The Grand Canyon (Day 15) - Deer Creek Falls

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 2, 2012

Another good day in the books! Although it started off with some aches and pains in my lower back, probably from paddling so much yesterday, I spend some time stretching and doing a few yoga positions and took some Advil and it quickly got better.

We drifted a few miles down the river after breakfast and were the first ones to arrive at Deer Creek Falls (Mile 136). Like the the Little Colorado River we have the place to ourselves temporarily until other river parties arrive at this popular stop (by the time we leave there would be 18-boats here).

We all hike up to the Patio, which is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. It's a slot canyon hundreds of feet above the river that leads back into a gorge with Deer Creek flowing all the while in the depths on its way to eventually go over the waterfall. There are dozens of mini-waterfalls along the way and it eventually opens up into a big area with lots of shade kind of like a natural patio.

From here, Bob, Athena, Robert, Andy and I continue on the trail on a mission to get to the "source" of Deer Creek and the famous Throne Room. The source is a powerful waterfall coming straight out of the side of a canyon wall high above the trail, which goes directly behind the waterfall and into a room where people have literally made "thrones" out of large flat pieces of rock. We stop and refill our water bottles directly from the source. It's the best tasting water of the entire trip! We then all stop, pick out a throne and eat our packed lunches. Bob reads his book, the Game of Thones, while sitting in one of the largest thrones for about a half hour.

When it's time to hike back to the Patio I decide I'm going to trail run, but this time film it on the GoPro mounted on my helmet that I brought up from the boat in my backpack. I'm only wearing my Teva Sandals so I have to be extra careful. I think to myself that Jenny will enjoy seeing this video. I really wish she were here to run some of these trails! I finish the run in just under 11 minutes. It takes an average river rafting passenger about 45 minutes to hike what I've just ran. I cool off by laying down in the creek at the Patio.

Trail run back to the Patio

I spend most of my time taking photographs of the area and I can't wait to get back to a computer to view them. The problem with these GoPro cameras is you can't review your video or pictures. I thought that the SD card would work in my other cameras from the GoPro, but they aren't compatible. Everyone wishes we could review footage instantly, but I kind of like it because it's like the old days of film where you just don't know until you get to the darkroom. I miss those days sometimes.

We are camping now at a place call the "Dorris" campsite and we got here early so everyone is super chill and relaxed. I'm not sure why it's called Dorris, but I get the impression from Butch and Bob that it's something dirty. Oh well, the weather is pleasant and I'm excited about an all day hike we're planning for tomorrow at Kanab Creek.

The Grand Canyon (Day 12) - Bass Camp

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 29, 2012

I wish everyday was like today; a perfect mix of hiking and rafting. We decided at dinner last night to pack the boats and tear down camp first thing this morning and then hike to the Bass homesite from where we camped. This way if anyone comes down the river they won't think we're a layover day and pass up on such a good campsite.

The hike to Bass is a good one. It's all single track trail and well established. It switches back and forth up about 700 or 800 feet over a hill and then goes down a significant ways to Shinumo Creek where it eventually meets and passes the Bass homesite. William W. Bass settled one of the first tourist camps in the Grand Canyon in about 1890 and later constructed a trans-Canyon trail and cableway across the river. Butch and Bob say that he actually came into the Canyon looking for something to mine, probably gold, but soon figured out there wasn't any and ended up finding himself a wife, starting a family and turning to tourism to support his family. Today it's just a bunch of very old rusty tools, parts of an oven, pots, pans and other artifacts all in a little rock shelter area by the creek. It's all laying out on display for hikers to look at. A little further down the trail I find a great shot of Shinumo Creek and take a few minutes to compose the photograph. I don't have a tripod so I support the camera on rocks. Like Phantom Ranch there are cottonwood trees growing around this site, obviously planted by Bass.

The entire hike is beautiful. Many of the desert plants are in bloom. On the way back I decide I want to trail run so I tighten down the straps to my backpack and start to run. I'm wearing my Brooks Cascadia trail shoes so why the hell not? Some sections are too steep to run so I speed hike them kind of like many of the runners did when Jenny and I ran the North Face 50k in Virginia last year. Once I make it to the top of the hill I really let loose and use gravity and my long legs to my advantage. It's not only a physical activity, but very mental also as I plan each step carefully always thinking 4-5 steps ahead of where I'm at. During the run I make note to bring a helmet with the GoPro mounted on top for video the next time. I think this is the steepest and fastest I've ever ran down a trial. I make it to the boats 30 minutes before the others hiking back. My eyes are actually tired from focusing so hard on the trail ahead of me.

We eat deli sandwiches for lunch and hit the river! Just like the past two days I somehow get first shot at the controls. Shinumo Creek rapid is long and curvy, kind of like a mini Tuna Creek. It's not big, but requires lots of pulling and pushing to avoid rocks and the sides of the river. The entire thing takes nearly 10 minutes and it's not until some while after that we realize we ended up going through a second rapid named for whatever river mile it's located at and thought it was part of Shinumo. Anyways, it's a hell of an arm workout and after the trail run I feel like I got a well-rounded workout today.

Robert takes us through Waltenberg Rapid and that was a big one. Bigger than I expect. Just as we're approaching the tongue we look ahead of us at Andy and Kathy and see them almost flip! Bob had gone before them and Andy thought he was trying to cheat it so he followed. Only thing is, there was a big hole halfway through and they both hit it. We quickly change our plan and decide to go left at the entry just the same as Butch did before Bob and Andy. We take a huge wave right over the bow. I saw it coming 20 feet ahead of time and because of my experience in surfing I can tell the timing is just right for the nasty thing to crest and break just as we will hit it. I brace hard as hundreds of pounds of water come splashing down upon our bow. It's actually cold and refreshing in the heat, but hair-raising at the same time.

We're now camped at the lower mile 114 campsite near Garnet Canyon. It's our turn to cook dinner so I'll close for now.