So call me crazy, but flying out at Whitmore Wash on the first canyon trip just left me feeling “unfinished”. Solution: Do the last 100 miles, just to say you did it? I didn’t want to just fly all the way back to Vegas just to do the 3 day trip and see the last one hundred miles alone. What I really wanted was to do the whole thing over again, and go all the way to the end this time. I would love to do the Canyon for longer, but was still a little cautious about those oar boats, and just didn’t have the vacation time left for a 2 week trip this year, but I really, really want to finish the Canyon.
So having returned home I immediately started thinking about a return trip. By the 3rd week of June I had identified a late summer trip that would fit in my schedule. Lucky for me, when I called
Arizona River Runners a family of four had just changed their trip plans and there were now 4 available spaces on the September 4th eight day, full length, motor trip. Unfortunately I was still unable to persuade Mark to join me, and no-one else was willing or able to get away for a week of hot days, freezing water, and sleeping on a mat out in the middle of nowhere. Undaunted, I reserved a single one of those last four spaces, and airline tickets to get me to Vegas and back. ARR once again would provide the transport from Vegas to river and back again.
September finally arrived. Ignoring Hurricane Frances’ impending schedule right over the top of Tampa, I again took an early flight to Las Vegas. Again catching a glimpse of Canyon as we flew over Arizona, this time no road map to establish our exact position (how did I forget that?) and light cloud cover meant that though I saw the Canyon, I didn’t actually see the river. The eternal “will it be green, and not muddy?” question would have to wait for riverside tomorrow to be answered. I did see what I again assumed to be the Little Colorado River valley, which looked brown from 36,000’, but who can be sure from that height? I was ambivalent as to the color of the river, as even really muddy silty brown would interest me this time and provide an interesting contrast to the perfect clear green of my last trip. I wasn’t really looking forward to bathing in muddy water though. We were probably flying on a slightly different flight line than the previous trip as I couldn’t see most of what I remember from the last trip, and passengers on the left of the plane commented on seeing Hoover Dam through the clouds. No pictures of Lake Mead from the plane this trip. My camera was in the overhead compartment, and my window rather dirty anyway. I decided to wait for the pictures from the ground at the end of the trip.
Arriving in Vegas, I was quickly deposited by taxi once again at the Hawthorne Suites, where we were to be met early the next day. Again, as on the last trip there was a very early room available. Being so early, and having partaken of a Cinnabon roll for breakfast I didn’t feel the need to do the Strip to eat this time. I took a nice long nap and shower, then called friend TJ, who recently moved to Vegas, to pick me up and tote me around for the afternoon, culminating in an early Prime Rib dinner. Thanks TJ! After dinner I was re-deposited at the Hawthorne to repack my bags in river mode and get my early night. Early next morning, a final hot shower, and I was down in the lobby sampling the complimentary doughnuts, fruit, juice, and coffee. The other 26 travelers were also congregating and we were met by an ARR representative. Shortly afterwards the bus arrived, and we set out for Lees Ferry.
Our route took us through Virgin Gorge, and on to Hurricane, UT where we stopped for a bathroom break and one last call home. I found it rather ironic calling from Hurricane to see what the hurricane was up to! I was told that Frances had weakened slightly, but still headed for Florida, and not to worry. I also mentioned at this time my slightly scratchy, sore throat, which at the time I assumed to be a wet Florida air versus dry Vegas air transition (more on that later!). Continuing on through the streets of Hurricane we appeared to become an impromptu part of the Labor Day weekend parade. People were lined up in folding chairs along the parade route. Fortunately we were not a little later and stuck in the middle of the parade!
The drive was interesting. The stop at Hurricane had seemed rather cool to me, and the sky clear and blue (unlike the cloudy, windy and bumpy day I had had for the plane ride last trip). The scenery of the Kaibab plateau is basically very flat (right), but eventually route 89A rises over a ridge and drops over the edge of the canyon to parallel the Vermillion cliffs with it’s spectacular layered rock walls appear.
Next stop, Marble Canyon for fishing licenses, restock of beer, etc. Then the bus continued down to Lees Ferry where we disembarked and were met by our crew. Josh, an experienced Colorado boatman, but leading his first trip, Joe driving the second boat and usually a trip leader, Elkanah, another experienced driver, but serving as swamper on this trip, and Chris, Josh’s friend taking his first trip in the swamper’s seat.
The boat ramp was very busy, with several commercial trips and a private trip readying their rafts. The numbered aqua blue dry bags were laid out awaiting us, and soon the crew was busy instructing everyone on transferal of our gear into river bags. I chose bag number A27 this trip and began unpacking and repacking. Maybe it was the larger group, or because I already knew what needed to be done, or maybe it was due to so much other activity going on at the same time but this process seemed a little more chaotic this trip than it had been at the Marble Canyon Lodge house on the last trip. Eventually everyone got the hang of it though and our dry bags were packed and stowed aboard the rafts.
Josh gave the initial correct fitting of life jackets and boat safety orientation and we all loaded onto the boats. I jumped on Josh’s boat to start the trip, though I intended to switch between the boats as I had on the previous trip. The clear blue sky was turning cloudy black while we loaded and we had hardly even pushed off from the shore when the first drops of rain began to fall. Just for the record that is the second “rare” canyon rain (left) that I have experienced within a mile of Lees Ferry!
I was fairly surprised to see the river green, though was later told that it had been fairly red and muddy up until the past several days. The flows from Glen Canyon dam had been fluctuating between 10 to 20 thousand cubic feet per second for most of the summer, but had dropped to around half that amount since September 1st. We would have only 5 to 10 cfs for the duration of the trip.
Very soon after passing through Paria riffle we stopped on a sandbar beach for lunch and more river orientation. As Josh oriented us the rest of the crew prepared the “make-it-yourself” sandwich table. The weather was deteriorating as we were oriented. Lighting flashed behind Josh and the wind whipped sand around. It was interesting to me to see some of the passengers cautious about sitting on the sand. I can’t even imagine that anyone might think they would get through this trip without getting sandy! After lunch we loaded back onto the rafts to continue. Soon passing under the twin Navajo bridges(left) and 10 Mile Rock (below) which I had only seen in a hailstorm before!
We quickly sank into the rising Kaibab, Tapeats, and Coconino sandstone layers and started into our first rapids (below – Joe’s boat running rapid).
We started through the Roaring Twenties rapids, and stopped for our first camp at river left just below Indian Dick rapid at mile 23. I had already decided to spend as many nights as possible sleeping out without a tent. Though as an ARR Canyon veteran Josh had me help with the tent setup demonstration. So I erected the first tent, which was then given away to the first taker. That only seemed fair as MaryBeth and I had actually been the beneficiaries of the demo tent on the first night of the last trip. Concerned that the wind may pick up as it had on the first night last trip I quickly found myself a sheltered spot behind a large rock and rolled out my sleeping mat, leaving the remaining bedding packed until ready for use, to eliminate the chance of it becoming a resting place for some other creature than me!
Dinner was delicious, if predictable. It seems that the menu provided for the trips is very standardized and does not change much between the 7 and 8 day trips. Tonight was grilled salmon, rice and salad, with cheesecake to follow. Surprise! I was able to guess both dinner and dessert correctly for the first couple of days before the crew surprised me with meal we had not had on the first trip. While the crew cooked dinner us passengers started to get to know each other more.
I had a fairly restful night, except for a very irritating dry and slightly sore throat which woke me a couple of times. The moon came up late into the night and was very bright, even though not full. In the morning the coffee was delicious, strong, gritty, and very quick to disappear. The biggest difference on this trip so far seems to be the prevalence of strong coffee drinkers. I remember throwing away coffee most mornings on the last trip, but the coffee on this trip needed to be refreshed with additional hot water most mornings. After breakfast of eggs and hash brown potatoes, we reversed the unpacking process and loaded back onto the boats. I switched to Joe’s boat this morning. Starting out in calm water Josh read to us (below left) from the logs of Powell’s trip about the journey into the unknown. He also told us about Georgie White-Clark and her river running trips. The first rapid we run this morning is Mile 24, now known as Georgie’s Rapid.
Mid morning we stopped at South Canyon for our first hike. The lower part of the hike was up about 75 feet to a ledge with a large rock decorated with petroglyphs. It was fairly easily accessible and everyone joined in. There was a nice view of the river upstream from the ledge. The second part went much higher up into the rock for a canyon overlook. It was already hot, and my throat was getting sorer by the minute, so I skipped the top half of the hike. Along with several others of the group I worked my way down to the boats and took a short walk up South Canyon and when it turned too muddy to continue turned back to the river and found a nice cool rock to sit on. It was originally in the shade, but the sun soon found me.
Soon after the sun hit my rock the group began trickling down from the hike. We loaded back on the boats. Just before Vasey’s Paradise we first heard, then saw two rams practicing their territory claiming skills complete with posturing and skull butting. We hovered for several minutes during which time they worked though their sniffing, posing and butting routine 3 times. Unfortunately I never quite managed to click the camera just right, and while I got many pictures, I never quite got them butting!
Continuing on to Redwall Cavern we passed Kissing Rock. At Mile 33 we stopped for lunch in Redwall Cavern. There was already an oar trip group in Redwall the group was from a symphony orchestra, but I can’t remember where. Some of them played while we ate. Unfortunately I was not much in the mood to enjoy the “make-it- yourself” sandwich lunch or the music much. My throat was now burning and sore, head pounding, ears filling up with fluid, and temperature rising. I began to feel like I was getting sick. Before we left Redwall Cavern we were told that some of the Orchestra group had continued downstream to a smaller beach to play and we would likely hear them as we passed. The boatmen turned off the engines and we floated with the current downriver while the quartet played. It was a uniquely relaxing experience to drift by listening to the music. The piece finished just as we drifted out of earshot and we all applauded before the boats were restarted and we continued on, passing several small fresh water springs with their clusters of ferns, then the Bridge of Sighs at mile 35.
As we passed mile 40 Joe explained the test drills and the effect that the proposed Marble Canyon Dam would have had on the Canyon. Next we passed the Triple Alcoves with stalactites, stalagmites, and fern crowned springs. By this time the canyon had turned mainly shaded, and the repeated dousings of frigid water were having an extreme chilling effect. My temperature was high, and as I started to count off miles until we would stop for the night my fever continued to rise. As we entered Nankoweap Canyon a female mule deer and 2 fawns were spotted on river right. Again we drifted and hovered for several minutes to get pictures, though in my delirious state I could hardly even see through the viewfinder, let alone get all 3 animals in the same photo!
Mile 52: As we cleared the first rapid and rounded the corner we not only saw the Anasazi Granaries high in the sheer rock wall, but it was also clear that both the upper and middle Nankoweap campgrounds were empty. Fortunately for me, we had our beach for the night! I was never so glad to get off the river. I skipped out on the duffle line duty tonight in favor of a very quick change into my dry fleece sweater and a hot rock to sit on. As soon as I recovered my bag I quickly set up my bed with the luxury of an extra bed mat and collapsed exhausted onto it. Our wonderful boat guides, seeing the extent of my sickness at this point provided hot water for herb teas and vitamins C and E from their own personal supplies in an attempt to hasten my recovery. They are wonderful guys! Dinner was barbeque chicken, stovetop and beans and carrots with hot dutch oven brownies and fresh milk. It was great, (especially the brownies) though I couldn’t taste much, and the actual swallowing was a challenge. The warm dry clothes, hot tea, food, and fever reducing aspirin had the net result of completing my exhaustion and I literally dropped into bed and immediately to sleep only to awake every couple of hours in a returned pained, sore, and unable to swallow state, repeat the drink and aspirin cycle and fall immediately back to sleep. Sometime shortly before dawn the fever broke in a thoroughly drenching sweat. I switched to a dry sleeping bag and drifted in and out of sleep for a short while until the breakfast coffee burners got me up and out of bed.
Maybe it was some kind of post fever delirium, or maybe it was that the guides had been so willing and sweet and helpful with the hot teas, vitamins, etc., but I should also have remembered the true nature of those sweet caring guides. The recommendation for soothing my sore throat this morning was to use Tabasco sauce on my Blueberry pancake and sausage breakfast. Unbelievably, I was foolish enough to forget the rule never to trust a river guide if his lips are moving! The Tabasco did indeed stop me feeling the pain from my sore throat, but only at the cost of me losing ALL feeling in my mouth, lips and tongue for several hours after consuming the not so delicious concoction. After breakfast, with any deep breathing still extremely uncomfortable I set out with the group to hike up to the Anasazi Granaries. I was not sure I would make it, but was determined to give it my very best try. Missing out on the Nankoweap hike due to lack of a campground had been a big disappointment to me on the first trip. I was still hopeful to make it this time. The lack of direct sunlight on the steep uphill climb was my best chance right now. I was determined to try to keep a pace to ascend to the Granaries before the sun turned the steep hike into a hot steep hike. I started off near the front of the group, but with very short breath, and frequent need to stop I was soon falling behind. As we climbed higher some of the group decided not to continue to the top. About halfway up I found it necessary to pace myself 50 steps, then rest, then another 50 steps and rest. The view downriver at each rest just begged to be photographed, which allowed me my "breather breaks".
About 50’ below the Granaries the sun finally caught me, but by that stage I was too close to give up. I think I stopped at each 20 paces not 50, but I was determined to make it to the top. I finally made it to the top!
After a short rest I was ready to start back down. It was much easier on the breathing going down, but harder on the knees. The crew gave me a good start, but soon caught and passed me as they flip-flopped their way down! They are like mountain goats. I was the last to return, in the company of Joe. Back at the beach many were dousing themselves in the cold water to cool off. Memories of fever and chills from last night kept me from thoroughly partaking, but I did cool off my hot tired feet. Soon we were back in the boats and headed downstream once again. As we neared the confluence with the Little Colorado River the colorful Bright Angel Shale layers became even more impressive with their layers of greens, brown and purples. However, at Mile 61, the Little Colorado was a thick muddy brown flow. Definitely the antithesis of the sparkling clear blue river I remembered. I was disappointed for my fellow travelers that they would not get to experience and enjoy this little piece of Paradise. A couple of passengers who disembarked sank up to their knees in the mud. I stayed firmly on the boat! Just past the confluence we passed the sacred Hopi salt deposits along the left cliff. Hopi Indians made long pilgrimages from their villages to collect this salt. On river right we saw the gleaming of metal high on Chaur Butte where wreckage still remains of 2 jet aircraft that crashed in midair over Grand Canyon in 1955.
The next stop was for lunch on river right at Carbon Creek (Mile 64). The Mexican Train Wreck salad on pitas was especially good as I was actually beginning to taste food again! The vista from the beach was the Grand Canyon opening up, with the Desert View Watch Tower in the distance on the South Rim. While lunch was being prepared I took a quick walk up the beach to the mouth of the wash and found some interesting river fluted rocks. The Canyon is much more open here with impressive long distance views that you do not get in the gorges. There is much more variation in the rocks at this point in the Canyon. They rock types are referred to as the "Grand Canyon Supergroup" that includes more rocks than I care to name that are a mixture of sandstones, lava, and basalts. Various faults and earth movements have tilted these formations and caused offsets between one side of the Canyon and the other.
At Tanner Canyon (mile 68) we stopped at river right for an early camp and the chance to do an archeology hike with Joe. Much as I would have loved to do this hike I was already “rock scrambled” out for the day after Nankoweap, and didn’t relish the thought of straining my still tender sore throat with a hot dry hike. I decided to sit this one out and find myself a cozy spot on the beach to relax for a while and take a bath while the sun was still strong and warm. The split was about half and half between those that hiked and those that opted for hanging out. While the hiking group was away Elk entertained us with his guitar. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon and allowed me some much needed warm dry recovery time. Dinner tonight was a surprise for me. Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and strawberry shortcake, which we did not have on the first trip. It was delicious. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised at how much of it traveled the remainder of the trip embedded in my pj’s t-shirt! After dinner Joe treated us all to a tour of the stars. I was particularly enjoyed seeing the yellow/red blinking Antares in the Scorpion system. Given that this area is known as Furnace Flats is was quite a strange to experience such a cool damp night here. When I awoke there appeared to have been a water seeping through the sand below my bed and my pillow and sleeping bag were both cold and damp.
Breakfast this morning was french toast and bacon, and we were soon on the river. Today was to be a long river day after such a short day yesterday. The wide open Canyon continued for around 8 miles down to Hance Rapid.
At Hance Rapid the Canyon changes once again and we entered the Upper Granite Gorge. The wide vistas are replaced by the vertical limestone cliffs. The river was running very low so the guides pulled over on river right to scout the rapid. The remainder of the group took this as an opportunity to do a little “relieving” and those that did not want to get wet in the rapid donned rain gear. The ride through Hance was relatively smooth considering how many rocks were showing through the shallow churning water, but Josh did ding his propeller on the way down and had to change it out at the bottom.
We stopped at the Phantom Ranch Beach a little before lunchtime. The chief purpose of the stop was to restock with fresh drinking water, but as it was lunchtime we walked up to Phantom Ranch to sit in air conditioned air for a few minutes, and mail postcards which would be carried by mule to the South Rim. I didn’t think it was worth mailing a card to Mark, doubting that it would get home before I did, so I mailed one to myself instead. Of course, the postcard proved me wrong and did make it home before me. Returning from Phantom Ranch I made it off the trail just in time to not get run over by the mules. We found the sandwich table set up on the beach, ate lunch, and continued downstream. Shortly after Phantom Ranch is the second of the two footbridges, Bright Angel Bridge, then a brief view of the South Rim observation point where I had got my first view of the Colorado River that had started this obsession with the Grand Canyon.
We had a wonderful afternoon of hot sunshine, cold rapids, and sheep. The best dousing of the afternoon had to be at Horn Creek rapid where the wave totally engulfed the raft so that from the front boat all that could be seen was the two boatmen, Joe and Elk, in the back surrounded by frothy water. Joe’s engine stalled in Horn Creek and we had a tense but quiet few moments while it recovered and he managed to restart it. Fortunately we didn’t hit anything or get stuck on top of anything while drifting. Then we tackled jewels rapids, and they were all fun, though Joe was obviously experiencing some engine issues, and finally pulled over just below Tuna rapid to change out the engine with the spare. It was very quickly done, and we all believe that Joe happened to provide Tootsie Roll suckers to us at that particular moment just to shut us all up so we would not ask questions and he could just get on with it. No watch to time him on, but it seemed like only 5 – 10 minutes to change out. Though obviously the downstream boat had been concerned about us missing for even such a short time when we caught up to them. The last highlight of the day for me was Serpentine Rapid, where I persuaded Joe to let me ride the duffle pile face forward into the rapid. It’s an awesome ride to see the waves coming up at you from that position. It also persuaded me that I was feeling much better that I was even interested in doing it! My sore throat was receding to a scratchy throat and body temperature was acting normally.
Camp tonight is at mile 107 on river right in an area of basalt rocks that retained heat. It was very easy to dry out. I even found a nice rocky area with a rock ledge that I could easily sit on to bathe and do laundry. I had a hard time debating over my choice of sleeping place tonight. Close to the river’s edge, but about 15’ above river level was an unusual circular rock depression. Almost like an 8’ circular cave without a roof. I was very tempted to use this as my private bedroom, except for the hard and rather un-level floor, and the complexity of dragging all my gear in and out again. Then there was the issue of having to rock scramble to get in and out as needed for bathroom trips in the night. Ultimately I decided that my first choice of level but packed sand close to the kitchen was a better choice. Dinner tonight was Pork Chops, apple sauce, beans and squash, with cobbler for dessert (for those who got to it quick enough!) It was a pleasant night, and warmer than the previous one, but the ants and mosquitoes took their fair share of human flesh at this location. One passenger was stung by a scorpion when he accidentally transferred it into his tent on a damp piece of clothing that had been left out on a rock. Wednesday breakfast was fill your own omelets. Delicious. My throat was a lot better today. Not sore at all, but I didn’t really have a proper voice going. It drifted in and out all day. I guess I sounded much worse that I felt. The worst part for me not was I was not able to scream my delight at the rapids!
Back on the river, the first stop for the day was at Elves Chasm (mile 116). I had hiked up to enjoy Elves Chasm on the last trip, but had not really enjoyed the trip back due to a particularly nasty sloped rock with a huge chasm and drop in the middle of it. I knew I would not be jumping from any waterfalls anyway, so decided not to torture everyone with having to coax me back over that nasty rock. I stayed down at the lower pools and falls in Elves Chasm. When the group returned from the hike we traveled a short distance downstream to pull up at a small beach on river right at mile 117 for lunch. Again, while the lunch tables were set up for ‘make-it-yourself’ sandwiches I took another little walk around the extent of the beach and found some interesting wind and water eroded rocks.
This afternoon we continued to have engine issues with stalls in both Bedrock and Duebendorf rapids. Either they happened in very fortuitous places or Joe is the best boatman ever, because somehow we managed not to get stuck on anything while drifting in this low water! Our afternoon stop is at Deer Creek Falls. I decided not to do the steep hike to the top just on past advice that it is extremely narrow in places and not good for anyone with height issues. Rather than just go into the waterfall side canyon I attempted to climb the big chunk of rock outside the canyon entrance to see if I could get a different view of the falls. I made it almost all the way up, but was stopped by a sloping slab of sandstone, which obscured an elevated view of the falls. I could probably have ascended it, but was not sure I could safely descend again. Not wanting to have to test my squeaky voice by screaming for help if I got stuck, I turned around to return to terra firma! This little side trip caused me my worst injury of the trip when I scraped the side of my right knee against a rock. Not particularly painful, but it did result in a nice purple and green bruise with an abrasion in the middle! Of course, I eventually had to go into the canyon below the falls for the obligatory “standing in the gale force outflow from the waterfall” picture.
Our camp for tonight is river left at mile 138 just a short way down from Deer Creek. There are 2 campgrounds in close proximity and the lower camp was taken by a private group. A unique feature of this particular side canyon was the way that sound traveled around the rear wall. Small sounds made at one end of the beach were surprisingly easy to hear at the other parts of the beach. I noticed this particularly strongly when doing my nightly exploration around and camp. Even though once again slightly feverish I managed to climb above the camp onto a rock outcrop to take some pictures. While on this outcrop I could hear the water running past the beach and boats as if I were sitting right next to it. Dinner was Burritos, beans and rice with fruit salad. A large part of the evening was spent making massive amounts of noise trying to out shout the downstream camp. Their group had bongo drums, we had Elk’s guitar and a few loud voices (not my intermittent squeak). I think we may have won, but that is subjective! They definitely lasted later into the night than we did!
Thursday Morning breakfast was breakfast cereal, fruit and muffins. This morning we also made our sandwiches in advance to give us more options for a lunch hike. My voice was still wavering in and out, but the fever that had tried to recur last night was thankfully not active again this morning. We were very fortunate this morning to be able to stop at Matkatamiba Canyon (mile 148). This was another hike I would have loved to have done on the last trip, but again, limited parking had prevented us stopping. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to stop at both Nankoweap and Matkat on the same trip. The hike up Matkat is short, and wet for some of the way then with an option for low, wet and slippery, or high and dry. I opted for high and dry going upstream. It had one place where I was rather short leg challenged in being able to get up onto the next ledge, but eventually managed some sidestepping to get me up on the ledge. A short way up the slot canyon widens out. The small but permanent stream pools then flows down to the next pool. The ‘in’ thing to do here is to create “butt dams” to block the water temporarily in a pool, then release the dam quickly to allow the water to rush downstream. It’s even more fun if you build a stack of rocks downstream of the dam to be wash away by the released flood. After the butt dam experience I continued upstream to enjoy the large pools and falls of the canyon. All too soon it was time to leave. The decision was taken to hike back on the same high and dry route we had used to hike in. For some reason it seemed a little harder making our way downstream than up, and I became especially aware of the more prickly canyon inhabitants! As we all struggled along, hanging onto rocks, and carefully watching for the next foothold, we found ourselves face to face with a Bighorn sheep on the other side of the narrow slot. We named him the “Showoff Sheep” for his total nonchalance leaping steadyfooted from rock to precarious rock without even seeming to look. He reminded us a lot of our guides except he didn’t have flip-flops! Soon we were all splashing back down into the bottom of the slot for the final wet rock scramble back to the boats.
We continued downstream, and Josh made the decision to eat lunch on the rafts to give us a little extra time. As we ran the next 30 miles we passed through some light rain just downstream of Havasu canyon and a grey sky with lightning which looked like it was prepared to give us a nasty storm, but then didn’t. We reached Lava Falls about mid afternoon and Joe prepared us, and then himself to run Lava!
Below Lava is a clear spring (above right) on river left. We pulled over on river right below Lower Lava for a bathroom and stretch break. Many of us scrambled up the beach expecting to see a Western River Expeditions raft follow us through. We waited several minutes, but the never materialized, so all we got were some scenic photos of Lava Falls with no boats in it. Shortly after Lava we passed Chock stone Camp on river left where we had spent the last night of my previous trip, then the Whitmore helicopter pad where I departed the river. Everything below this point is new Canyon to me now. We stopped for the night at mile 188, river right, at Whitmore Wash. Just as the boats parked a storm started building in the side Canyon. Everybody except me started scrambling to erect tents. I was still hoping that I would be able to sleep without a tent, and had picked a small bed site that didn’t seem big enough to erect a tent. I wandered around looking for another suitable site big enough for a tent, but didn’t find anything I liked. By the time I returned to my original spot, with tent in hand and ready to erect it, the rain started in earnest, complete with lightening and thunder. Lucky for me, Becky in the site behind me had completed her tent setup and invited me to join her. The rain didn’t last too long, and was not heavy by Florida standards, but there was enough wet to persuade me that I was going to have to set the tent up for tonight! The crew set up a canopy to cook under and prepared a delicious Lasagna, garlic bread and salad, with carrot cake dessert which we ate in the dark. Right at the end of dinner it started to rain again. Everyone scrambled for their tents. The rain was light and lasted only a few minutes, but by then the party had broken up and everyone stayed in bed. Even the crew set up their tents on the boat for the night, so I decided I was just going to have to suffer the night in my tent! As it turned out, there was no more rain that night. This was probably my most uncomfortable night as I was not used to the rustling of the tent. I didn’t close the tent door to relieve the stuffiness, but unfortunately the restroom wash and key line had been placed right next to my tent, so I awoke in the morning to the “early groover line” outside my door! Maybe it was the rain, but we were all very slow getting started this morning. Breakfast was fluffy pancakes, sausage, and strawberries. I ate mine without Tabasco this time around. It definitely tasted much better with syrup! I was feeling much better this morning, despite not having slept well. My voice was much more consistent, though still wavering in and out occasionally.
Friday Morning - Not surprisingly, this new (to me) lower portion of the Canyon looks very much like, and just as beautiful as the upper portions. The biggest difference is more volcanic features. This morning we passed a hematite mine shaped like a lion. Around mile 212 we stopped for a short hike over some eroded rock that looked like swiss cheese. Josh and Joe drove the boats downstream a short distance to a beach on rivr left, while Elk led us on a short hike over and into (for some) the holey rocks and past Pumpkin Springs, a travertine bowl filled with green mineral laden water (below), then down to meet up with the boats and the tuna salad lunch awaiting us on the beach below.
Back on the boats and continuing downstream, Joe and Elk got out the kite. The plan was to try to fly it out all the way to the end of the string spool. With a little help initially Elk succeeded in getting it airborne,then slowly fed out the entire spool, an unmeasured distance, but probably a couple hundred feet. The kite not only went all the way up, but stayed flying down past Diamond Peak. Elk finally had to reel in the kite to get it under the water gauge station cable crossing the river.
At mile 229 we stopped for a short hike/climb up Travertine Canyon to the waterfall above where we played briefly in the waterfall. The climb up and back down to the falls is assisted by a series of ropes and rope ladders which makes the climb possible even for those of us with short legs and not much climbing ability. The ladders were slippery enough to appreciate being back on solid ground though! Our stop for tonight, the final night was on river left at Bridge Canyon (mile 235). The camping was probably the closest together of the whole trip as we were all basically spread out along a fairly narrow ledge. I was determined to sleep out in the open again tonight after the restless night last night, and that made it easier to squeeze my bed in between a couple of tents. For all my convincing myself that I didn’t care whether the Colorado would be clear green or muddy brown, my only worry had been the thought of bathing in muddy water. I had managed so far, but the water had not been really muddy up until now. Tonight I just could not bring myself to bath in the “too thick to drink, too thin to plow” water. I settled for a wet wipe bath instead! We had a comfortable pre dinner crowd, augmented by a bright orange sunset lit cloud Dinner tonight was steak, perfect mashed potatoes, salad, and dutch oven chocolate/vanilla swirl cake. It was eaten in the dark, and the crew all said a few words about the trip, and or read an inspirational verse. We all retired to bed not really wanting to face the reality that the trip was almost over. We were so closely packed that I kept my flashlight burning by my bedside all night to prevent being stepped on!
Our final morning. We woke to the sound of a hornets nest! That’s what it sounded like at least, but it turned out to be bees, not interested in humans, but seeking the pollen laden plants along our beach. It was a beautiful morning. Such a shame to have to leave the canyon.
After breakfast of French toast and bacon, and loading the boats with our own freshly repacked bags the whole group posed for the group photo.
Next was the guides turn, with Joe providing the moon shot before obliging for a formal photo with his butt in his pants! We loaded onto the rafts for the final time. The inner two pontoons had been removed and the rafts tied together for the final few miles downstream. We had a little excitement when a small mouse stowaway was discovered aboard, but after eliciting a few screams it soon slipped into the gap between the two boats and finally fell into the water. Joe read aloud to us for the last time, though I confess I was rather zoned out at the time, and, sitting in the back, could not hear what he was saying anyway over the motor noise of the 2 rafts.
After several miles we were met by the jet boat which would take us the final 30 some miles down to Lake Mead and South Cove. The bags were transferred, along with lunch, sodas, and unfortunately us. Final hugs were exchanged and we were whisked away by our new Captain Joe. The rafts were pulling into the first available beach to continue disassembling the pontoons as we left. The scenery goes by much faster at 50 mph, and we were not able to stand at all. The Canyon is still impressive though as it reaches the Grand Wash Cliffs and dissolves into Lake Mead. At Iceberg Canyon the water level is so low that we had to brace ourselves against the possibility of clipping a sand bar. Captain Joe knew his stuff though and we passed through without incident. After iceberg canyon we pass into the deeper water of Lake Mead. The cold Colorado water sinks rapidly below the warmer and clear blue lake water.
It was a short trip on the Lake to South Cove. The jet boat tied up but unfortunately there was no bus there to meet us. There had been some miscommunication and the bus driver believed he was supposed to meet us at 1:30. It was a little after noon when we landed, so we all sat on the lakeside and ate our sandwiches we had packed earlier. Lucky for us there was a good cloud cover which blocked any direct sunlight. It would have been much hotter in the sun. As it was several of us spent some time dunking and floating off the boat ramps. It was strange though, the water was too warm! Eventually the bus arrived and after a short restroom break at the boat ramp parking lot we were on our way back to Vegas. We stopped briefly a couple of times on the way. At Peach Springs, AZ for cold sodas, beer and ice cream, and again at Hoover Dam for photos. The final picture below was our last look at Lake Mead, and the now blue Colorado waters.
The hour plus wait for the bus affected me more than anyone else as I had the first flight out from Vegas at 5pm. We arrived at the airport at 4:20pm and I raced in. The SouthWest check in lines were about a quarter mile long! I love kiosk check in. One swipe of my frequent flyer card and I had my boarding pass in less than a minute! On a roll I ran to the escalator, and at the top to security. Being 9/11, of course security was a little tighter than usual and those five carefully packed and waterproofed little packs of 4 AA rechargeable batteries were obviously going to cause a delay! Having to have someone poke through my REALLY smelly damp muddy laundry was even worse! But smiling through it and allowing the security agent full access to anything and everything in the bag made the ordeal pass fairly quickly. I made the flight with 3 ½ minutes to spare! Lucky for me it was not totally full. I even managed to get an exit row seat (so only one person had to suffer my unwashed, diesel dipped, run for the plane in fleece and 90 degrees, sweaty odor!)
So am I done with the Canyon now that I have done the whole thing? Not even close! Now I KNOW I want to do a longer trip, probably an oar trip. Shame I can’t get on a month long oar trip! Not this year though. Maybe next year. Maybe I will even have to wait to 2006.
But I’ll be back!View more photos in
my Picasa album
The artifacts and art in the museaums is incredible, but nothing can compare to the beauty of the Sistine Chapel. Photography is not permitted, but could not do justice to Michaelangelo's masterpiece anyway. The paintings are beautifully lifelike, and the 3-D effect is stunning. We all left with stiff necks. 
Sunday 
