 hours.

Crossing Tapeats CreekSome in our group were concerned about being able to go the whole distance, especially in 108 degree weather, which was a valid concern.

However, not everyone had to go the whole distance, because there would be several shaded areas along the way for people to just hang out and stay cool while the rest of us went on.

Plus, there would be places along Tapeats Creek to jump in and cool off.

Cooling off in TapeatsSo off we went.

Although the hike was called the Thunder River hike, the first three miles of it were actually along Tapeats Creek, which cascades through a lovely open valley.

We had to cross Tapeats Creek twice on the way up to Thunder River. The current was really strong, so we all linked arms while carefully maneuvering ourselves over slippery rocks to the other side of the creek.

Getting closeOne of our guides stood guard a little bit downstream to catch us if we slipped.

We also took several breaks along the way to cool ourselves off in the creek. There was one particular section that was like a water slide that everyone found particularly fun and refreshing.

Thunder River Falls3 miles into the hike, we came to the confluence where the Thunder River flowed into Tapeats Creek.

At this point the trail made a sharp left, as we moved away from Tapeats Creek and started tracing the Thunder River.

The trail really began to climb more steeply now as we hiked the remaining mile to the Falls.

We knew we were getting close when we saw about a dozen small waterfalls cascading out of the limestone canyon walls. It looked like the walls had sprung a leak.

A little bit further and we arrived at the main event - Thunder Creek Falls, a stunning waterfall erupting from the side of a steep canyon wall.

Thunder River FallsFrom there, it flows ½-mile downstream into Tapeats Creek, making it one of the shortest rivers in the world. During that ½-mile it drops approximately 1,200 feet over a series of waterfalls, also making it the steepest river in the country. It’s very rare for a river to be a tributary of a creek.

The mist it threw off was so refreshing.

We had already gone through 2 liters of water each on the way up, so we were very relieved that the guides had brought a water filter so we could refill our water bottles from the falls - the first ice cold water we had had in over a week. Water never tasted so good.

The long way downAfter a while, we tore ourselves away and began the long, steep trek down, repeating the two stream crossings we did on the way up.

Funny story on one of the stream crossings. I mentioned how we all linked arms and gingerly navigated our way across, stepping sideways along slippery rocks. I happened to be linking arms with Mitchell, one of the assistant guides, when I mentioned that I had found a particularly good foothold. He very nonchalantly replied, “That’s my foot.” We both started laughing hysterically.

We eventually caught up with the part of our group (about 5) that stayed behind on the shady ledges. They looked a lot less tired than we did, but I wouldn’t have missed this hike for the world.

Travelogue

Morning light hits the riverI was definitely a bit nervous today, because we would be running Crystal (a rapid rated 10 on the Grand Canyon scale), which, along with Lava Falls, also a 10, are iconic Grand Canyon rapids that are considered some of the most difficult to run in the Canyon.

When Herb first announced we were going to do this trip, I spent far too many hours watching YouTube videos of rafts running Crystal and Lava Falls, with mixed results.

Well, at least we were going to get it over with almost right away, so then I could relax the rest of the day, although Waltenberg Rapid (an 8) still had to be dealt with before we got to camp.

Crystal RapidI had arranged for Herb and me to ride on Robin (our trip leader's) boat, an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable oarswoman who has been down this river more than 30 times. She knows this river and all its features so well that I am convinced she could just close her eyes and run all 226 miles of it in her mind.

We started the day with a warmup rapid before Crystal - Boucher (a Grand Canyon 4). Easy peasy.

Next up was Crystal. Crystal has quite a history behind it, much of which is described in the book The Emerald Mile, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in the geology, cultural history, the damming of the river, and the history of rafting through the canyon. It’s a very interesting and exciting read.

Smiling through CrystalCrystal is not just a rapid, but a legend.

Before 1966, what is now Crystal Rapid was a minor riffle. Then in December of that year, a once-in-a-century flash flood tore through the canyon, spilling large boulders and debris into the river at the mouth of Crystal Creek, constricting the river to less than a quarter of its original width, thereby creating a monstrous rapid with one of the largest holes in the river.

Below the holes, a large rocky island splits the channel into two distinct sections. Crystal can be run to the left or the right of the island, but both sides have their unique challenges.

Sinumo Creek FallsThen in 1983, because of a particularly large snow melt, the reservoir (Lake Powell) behind the dam was overfilling, placing the integrity of the dam itself in jeopardy. Dam Operators had to rush to let out as much volume as they could before water began spilling over the top of the dam.

The result was that rather than flowing at the usual 10,000 - 20,000 cubic feet per second, Crystal was running with a flow of 70,000 cubic feet per second, birthing a three-story high hydraulic wave that ran across the river.

Unfortunately several river trips were already in progress, and they had no idea what was going to hit them. By the time the park service closed the rapid to commercial passengers, four large motorized rafts and several smaller boats had capsized and several people had drowned.

Shinumo Creek FallsSince the flood, Crystal has continued to change, as over the decades the river has moved rocks around and broadened its width, making it less intense than at its peak in 1983. However, it’s still a significant rapid and one of the greatest challenges for river runners in the Grand Canyon.

Robin was not as fearful of Crystal as she was with other rapids such as Hance, Hermit, and Lava Falls. She didn’t feel it necessary for us to stop and scout it out, as she was confident that she knew how to run it.

Heading to campBeing the trip leader, we were the first raft to go through, and she executed it so well that at the end, I even asked, “Was that it?” I felt a definite sense of relief knowing that that rapid was now behind us. Herb even has a photo of me smiling through the rapid.

We still had a few more rapids to go though, but nothing as significant as Crystal. At Mile 100 we entered The Gems - a series of six rapids in 5 ½ miles named after gems: Agate (3), Sapphire (7), Turquoise (6), Emerald (5), Ruby (6), and Serpentine (7).

They were actually quite fun.

At Mile 109.5 we stopped at Shinumo Creek where we took a walk literally through the creek to a lovely little waterfall with a pool below it - a perfect place to cool off in today’s 108 degree temps.

Interesting geologyThen it was back in the boats to head for camp with one more daily major rapid along the way - Waltenberg (a Grand Canyon 8)

After that we pulled over onto a beach around Mile 119, where we did our usual get off the boat as quickly as we could to run and select a good campsite. We had a new strategy.

The ladies of the riverThere were 11 of us that had formed a very strong friendship and desire to be together, so, whichever one of us 11 got off the boats first, would run madly around, finding a good place to camp, and then scatter various belongings over a wide area to create a sort of compound with several campsites.

Once ownership of a section of sand was established, we went back down to unload the boats, before setting up our individual camps.

Then it was time for some mingling, laughing, and drinking warm beverages with our friends.

It had been another pretty exciting day, but then they all have been so far.

Travelogue

The Upper Canyon groupToday was to be the “exchange,” where those in our group (9 out of 20 of us) that had signed up only for the 6-Day Upper Canyon trip would be leaving us.

We were very sad, because we had come to love the ultimate frisbee guys and George, a very funny and interesting character from Vancouver.

Before they left us, we gathered for a group photo, which I will cherish.

Jose awarding me the "Badass" FrisbeeAfterwards, Jose announced that they wanted to leave one of their frisbees behind for us to remember them by. After a little speech about what an unforgettable time they had had with the rest of us, he said they wanted to award the frisbee to the “badass” of the trip, which turned out to be me - hahaha. I think it was more like I reminded them of their mothers.

I was very touched and that frisbee now holds a proud place in my bookcase.

They and their gear were loaded up on two of our oar boats, which would take them downriver where they would be dropped off at the bottom of the Bright Angel Trail. We sadly waved goodbye to a big chunk of our “canyon family.”

Phantom RanchFrom there they would hike the grueling 8 miles (with 4,460-feet elevation gain) in 100 degree weather up to the South Rim. Herb pointed out that this was reason enough for us doing the 14-day Full Canyon trip. He had a good point.

While they were hiking up the Bright Angel Trail, another group of 9 people, who had signed up for the 8-Day Lower Canyon trip, would be hiking down to replace them - although we were very doubtful that any group could possibly replace the Frisbee boys in our hearts.

Cold lemonade - first cold drink in a weekWhile we were waiting for the new arrivals, we had time to take a quick hike over to Phantom Ranch, an historic oasis nestled at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It’s the only lodging below the canyon rim and can only be reached by mule, on foot, or by rafting the Colorado River. Teddy Roosevelt once stayed here.

Like many national park structures, this one was built of wood and native stone to blend in with the natural beauty of its surroundings.

Hermit RapidIt was our first exposure to civilization in a week. Herb and I bought ice-cold lemonades, the first non-warm beverages we had since we left Flagstaff. They were amazingly good and refreshing.

Then we went back to the boats to await our new friends.

The “exchange” didn’t go quite as smoothly as hoped because some of the people hiking down to join us had hired mules to bring their duffle bags down to the river. Unfortunately, mule service is not quite the same as Amazon prime, so we lost a few hours while the guides tried to find where the mules left them.

Hermit RapidOnce the “9” had joined us, we set off on the river for what would be a pretty wild ride. In just a 5-mile stretch, we would hit back to back huge rapids: Horn Creek (a Grand Canyon 9), Granite (a 9+) and Hermit (another 9).

It must have felt a bit like a fraternity hazing for the new people. One poor guy banged his face on a river bag during one of the rapids and cut his forehead with his glasses - and this was just the first hour of his adventure.

This trip was not for the faint of heart.

Our campsite (with view) after HermitWe camped that night at a campsite with a nice view, just after Hermit Rapid at Mile 96. The new group had to be exhausted after getting up super early to hike down Bright Angel Trail, and then getting pounded by three very significant rapids.

I was a bit nervous tonight because I knew that Crystal Rapid was just 3 miles downriver. This was one of the rapids (along with Lava Falls) that I had been obsessing over ever since Herb booked this trip over a year ago.

I made sure to ask Robin tonight if Herb and I could go in her boat, as I definitely did not want to run Crystal in either the paddle boat or the dory.

Travelogue

Setting off down the riverAs of yesterday, we had left the sedimentary limestone sandstone of Marble Canyon behind and entered the Upper Granite Gorge of the Grand Canyon, an area of igneous and metamorphic rocks that had been twisted and thrust upwards during mountain building events over millions of years.

Along this section of the river, you can see exposed 1.7 billion year old Zoroaster Granite and Vishnu Schist.

Because the rock in the gorge does not easily erode, the river becomes swifter and the rapids grow larger, so today was going to be a very big rapids day - Hance (a 10), Sockdolager (an 8) and Grapevine (another 8), all within 5 miles, so sort of boom, boom, boom.

Big rapids day todayIt’s hard to capture the feeling of what it’s like going through a major rapid with a photo, so today Herb used his GoPro for the first time on the trip so that we could record what it actually felt like while running it.

The best way I can describe it is that it’s like sitting in a rocking chair while having a friend use all their might to knock you off of it, while another friend is simultaneously throwing buckets of water in your face.

Scouting Hance RapidBefore any really major rapid, the guides scout it out by hiking up to a point from which they can look down on it to see if it’s what they expect (the features in the rapid change a lot based on water levels) and to plan their “line” to run it.

Hance was the most concerning one of the day, so we pulled the rafts over on a small beach before it and hiked along a path to an overlook. I’m sure the guides didn’t need our input, but it was nice of them to invite us along, so that we could learn their plan and know what to expect.

Hance RapidThis particular rapid has lots of large rocks constricting the channel, forming powerful hydraulics (or “holes” as they are known. This causes the water on the surface to be pulled back towards the obstacle, creating a recirculating vortex-like zone, which can flip a boat or flip one of us out of the boat in what they refer to as an "unintentional swim."

I have to admit that my heart was pumping pretty fast as we got back in the rafts. We were in Robin (our trip leader’s) boat today, so I felt we were in good hands. She has run this river more than 40 times, and I am convinced she could run it with her eyes closed - she has every rapid and its features etched in her mind.

Running Hance RapidSince Robin is the trip leader, we were the first to go. She definitely didn’t sugar coat what running this rapid was going to be like. As we approached the start of it, she said “Ok, this is going to be violent,” which is a term I didn’t want to hear, and “get ready for a big hit!”

The kicker though (no pun intended) was when she said there is a potential “donkey kick,” which meant that people sitting in the back of the raft (which happened to be me and Herb) could potentially be catapulted up and over the raft. She laughingly said, “if it happens, try not to land on me.”

Between the rapidsShe then instructed us how to avoid that. We should stay down low behind the bags, spread our legs apart, and hold onto straps fairly far apart.

I probably assumed the “donkey kick” position much earlier than necessary, but better to err on the side of caution I always say.

Running Hance was actually very exciting (and perhaps a little terrifying), but Robin executed it perfectly.

Lunch stop at Clear CreekBeing in the lead boat allowed us to watch all the other rafts in our group come through - one at a time leaving lots of space in between. There was lots of whooping and hollering as our fellow boats safely made their way through Hance.

One down, two to go.

We had a brief breather before running Sockdolager Rapid (a Grand Canyon 8). The key to running this one was to start in the center and hit everything straight, because there are large holes and waves that flank the sides of the rapid, both on river right and left.

My shin colliding with some metamorphic schistThis rapid was actually named by John Wesley Powell’s crew on their second expedition down the river. Sockdolager is an old boxing term meaning a heavy, decisive blow that can knock someone down. Glad I didn’t know that before we ran it.

However, once again, Robin safely brought us through, running her line exactly as planned.

Last up for the day was Grapevine Rapid (another Grand Canyon 8), a bit less powerful than Sockdolager, but much rockier. The plan for this one was to enter it center-right, just to the left of the rocks on the right and avoiding the hole at the top, and then work our way back towards center, avoiding another hole at the bottom of the rapid at center-right.
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My river guide docNot to be redundant, but another perfect run by Robin

Okay, I was pretty ready to get to camp and get a river cocktail hour going, but we had one more stop to make before getting to camp - a hike up to Clear Creek Waterfall.

As I mentioned above, the geology had been changing as we drifted downriver, and we were now in the Upper Granite Gorge, an area of metamorphic schist and igneous granite, much harder and sharper than the limestone of Marble Canyon.

No kidding! I hadn’t gotten more than 100 feet into the hike to Clear Creek Waterfall before I had an encounter with a metamorphic schist and it won, cutting my shin down to the bone.

My Boo Boo during a sandstormI hardly felt it happen and was actually quite surprised when I looked down at my leg, which looked pretty bloody with skin flaps exposing stuff, that probably shouldn't be visible, underneath.

Leonard, one of our trusty river guides, was in charge of first aid, so he stayed behind with Herb and me and cleaned my wound, put some antibiotic cream on it, and bandaged it. It was really hot out, so he set up a beach umbrella for me so I could have some shade.

My river spouseUnfortunately, the wind picked up as it often does in the afternoon, practically blowing the umbrella down the river. I really needed the shade, so I held onto it for dear life, with sand blowing in my face, for the hour or so it took the gang to get back from their hike to Clear Creek Falls.

Ok, between Hance, Sockdolager, Grapevine rapids, and metamorphic schist, I think I had enough fun for today.

I was pretty ready for camp. I was dreaming of a nice river cocktail hour, and then I remembered Leonard told me not to get my wound wet. When we beached the boat, Van, a wonderful 17-year-old with us, offered to carry me ashore like a baby. Very sweet. I only wish I had a photo of that.

Afterwards, I did manage to have a nice warm beer at the edge of the river.

Travelogue

Arriving at the ConfluenceToday I finally mustered the courage to ask Leonard if today would be a good day (meaning mild rapids) for Herb and I to join his paddle boat crew. He assured me it was. Okay, at least we would get a little exercise in while going down the river.

The paddle boat consisted of 6 volunteer paddlers from our group and Leonard, our guide, who sat in the back sort of steering us and yelling out commands as to what we should to: “Right 2 forward,” meant the paddlers on the right side of the boat should take two strokes to move the boat forward. “Left 3 back,” meant the paddlers on the left side of the boat should take three strokes to move us in a backwards direction.

Transition from emerald green to cobalt blueThe important thing was for all paddlers is to stay in sync. The two paddlers in the front (on the left and right side) set the pace and we all tried to stay in sync with the person in front of us. This meant I was pretty much looking at the paddle in front of me rather than the terrific view going by.

I was shanghaied onto this slave ship under somewhat false pretenses as I did have to paddle through Kwagunt Rapid, which was a Grand Canyon 6. However, we did it in style, and I have to admit it was very fun and I was quite pleased with myself.

Lovely Little Colorado River6 miles further down the river, at Mile 61.5, we came to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, the highlight of any raft trip down this river.

Although the Navajo own the land along The Little Colorado River, the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers holds deep spiritual meaning for many of the Native American tribes that live in the Grand Canyon region.

The viewing standsFor the Hopi, life began near the confluence when their ancestors emerged from the underworld at the Sipapu, a landmark on the Little Colorado River.

The Hopi people also believe that their spirits live amongst the clouds above the Grand Canyon.You can easily see how a place so beautiful can take on spiritual qualities.

When not muddied with runoff, the waters of the Little Colorado River are a brilliant turquoise blue.

LCR Conga LineWe were in luck today, as there had been no recent runoffs from rain to muddy it up, which would have made the water as brown as chocolate milk.

At the confluence of the main Colorado River and the Little Colorado River, we could actually see the transition from an emerald green in the main river to bright cobalt blue in the Little Colorado. The temperature change is drastic as well as we moved from a chilly 50 degrees in the main Colorado River to the mid-70s in the Little Colorado.

So much fun!!The electric blue color of the river was amazing. It is a result of the magnesium and calcium in the water, combining with the carbon dioxide in the air, creating calcium carbonate. This combination of minerals reflect the sunlight, creating, arguably, the most beautiful water in the world. The only other time we had seen water this color was at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.

The calcium carbonate also creates a material called tufa, which forms a thin, spongy, white material coating the river bed.

Short cut back to the raftsA harder, chalky limestone material called travertine settles out of the water and coats the rocks and boulders in a white hue, adding to the river’s color palette.

From the confluence, we walked about a quarter mile up along the bank of the Little Colorado to a natural water slide where we would spend a good part of the day acting like kids at a waterpark.

Why walk when you can floatThere were even layers of limestone ledges alongside the river, which served as a great viewing platform to watch the action and get ready for another run down the slides.

We spent hours sliding down the soft, tufa-covered rocks through the warm cobalt blue rapids. Sometimes we slid down individually. Other times we formed conga lines and drifted down as a group.

I hope I don't go through the ConfluenceWhen it was time to walk back along the ledges alongside the LCR, some of us walked and others (including me) took the shortcut of just floating on our backs to the confluence.

What a treat after the freezing cold water of the main Colorado River.

Herb took the boring way back by foot. I guess he wanted to keep his camera equipment dry.

Herb took the boring way backOnce we got back to our boats and started heading further downriver, we left Marble Canyon behind us and entered the Grand Canyon for the first time on this trip.

John Wesley Powell first made the distinction between the two canyons after his expeditions down the river in 1869 and 1871. After this point, the main canyon quickly becomes much deeper and foreboding as it begins to bend west.

As the river starts to cut deeper into the Kaibab Plateau, the gradient (drop) becomes steep as the river flows over harder rock, such as granite and schist.

Slot canyon at Carbon CreekIt was a relatively short river day today (only 11.5 miles), since we had spent so much time joyfully playing in the Colorado River.

We stopped to camp at a lovely spot called Carbon Canyon. After setting up camp, we took a short hike (2.7 miles with a 614-foot elevation gain) up the canyon from the camping area up to a slot canyon with sculpted sandstone walls. There was a bit of rock scrambling to do as well.

Rock scrambling in Carbon CanyonBack at camp, we were treated to a delicious steak dinner. I really have no idea where the guides were able to hide all this food.

Oh, and that evening I got my first red fire ant bite, which definitely wasn’t pleasant. Several of us had gotten them already and described the numbness that moves up your leg. Great. I didn’t get that though. Maybe it was because Daniel, one of our river guides, gave me his secret antidote - a nicotine patch - not to chew but to place directly on the sting. I think it really helped because I didn’t experience the numbness others were describing.

What a day it had been!!

Travelogue

Some fun on the riverToday was going to be a pretty mellow day - no big rapids, just swimming in the river, watching the scenery go by, playing ultimate frisbee, and hiking up to an ancestral Puebloan architectural site..

Since we were encouraged to switch boats throughout the trip so that we could try each type of boat, as well as each guide, we shopped around for a boat to spend the day on.

Our fleet consisted of six boats in total: three oar boats, which were each rowed by a river guide and held 4 passengers, another oar raft which held much of the supplies needed for 14 days on the river, a paddle boat in which 6 of us could paddle each day, and a classic Colorado River dory, which could hold three passengers.

Frisbee between the boatsI was probably the biggest chicken on the trip in terms of fear of the boat flipping or being flung from a boat into a rapid, so I had avoided the paddle boat and dory up to now. I would try to eventually work my way up to having the courage to do so.

So until then, I would stick with an oar boat. Today we would ride with Robin, our trip leader, who was extremely experienced, having gone down the river over 40 times and could read the water in her sleep.

We were all in a pretty playful mood today, so during our short 12 miles on the river today, we jumped and did flips off the raft, we swam through mild rapids, and we even tossed a frisbee (amazingly successfully) between the boats.

Ultimate Frisbee on the RiverBy three days into the trip, the 20 of us were definitely coalescing into one big family, something I didn’t really expect when we first met in that orientation room back in Flagstaff, what seemed like a week, rather than just 3 days ago

The only rapid of any note today was President Harding Rapid at Mile 43.5 (a Grand Canyon 4). When we asked Robin if President Harding had run this rapid, she laughed and told us that it was actually named by the U.S. Geological Survey expedition in 1923, when they learned the news by radio that President Warren G. Harding had died.

Views along the hike up to the GranariesIf I knew today was going to be such an easy rapid day, I should have taken the opportunity to go in the paddle boat or dory. Oh well. I’m sure there will be more easy days (well, there weren't),

We got to the Nankoweap Canyon Camp (Mile 53) by 2:00 in the afternoon, probably the earliest we would ever arrive at a campsite.

Nankoweap GranariesWhen pulling onto the beach, the guides pointed out a fairly big beach a short walking distance from the beach we were camping on that might serve as a good place to play ultimate frisbee. The group of six ultimate frisbee players were very excited.

A bunch of us walked over to the nearby beach, and the guys began drawing boundary lines in the sand. Rules were explained and teams were then selected.

Nankoweap GranariesI was so tempted to join the game, but I was literally twice the age of anyone playing, so I volunteered to photograph the event instead. I didn't want to show them up - haha.

It was really fun to watch, even if I wasn’t exactly sure what the heck was going on. During one exciting play, Kayla, one of our river guides and first time player of ultimate frisbee, caught a beautiful pass behind her back and ran for a touchdown, or whatever it’s called in this game.

What goes up must come downWhen it cooled off a bit, one of the guides came over to tell us it was time to come back to camp and get ready for our hike up to the Nankoweap Granaries. We felt a little bit like kids being told recess was over.

The hike was to be short and sweet - 1.5 miles with a 617-foot elevation gain.

The trail began right from our camp and led us up a steep slope to an absolutely incredible view of the bends in the river below.

The Golden HourPulling ourselves away from the view, we continued up the trail to a series of ledges set against a limestone wall. Under an overhang there were what looked like a row of four square windows cut into the cliff wall.

These were the granaries, cut into this wall by Native Americans from the Ancestral Puebloan culture almost a thousand years ago. If we thought this hike was tough, just think of Ancestral Puelbloans hauling their grain, including pumpkin seeds and corn, from the river delta below to these “storage units.” The granary helped keep the food dry during floods and protected it against rodents and other hungry creatures.

Dinner back at campWe sat on the ledges for a while, contemplating the fact that a thousand years ago, people lived in this canyon that we were rafting through, and envisioning what their lives must have been like.

On the way down, the golden hour was approaching, so the view of the river bends were even more stunning than on our way up.

Back at camp, we were spoiled again with another delicious dinner cooked by our trusty river guides.

Travelogue

Morning CoffeeToday was the first day waking up on the river and all that it entailed. It was a process that we would repeat every morning for the next 12 days.

• 5:00 - Call for Coffee
• 5:15 - Race for the Groover (our primitive restroom)
• 5:30 - Call for Breakfast
• 6:00 - Eat breakfast and mingle
• 6:30 - Guides would call us together to inform us our the plan for the day (sometimes that included drawing a rapid we would face that day in the sand)
• 7:00 - Take down tent and pack everything into our river bags
• 7:30 - Join the fire line, passing all the bags down the line to be loaded on the boats
• 8:00 - Hit the river for a day of rapids, hikes, etc.

Drawing the plan for House Rock RapidIt was also our first day with some serious rapids, so before leaving camp, Robin gathered us all together, as she would on any day that would include a challenging rapid, to draw the features of the rapid in the sand and explain to us their plan for running it. Not that we able to offer any advice, but rather I think it was a way for her to assure us that they knew what they were doing.

Up until this point in my life, I pretty much thought all rapids were the same and that some just had bigger waves than others.

Through the rapidsApparently that’s not the case. Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow velocity, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid to be created.

These factors determine how difficult the rapid is to navigate through. The Grand Canyon has their own system of rating the difficulty of rapids, from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most challenging.

Arriving at Redwall CanyonAnother thing we learned is that there are a whole bunch of different types of “features” in a rapid, caused by the rocks that lay on the bottom. Some examples of these features are “holes” and “eddies.” Those were features we wanted to avoid.

An experienced guide knows how to read the river - what to avoid and what line to take through it.

It was a huge amphitheaterOur first test today would be House Rock, a 9 rapid on the Grand Canyon 1 to 10 scale. It would give us a sense of what was to come the rest of the trip. This particular rapid curves against the left canyon wall and crescendos into a large “hole” on the left at the bottom, necessitating a right turn.

Also known as an hydraulic, holes can form in rapids when water flows over an obstacle, such as a rock or ledge, into deeper water. This causes the water on the surface to be pulled back towards the obstacle, creating a recirculating vortex-like zone. The current at and below the surface of the hole will be recirculating upstream, which can be dangerous for boaters and watercraft who may become stuck in the water or worse yet, flip, or cause one of us to take what they call an "unintentional swim."

Tiny Herb in Redwall CavernFortunately, Kayla our river guide, executed it perfectly, which is great because “holes” can be pretty scary and dangerous.

That was not the end of our running rapids today. As we continued downriver, the river cut deeper into the canyon’s geologic strata, and redwall Limestone began to appear along both shorelines. This limestone represents an ancient deep-sea bed from 350 million years ago.

Due to the hardness of this limestone and its resistance to erosion, the rapids are larger and more frequent in this section, appropriately called the “Roaring Twenties,” a 10 mile stretch of river from Mile 20 to 30 with a fairly good-sized rapid every mile or so.

The Guides setting up lunchThe biggest rapid we ran in the “Roaring Twenties” was Georgie (rated an 8 on the Grand Canyon scale), one of only two rapids named after a woman.

Georgie was quite the adventurous woman. Besides being one of the first people to swim the rapids of the river, wearing only a bathing suit, life jacket, and tennis shoes, she also made history when in 1952 she became the first woman to row a boat through the Grand Canyon.

After that first ride, she realized this was what she wanted to do with her life, so she began configuring war surplus rubber pontoons into inflatable crafts to take paying passengers down the river. She eventually became the most famous commercial river runner of all time.

A little Frisbee playSoon after the “Roaring Twenties,” at Mile 33, we stopped at one of the most beautiful and interesting places along the river - Redwall Canyon, a huge amphitheater carved by high river flows into the canyon’s limestone walls.

It looked impressive from the river, but to really appreciate its grandiosity and enormity you have to walk into its expanse.

Such deep sandWhen John Wesley Powell camped here in 1869, he estimated that the cavern could hold more than 50,000 people, a bit of a hyperbole, but let’s just say that it is pretty impressive.

Upon beaching the rafts, the river guides began setting up the kitchen to make us lunch, while the rest of us ran into the cavern like a bunch of little kids let out at recess.

Not sure if I mentioned yet that eight of our fellow passengers were members of an ultimate frisbee team, so of course the frisbee had to come out to play.

Buck Farm CanyonThe sand was very deep within the cavern as a result of floods in the pre Glen Canyon Dam times, when the cavern would often become completely filled with silty river water. After the water receded, the sand stayed behind, building up with each flood. Since the dam was built, the cavern doesn’t get flooded anymore.

What a great place this would be to camp, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), because of its popularity, camping is not allowed.

From Redwall Canyon, we continued down the river, passing the proposed (but fortunately failed) Marble Canyon Dam Site at Mile 40.

Buck Farm CanyonThe country was pretty much going dam crazy in the 1950s, proposing dozens of dam sights on the rivers in the West. Fortunately, opposition from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, as well as concerned citizens, got the Bureau of Reclamation to agree to halt dam construction at this site and others in the canyon.

Had a dam been built here, we would have been paddling so far on an artificial lake, starting all the way back at Lee’s Ferry.

A mile after that we stopped to camp at Buck Farm Canyon (Mile 41).

From camp, we hiked into Buck Farm Canyon. There was a bit of scrambling over rocks in the beginning for the first quarter mile. From there, we had the choice of either wading through the creek or walking above the creek on an exposed set of ledges. It was a rewarding 2-mile, out-and-back hike.

Then it was back to camp for warm beers, dinner, mingling and laughing, and then to bed.

Travelogue

All packed up and ready to goOur white water rafting adventure with AzRA (Arizona Raft Adventures) began at the Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, where we would gather with our group of fellow adventurers for a mandatory orientation meeting before departing for Lee’s Ferry the next day.

As we took a seat in the meeting room, I was somewhat surprised to see that half of the participants were easily half our age. For some reason I had expected an older demographic, as had been our experience on other group tours.

However, the trip was billed as quite physically demanding, so I guess that scared away some of our more mature peers from signing on. The recommended 8-week training program leading up to the trip could be quite intimidating for many people even much younger than us. Fortunately, Herb and I have kept in pretty good shape, so we figured we could hold our own.

As I glanced around the room at the others in the group, I thought OK, they look nice enough, so hopefully we would get along just fine for the next 14 days. Little did I know at the time that we would become like family before it all was over.

Once the meeting was over, we went back to our room and started packing our river bags: white one (boat bag) for stuff we wanted with us during the day, and the blue one (camp bag) for stuff we wanted when we arrived at camp each night.

As usual, I had packed way too much, thinking that I would require a new outfit each night when we got to camp. The reality would be that I would live in the same clothes for days at a time.

Once we finished stuffing our bags, it was right to bed for an early morning bus ride to Lee’s Ferry where we would start our river adventure..

Travelogue

And our journey beginsWe arose bright and early, as we would every morning for the next 14 days, to meet everyone by the bus which would take us to Lee’s Ferry and the start of our adventure.

Once our white and blue river bags were loaded on the bus, we found some seats near the front and tried to get a little more sleep during the 3-hour drive

When we got to Lee’s Ferry, our guides and their boats were there to greet us. Robyn, our trip leader, gave us some instruction on what to expect and how to best avoid unintentional swimming or the boat flipping during the rapids. We learned about gripping onto the straps (to not fall out), highsiding (leaning in towards the wave to prevent the boat from flipping), and how to breath in the trough of a wave if the above two prevention measures didn’t work.

Herb gets a chance at the oarsOur fleet consisted of six boats in total: three oar boats, which were each rowed by a river guide and held 4 passengers, another oar raft which held much of the supplies needed for the next 14 days on the river, a paddle boat in which 6 of us could paddle each day, and a classic Colorado River dory, which could hold three passengers.

I had already decided that an oar boat was my safest option, and least likely to expel me or flip. As I was contemplating my options, an oarswomen named Kayla came up to me to see if I needed help. Was I that obviously helpless already? - probably. I asked her if Herb and I could join her on her boat and she gladly accepted. We soon came to learn that despite her diminutive size, she was a very talented oarswoman and strong as an ox.

Wes in the DoryOnce everyone had figured out what boat they would be going on, we formed a fire line (the first of many on this trip), where we passed the blue (camp) river bags from person to person until it reached a boat to be loaded and strapped down on. Then we got our PDFs on and brought our white (boat) river bags onto the boat we were riding on and attached them to something on the inside of the boat (a strap or a ring) with a carabiner.

Then off we went on the start of our 14-day, 226-mile journey. Once we entered that canyon, I knew there would be no turning back, so I admit to feeling a little bit nervous.

The paddle boatUntil now, I didn’t realize that we wouldn’t be in the Grand Canyon until Mile 62. Instead, we would be spending our first 3 days rafting through beautiful Marble Canyon.

The rating system for rapid difficulty in the Grand Canyon is on a 1 to 10 scale, unlike most other sections of the country where the difficulty ratings range from I to VI.

To make it more confusing, each rapid in the Grand Canyon has four ratings based on the water level: very low, low, medium, and high. Some rapids are more difficult in low water because of exposed rocks, but others become more fierce with higher and faster river flows.

The Oar BoatsFor most of our trip through the Grand Canyon, we were rafting through low water (3,000 - 9,000 cubic feet per second).

Today would be a relatively moderate day in terms of rapids. The big ones that I had been fearing the whole year leading up to this trip would come later.

After passing under the Historic Navajo Bridge that we had stopped to walk across on our bus ride to Lee’s ferry, at Mile 8, we ran Badger Creek, our first significant rapid - rated 7 on the Grand Canyon scale.

Arriving at CampIt is described as having a large pour-over in the center right. Pour-overs are narrow holes that form when water falls over a rock and can be identified by a small bump in the water's surface. It often looks like a small, glassy waterfall.

Okay, not too bad and a good size rapid to get our feet wet, literally and figuratively.

Then at Mile 11.5, we smoothly navigated through Soap Creek Rapid, rated a 5 on the Grand Canyon scale.

Camp Life
Soap Creek Rapid is described as having a long wave train of medium and large waves. In August of 2015, a flash flood changed the rapid, constricting the entry and making the waves much steeper and more powerful.

It’s always interesting to read about how the various rapids got their names. Let’s take Badger and Soap Creek for example, because their naming stories actually go together.

Our humble homeBack in the 1880s, Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon missionary and accomplished outdoorsmen was traveling down the river when he saw and shot a badger in the side canyon right near a rapid. Hence the name Badger Creek.

He then gathered up the dead badger and continued downstream to the next large side canyon, where he proceeded to boil the Badger. During the process soap formed as the badger’s fat mixed with the alkalinity of the creek water. Hence the name Soap Creek.

The KitchenSince this was only a partial day, we stopped for the night at a Camp called Hot Na Na Wash at Mile 17.

Then we would begin the ritual which would repeat every afternoon when we reached camp - race everyone else to find a good campsite, form a fire line to unload the bags from the boat, bring our bags (3 each + a tent bag) to previously selected campsite, set up our tent and unload some of our stuff, go back to the boats, and get a well-needed beer from our burlap beverage bag.

The "Groover"Meanwhile the guides would be unloading and setting up the kitchen as well as two groover sites (our restrooms).

Eventually, the call would come for “DINNER,” and we would gather near the boats for what was always a delicious dinner. The supplies and food ingredients that came off those boats for 14 days was amazing.

After some mingling and music played by a fortunate collection of good musicians that were on the trip (both guides and passengers), it was early to bed, as we would get the call for "COFFEE" at 5 am.