The Grand Canyon (Day 4) - Chicken Curry Puke

The following post is from the journal I kept of my recent adventure upon a 21-day private river rafting trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon from Lee's Ferry to Diamond Peak (about 230 miles) that took place between April 18th and May 8th, 2012.

April 21, 2012

Another fun day! We started on the river extremely late because Butch and Tricia had to apply a patch to their raft this morning to fix a small tear in the flooring. Their raft requires manual bailing so the floor is nothing more than thin rubber with no air inside it. Our raft, while the same size, is self-bailing so the floor is actually inflated, which allows water to run off at the sides. I guess that there are pros and cons to both types of boats, but I sure as hell glad we have a self bailing boat at this point.

Once on the river, our first stop today is at South Canyon. A short hike leads us up a bluff overlooking the river. There are Anasazi (native American) ruins here, but most have been rebuilt during modern times. They are nothing more than a few circular walls of rocks about 4-feet high. At this point you're high enough to see down river to a waterfall called Vasey's Paradise and a cave named Stanton's Cave because a early explorer of the river named Stanton had to abort his trip and stashed supplies and surveying equipment in this cave before hiking out. I've been here before, just like North Canyon, but this time Butch and Bob lead us a little further up to a small cave where we can see straight through the canyon.

Next we continue downriver collecting water at Vasey's Paradise and eating lunch at Redwall Canyon. Redwall is one of my favorites and I had really wished, again, that I had a trumpet to play here. Next time I will bring one! Although, I'm pretty sure I said that last time.

We stop at Nautaloid Canyon. This is a place that I always forget about until I visit it again. I never remember the name and I think I've been to it both my previous trips, but always forget until I see it in person again. It's a short semi-difficult hike up to an exposed prehistoric seabed with these nautaloid fossils in the rock. Butch says from 500 million years ago. Bob says 350 million years. . . so what's 150 million years in geological time anyhow???

For the rest of the day Robert, Athena and I take turns rowing that remaining miles until camp. We take a good splashing at the 36-mile rapid and I feel like I'm really getting the hang of driving these rafts. Bob and Butch are amazing sources of information. Bob seems to be even more open than Butch about sharing his knowledge while Butch is a little more reserved until specifically asked.

We're currently camping at a tiny, rarely visited beach on river left about 1/2 mile before Redbug Canyon. I just explored the surrounding area and soon found myself bushwhacking with no trail. It's kind of nice to see no human footprints and only animal tracks. Lots of deer and small stuff I can't identify with my Florida hunting background.

Dinner is interesting. It's some kind of curry chicken dish. As I'm eating I suddenly feel nauseous. I stand up and start to walk away from our group circle and as soon as I'm 15 feet away I involuntarily throw up. It brings me to my knees as I heave a couple more times. It's strange because it doesn't feel like anything comes out of my stomach, but more my throat or chest. Tricia is really alarmed and quizzes me with much detail about what I've eaten and drank. I instantly feel better as soon as it's over with although I've lost my appetite. I come to the conclusion that I'm very dehydrated and for whatever reason the food didn't agree with me. I know they are worried that I'm sick, but I'm pretty damn sure that I'm not. I feel completely fine and better now that I've been drinking the hell out of some Gatorade. Time to get some rest!