The Grand Canyon (Day 20) - Diamond Peak

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.

May 7, 2012

My God!

We're finally done. I can see Diamond Peak from my tent and know that we're so close to take out that I could run there in my sleep!

Today kind of summed up the entire trip. It had its ups and downs. We made paddled about 23 miles on the river; some good and some bad. We had a period of intense doldrums with crazy hot heat and then another period of crazy tail winds. Then, just when we thought we had it made with those tailwinds, they changed the hurricane gusting headwinds that caught us off guard around mile 212.

All and all, it was an appropriate finish to an epic trip of a life time. I jumped off the cliff at Pumpkin Springs with my completely worthless Kelty "Good Nite-Airbed" to punish it for being such a piece of crap. It's a good 20-feet drop and as we collided with the water it gave a final pop and deflated. Then we dunked it into the nasty greenish-colored water of Pumpkin Springs as a final insult.

Pumpkin Springs

I paddled the rapids from river miles 200-212 including a very random one called Little Bastard. It was challenging and fun. We stopped before the 217 Mile rapid and I hiked down below along the rocks and waited for the rest of the group to run the rapid so I could photograph them. Andy and Cathy were able to cheat it and get in the eddie below where they picked me up and returned me to the Flower Power.

Later in the day Kathy was knocked out of her boat in a small rapid with no name when she was caught off guard. She was promptly carried under the boat and popped up on the other side where Andy reached down and pulled her back aboard by her life jacket. It was the first time she had ever fallen out of the boat and what a surprise it was! Speaking of which, Robert and I are actually very surprised that we didn't fall out during this trip.

Tonight Butch had a bottle of Jameson (Irish Whiskey) that he told us was meant for a "tip-over" party that never happened. If any of the boats were to flip on this trip then this bottle was to be our reprieve. Since we never flipped we drank it on the final night.... tonight. Henceforth, I'm a little drunk right now so please excuse my poor writing.

We actually missed our intended campsite tonight by probably a mile and that puts us a lot closer to our take out spot at Diamond Creek. However, when we got to camp tensions were high so it was perfect timing for Butch to break out the bottle and pass it around. After dinner we sat around a huge bonfire and burned up just about everything left we deemed "burnable," including Robert's mollky set. It's been absolutely amazing to here some of the stories that Bob and Butch have told around our camp fires.

I couldn't even do them justice with words trying to describe their knowledge, experience and characters. Tonight was absolutely great! It's been such a honor to have run the river with these individuals and to have gained the knowledge I've gained.

Tomorrow morning we take out and I'm ready. I've used eight AA batteries to charge up my cell phone and I can't wait to call Jenny and tell her how much I love her as soon as we reach cell phone reception. I'll probably make one more entry after this, but for now I retire... one last night in my sleeping bag in my tent set up on top of a borrowed air mattress that's too big to fit inside.

The Grand Canyon (Day 19) - Simple Day

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.

                                                                          May 6, 2012

We're camped at Mile 202. We paddled 20+ miles today. Robert rowed the morning and I rowed the afternoon. It was a good workout. I just realized that we have less than the distance of a marathon to go and I'm stoked! It's comforting to know that I'm capable of running a further distance than what is left in our trip. It's been an amazing journey, but at this point I'm more than ready to end this and get home to my Jenny.

My campsite for tonight

I finished the book, "Hunger Games" this morning while on the boat. I think I read the last 80 pages straight. I want to now see the movie when I get home. The book is an easy and fast read. It's entertaining, but sometimes gets a little dump when the main character goes on and on about her female teenage feelings. I could have done without the insight into a 16-year old female's messed up mind.

Robert, Athena and I are going to hike up the side canyon here in a moment and search for these Native American paintings or pictographs that Tricia has told us about, but for now I'm chilling at my campsite. It's been a long and hot day with a mild hangover from the shenanigans of last night. I'm thankful for the shade I rest in at the moment. Tomorrow will be similar to today as we'll be making many miles. I'm starting to charge my cell phone now with my solar chargers in anticipation of calling Jenny as soon as we hit an area with reception. That's all for now. Time to go explore!

Don't ask...

The Grand Canyon (Day 17) - Grand Canyon Proof

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.

May 4, 2012

At this point in the trip there are a few pieces of equipment that have proven worthy and some that flat out suck. I keep thinking of that Grandma-type character that was a spokesperson for Columbia Outerwear a few years ago. She would be on the commercials showing some Columbia clothing taking a beating in some extreme weather condition. I feel like I've got the Columbia grandma beat out here in the Grand Canyon. Seventeen days and some things are beginning to break down.

To name a few, my Kelty "Good Nite Airbed" tops the list of SUCK and I know I mentioned it yesterday, but I thought it would make me feel better if I wrote that it SUCKS one more time. I can't describe with words the frustration I have with that piece of equipment. Kelty is a name brand that I've always trusted. Not anymore. 

Enough with the negative. Let's talk more about the positive; the things that are working great despite adverse conditions. Teva sandals. I have two pairs with me on this trip and surprisingly the older ones are out performing the newer ones. I have a pair that I purchased in the Bahamas in 1999. They are 13 years old and are finally biting the dust, but only because the glue holding the rubber tread on the sole has biodegraded over time. The left tread came off today, but you know what? I'm continuing to walk in them and they'll still holding together like a champ. I just have to be more careful about slipping on rocks.

My Pelican Case has done an amazing job of keeping my Nikon D7000 dry and free of sand. My North Face sleeping bag (Cat's Meow) is also a decade old, but continues to keep me warm and cozy at night. Sometimes too warm. Before the trip I purchased a Patagonia "Nano Puff" jacket with Primasoft insulation. It's not waterproof, but the dang thing stuffs into its own pocket down to the size of a softball and only weighs a few ounces. It's proven plenty warm during chilly mornings and is beyond comfortable and durable. It's my new favorite all around jacket. I really need to create a list after this trip of what works and what doesn't. That way if there's ever a 4th river trip for me I'll have the list to remind me!

Today we paddled 20 miles! It took all day and we only stopped once for lunch. We passed up the popular Matkatambia and Havasu stops. Athena was really disappointed about Havasu and it was even worse that when we passed it there was not one boat there yet and the water coming out of the side canyon was a beautiful blue, kind of like the Little Colorado. We've all seen Havasu before except Athena and I kind of suspect that Butch and Bob were dead set on avoiding it from the start of the trip. I can't blame them as it's pretty  much a mandatory stop on commercial trips so they've both seen it hundreds of times. Robert, Athena and I took turns rowing and passed the time playing silly games that you might play on a long road trip. We also drank a bunch of beer when we realized that our supply now is more than we'll ever drink during the rest of the trip.

I'm going sans-tent again tonight! Last night was the best sleep I've had in weeks on this borrowed air mattress that doesn't leak and leave me laying on rocks. It's also warmer outside at night now and not  cloud in the sky so rain chance is low and amazing star gazing is high! The wind is a little annoying, as usual, but I've found a spot that is some what protected. This rock I'm sitting on is getting really hard and dinner is calling! Peace!

Finding out if it is possible to do a headstand on the bow of an inflatable raft in white water after drinking several beers.

The Grand Canyon (Day 14) - Owl Eyes

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.

May 1, 2012 (May Day) 

I'm protected by schist!

As I sit here at a campsite called "Owl Eyes" near Thunder River, the wind is howling again as the sun sets. This, of course, creates an abundance and constant supply of sand that gladly gets into EVERYTHING! At this point in the trip I'm trying real hard to become "one" with the sand, but it's just not working. In an effort to combat this situation I've set up my tent, with rain fly, in a narrow pit area surrounded by giant boulders of granite and vishnu schist. I've used ALL of my tent stakes to secure the rain fly and then added small boulders both inside and outside the tent to try and keep it as sand/wind proof as possible. It seems to be helping and I'm also getting some shade from the relentless sunshine and cloudless sky. It's about 90 degrees right now. There's a spot high up on the canyon walls that actually looks like an Owl's face, hence the name of this campsite.

I can't believe that two weeks have past since shoving off at Lees Ferry. I think this is officially the longest I've ever stayed outside in my life. I'm starting to get a feeling of accomplishment even with one week to go.

Today we spent some time on the river and covered a good distance. Robert and I traded off the bigger rapids and we all took our turn at paddling. I paddled the 122 Mile Rapid, Forster Rapid, 128 Mile Rapid, Bedrock Rapid and Tapeats Rapid. Bedrock was insane! We ate lunch just above it at the beach next to an area of zoraster granite formations called the "Dollhouse" and then scouted it while our food digested. Bedrock is very straightforward in what you have to do, which is basically get through it. The only question is, "can you physically do it."

The river basically collides into this monstrous rock the size of a tennis court that is smack dab in the middle of the river. Apparently, that is the "Bedrock." You can't freaking miss it. Well, actually, that's all you have to do to get through the rapid... miss it.

Most of the water hydraulics at play are going to the left around the rock, but it's super narrow after that and curvy with lots of jagged rocks to hit. In other words, it looks fun if you're in a kayak, but a nightmare for an 18' raft. The route to the right is the preferred route and it's no joke. Both ways are demanding, but to the right is recommended. The only issue with going right is it is difficult to get into because the majority of the current is pulling left. So you have to enter the tongue as far right as possible and pull, pull, PULL to the right going through the first wave sideways like your life depends on it because if you don't make it you'll either go right or go straight up into the Bedrock, which will likely rip the boat apart.

For some reason, this Bedrock business got me anxious. More so than normal. Up to this point I've always had a sense of calm before the rapid. I'm usually focused, but calm and relaxed. This time I can feel that my heart rate is elevated and we haven't even left the beach yet. I walk back down to the rapid while the others are packing up the lunch supplies and visualize myself going through the rapid. Butch did an excellent job preparing me for this rapid when we initially scouted it. He was able to describe pretty much every paddle stroke I should take all the way through down to even the smallest details. I pick out marker objects along the river. An odd shaped rock near the beginning of the tongue, a mesquite tree on the left shore just before the Bedrock, etc., so I'll know where I'm at during the rapid. I drink a Redbull and say a silent prayer. I think again about what I have to do once in the rapid. I don't want to think about it during the rapid. I just want to do it.

Back at the boats we push off. Bob goes first and the river takes him so quickly that we can't see his run. Then Andy and Cathy go and we see how close he comes to the Bedrock before making the turn to the right. Now it's our turn. My last words to Robert and Athena before we start are, "if I do this right then you should not get wet and if I make one mistake this will go very badly." In other words, it's either going to be boring as hell or scary as hell. I put the stern of the boat so close to a pour over on the right side that I think we're going to hit the rock, but we don't. I start pulling with all my might in a controlled fashion timing each stroke to gain as much leverage as I can... just as Butch described to me. I'm focused and collected and I make each stroke count. We make it through almost perfectly and every single detail played out as Butch described and that's how I know it couldn't have gone better. This rapid simply has no room for error and I'm so thankful I didn't make one. Robert and Athena are dry.

Bedrock Rapid Run

Robert paddles Dubendorff Rapid, which we also scout. Butch and Bob both hate this rapid as they've both had issues before. I don't think any of us make it through looking like a million bucks, but we all survive. Robert tries to take us to the right, but the river does not let him. I learn later that he lost an oar and that's when we get taken across the rapid laterally and a wave broadsides us. I jumped to "highside" right as it hits and I feel the entire bottom of the raft compress below my feet. We end up on the left side of the river and the raft compressed so much that the GoPro camera mounted on a pole on the stern falls down.

Dubendorff Rapid

We stop just below at Stone Creek and walk up to the waterfall and while doing so witness a commercial raft (Canyoneers) get sideways in the rapid and then spin around 360-degrees. Butch says, "no way was that on purpose," put all the passengers clap at the end seemingly unaware of the mistake.

Tonight we're eating chili and I can smell it so I'll close for now. Time to go refuel!

The Grand Canyon (Day 11) - Gem Stones!

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 28, 2012 

BIG WATER DAY! That's what today is... chalk full of big rapids (world class) as we will travel about 20 miles through the "gem stone" rapids. Sapphire, Ruby, Turquoise and of course the notorious Crystal Rapid to name a few. I just learned from our fearless leaders that back in the 1980s Crystal Rapid got so crazy that more than 100 rafters had to be airlifted to safety. The water was at 100,000+ cubic feet per second (CFS) back then. Today it's only running at about 10,000 CFS so I think we'll survive.

We start the day off with Granite Rapid, which is right next to our campsite from last night. I'm at the controls and I'm stoked. Granite is a class 9 rapid and there is a turn in the river right in the middle of the rapid. The turn tries to pull you into a wall and at the same time on the other side there are some huge holes and rocks to avoid. There is a long and nasty lateral wave in the middle of the turn. I make mental note of all these potential "bad-day" makers as I paddle through the rapid. It all goes as planned! It's absolutely amazing at how priceless the knowledge that Butch and Bob are providing Robert and I in advance of these rapids regardless of if we scout them or not. Without their guidance I'm sure I'd be flipped and broken by now.

The three of us switch out most of today and it's good to see Athena paddling some of her biggest rapids yet!  I paddle Granite, Tuna Creek (class 6), 104-mile (class 7) and Serpentine (class 6-8) rapids. The most fun is Tuna Creek for me. It is unexpectedly LONG as there is an upper & lower section with the river turning several times. It's not big in comparison at all, but it involves some technical paddling and endurance. The rapid takes about 7 minutes to get through while most rapids are less than a minute. I like it because endurance is involved! Serpentine rapid is also fun. There is a huge hole on the right and the river curves kind of like Ruby Rapid so you enter on the left tongue and pull left as it pulls you to river right.

We take the most video yet today with the GoPro cameras. We also split the group while running Granite to get some action photos. I set Bob up with my Nikon D7000 and he took pictures of us from shore going down the rapid.

Robert paddles Crystal. We stop and scout it before hand and he gets excellent advise, which helps him nail the rapid without incident. After Crystal Rapid we stop at a beach just below for lunch. Butch says this is the beach that "saves everyone's ass when things get ugly" up there. We all drink an "ABC Beer," which stands for "After and Below Crystal Beer."

Near the end of the day Robert and I take turns paddling Bob's dory, the Abbey Rose - named after his daughter. All and all the day is a great one! Thinking about it; so many things could go wrong considering what we accomplished. About the worst thing that happened was Robert lost our beer bag, which is a mesh net we fill with beer cans or other beverages and hang overboard into the cold Colorado River to chill to river temperature. He apparently didn't get the clip secure while moving the bag and after Athena ran Turquoise rapid we noticed it was gone. Butch and Tricia have an extra so we're saved from drinking warm beer!

We're camping at Bass Camp tonight. In 2008, I remember stopping here for lunch and it being one of the hottest days of the entire trip. It left everyone searching for shade that day. Right now, however, it's quite pleasant. Another thing I've noticed the past few days is less bugs. The "midges" seem to have disappeared somewhat (hopefully died!) and it's not so bad at night. There's talk of doing another layover day here tomorrow. I guess that will be discussed over our pork chop dinner tonight.

The Grand Canyon (Day 8) - The Little Colorado

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 25, 2012

Today was a good day! I woke up a little hung over (stupid Maker's Mark mixed with powder lemonade water), but shook it off quick as we hit the river at 8:20 a.m.

A pleasant surprise awaited upon reaching the Little Colorado River. Turquoise color water flows into the mighty Colorado River and we're the only ones here. I'm super stoked to see that the LCR is not "dirty" or mud-colored water from flash flooding that sometimes occurs many miles away. It is the most beautiful color of turquoise I've ever seen it. It was dirty once and clean once during my two other visits to the LCR. This time it's a brilliant color and since it's a slightly overcast sky there are no shadows anywhere. I quickly start shoot pictures with just about all my cameras and even throw in a few black and white attempts.

Before we even reach the short hike up to a spot where it's common to get into the water, I've taken more than a hundred pictures! Now that it's time to play, I put down the camera (except the GoPro) and strap on my life jacket in the most messed up way ever. By sticking my legs through the arm holes and pulling the jacket up to my waist upside down and buckling it tight I've created a "butt-protector" floatation device. Robert, Athena and I take turns running the mini-rapids of the LCR on our butts. It's great fun and even Andy and Kathy give it a try.

Just as other rafters from commercial trips start showing up we're leaving. We paddle across the river and down only a hundred yards or so and have a quick lunch. Lunches so far have been very on-the-go with our group and I can't complain. I'd much rather see the Grand Canyon than spend my time eating my way down the river. Next, it's time to make some miles on the river. We've slacked off the past few days doing some epic hikes so now we need to make up some time. The river actually speeds up after the LCR and Butch and Bob knew this so that explains their lack of concern for going so slow the past week. I've made it known to Robert that I wish to have more time on the oars to get a better feeling and instinct so I row most of the day. It's a good ways - from the LCR to a campsite named Escalante, or as Bob calls it, "the original Rattlesnake camp." That's about a 14-mile paddle and my body feels like it got a great workout. Not to mention a few smaller class 4 rapids (Lava Canyon and Tanner rapids) increased my experience level today!

Tanner rapid was especially big today and I feel like I nailed it perfectly! Since I got to shoot those two, Robert got to paddle Unkar rapid. It was right at the end of the day and we thought we were done with serious rapids so we started drinking beer. Being especially pleased with the progress we made I decided to drink more beer than usual. When we realized we did have to run Unkar, I decided Robert was more sober than myself! We are now set up to run the Inner Gorge tomorrow and Friday. This will be the first BIG test in BIG water. Tomorrow we will face Hance and Sockdolager rapids, which I'm sure will be "interesting."

I'm also praying we make it to Phantom Ranch tomorrow. It's about 13 miles from here and I really REALLY want to call Jenny and hear her voice. I wish she were here. 

The night sky over our campsite tonight.

The Grand Canyon (Day 6) - The Dark Castle

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 23, 2012

I'm starting to get used to this way of life and get settled in for the long haul. After the past two days I feel like my issues are gone, over and I'm ready for whatever this big ditch throws at me! I took another Zrytec first thing this morning and haven't had any allergy issues today. I think I will continue taking them for the rest of the trip just to play it safe. Life is so much more pleasurable when you're not sneezing every few seconds.

Instead of hitting the river after breakfast we loaded up our water bottles and laced up our hiking shoes (Brooks Cascadia trail running shoes for me) with a different goal in mind. My aunt calls the ominous cliff overlooking this campsite the "Dark Tower" because it sort of resembles a giant round turret of a mid evil castle. I'm not sure what the official name of the bluff is, but I have to agree with her that it looks like some kind of castle that you would see in the Lord of the Rings movies. It's got to be about 1,000 feet high or so above the river and it's a very sheer drop off all the way down. Butch and Bob know of a trail from years ago that leads up the side canyon and around the backside of the bluff eventually to the top overlooking where we're camped. None of us has ever been to the top so it's truly new and exciting. Our goal is to find our way to the top and make a day out of it.

Nearly two hours of steady hiking and some free climbing without stopping gets us to the top. It's only Bob, Andy, Robert and myself now since the others turned back a little before a really sketchy section of free climbing around the halfway point.  Bob trail blazed most of the way up like an animal on a mission! Robert and I both kept pace, but without having to give it a strong effort. For being in his early 60s, that man is in amazing shape. As soon as we reach the top Bob and Andy immediately go into a technical conversation about base jumping down to the river. They're both pilots and world-class sky divers so it's not surprising. It takes a rock nearly 10 seconds to hit the ground after Bob tosses it over the ledge. That's when I realize I'm probably standing here with two of the best skydivers in the world. What an honor!

We see Kathy at the boats fishing and we scream, yell and whistle and get no response. That's how high up we are. Bob estimates it is a 600' free fall before reaching an outer ledge below that is probably still another 600' above the river.

Coming down is a complete bitch! It takes less time than going up, but only because we're able to go faster in the easy sections. When we reach the river I take off my shoes and socks and soak my legs in the icy cold river water, which is about 50 degrees, and I notice that I wore a hole in one of my brand new socks. I've never even done that running marathons. My legs feel like I ran about 15 miles and I'm starving. We eat lunch and then decide to make a few miles down the river before camping.

We pass Nankoweep Canyon and the rapid at mile 52 without stopping. Nankoweep is a very recognizable part of the Grand Canyon because of the ancient Anasazi structures carved high up in the canyon walls that were probably used to store grain in the winter time. I've been here before and don't care that we're passing it up. It is a beautiful canyon and there's a very small rain cloud that gets us a little wet making the canyon even more pretty. The rapid at Nankoweep is very long. Robert starts it and I finish the second half. It's not big, but more of an endurance rapid. I like it immensely.

I'm noticing that I'm getting better at controlling the raft in the rapids, but feel that Robert is still a little ahead of me because he has had more time at the oars. Tomorrow I'm going to lobby for more stick time. We are starting to get closer to the BIG rapids of the inner gorge and I want to have complete confidence with it almost being instinctual if I'm going to get a chance to tackle any of them.

We make camp at Kwagunt Canyon. It's another gorgeous side canyon and there's talk of taking all of tomorrow to explore it.

On another note, I'm starting to miss Jenny more and more. If I ever do get an opportunity like this again I've decided that I'll only go if she can be part of it. There are so many things here that she would love. Right now I'm really starting to look forward to the one opportunity I'll have to make a phone call to her at Phantom Ranch, which is another 35 miles that we should make probably by Thursday. It's rained a little today and this makes me a little nervous as I don't want the river to change. It's clear and clean and I want it to stay this way!