Grand Canyon Trip - Part Two

Day 3
Wake up to pancakes, bacon, and fruit. It had been a cool night with camp set up close to the water, and we'd slept well. Good thing, as Jeff had plans to get me moving quickly. When we'd booked our trip, Jeff had seen on the Moki Mac Web site a picture of a duckie, or an inflatable kayak, that was sometimes brought on rafting trips. The night before we left, he'd made a special request that the boat come on our trip and they'd obliged. This morning, we found it inflated and ready to go. Jeff volunteered us for the first turn, and I gamely agreed. Clearly I wasn't yet thinking straight. First of all, the kayak is self-bilging, which is just a fancy way of saying it has holes in the bottom to let the water out (and thus in). So I started my day by sitting in a few inches of fifty-four degree water. About the time my butt lost feeling, my brain started coming to life, and I realized that we wouldn't see the sun for hours down where we were because of the steep walls. Nothing to dry me or warm me. But they said it was a smooth ride today, so really I shouldn't get too wet...oh except for that very first rapid we had to go through before we got to the smooth part. But there was no changing my mind. I was already wet, the other boats were loaded and pulling out, and I didn't want to look like a weenie. So off we went. The paddles were short and awkward, and we were just getting the hang of it when we were swept into the rapid. The guides had told us to hit the waves straight on or risk being flipped. So I paddled madly all the while yelling to Jeff, the steerer, "Straight. Straight. Straaiiight." We didn't exactly go straight through it all, but we must have gone straight enough because we didn't flip. We did, however, have a huge wave wash right over us. Luckily we were paddling too hard to be cold.

A few miles later we pulled over for a hike to see Devonian River Channels. I can't really explain the geology of it all, so don't ask me, but the rocks were pretty. When we returned to the boats, we gave up our spots in the duckie so that we could warm up while stretched out on a raft. All in all the river was smooth that day, but that wasn't enough to keep us dry. With no rapids to worry about, the guides pulled out huge water canyons and started a fight amongst boats. Soon the five-gallon bailing buckets were being filled and tossed. We all might as well have jumped in the river, although I'm not sure that would have been as fun.

We stopped early in the afternoon and set up camp on a beautiful open beach. The majority of us then went on a long hike (about 3 hours roundtrip). It was a great hike that involved wading through a creek, scaling up a small waterfall, and then playing under a 30 foot waterfall. Dinner was again delicious: pork chops, asparagus, yams, salad, applesauce, and spice cake. We were in camp early, so we had a lot of time to sit around and chat, and Jeff got into a few games of horse shoes. (Yes, I really think they carried everything on these boats.)

Day 4
Woke up this morning to a coyote's call--a few short barks followed by a long howl, all of which echoed back and forth across the canyon. We had French toast for breakfast, and they even had brown sugar to top it with, so I was happy. We decided to start this morning in the dory, a wooden boat reminiscent of the ones the early explorers took through the canyon. It rode higher in the water than the ferries, so was less susceptible to splashes, but it wasn't as stable, so was more prone to flipping over. Fortunately, there weren't any huge rapids in our immediate future. In the morning, we stopped at a site called Nankoweap, where graineries had been cut into the canyon walls for the storage of food by early Indians. The hike up to these graineries was pretty much straight up and absolutely shadeless. This was by far the hottest day of the trip with not a single cloud or wisp of cloud in the sky. We were told the temperature hovered near 107. Fortunately, the view from the top of the trail, supposedly the most photographed view within the canyon, was stunning. Looking down and out, we could see the Colorado winding back and forth like a snake in the sun. After the hike, we headed on down the river again for a few miles before stopping for lunch. At this point, I switched from the dory to the raft. I found the dory to be a bit stifling, as the higher sides limited the breeze and the ability to cool myself with a splash of water. Jeff switched to the duckie for a little more action than I was up for.

In the afternoon, we came to a rather large rapid at mile 60. We were making it through with the usual amount of bumping and splashing when a bunch of waves came together to make what seemed like a tsunami. The front of the boat hit it hard, getting soaked, while the back, where I was, was flung high into the air. I held on tightly and hoped to land back in the boat. I did, and oddly enough, I didn't even get wet. I have to admit I got a little nervous at this point about Jeff's odds of making it through the rapid still in the duckie, but they got lucky and didn't hit anything mean like we did. In fact, he said he didn't even get as wet as we had gotten in the early rapid yesterday. Strange how the river is so unpredictable. A few miles later, we arrived at the point where the Little Colorado joins with the Colorado. Sometimes this river is a perfectly clear blue ideally suited for floating down with your life jacket upside down like a diaper. Unfortunately, it wasn't that way when we arrived. In fact, recent rains had turned it into a torrent of mud as thick as chocolate pudding. Jeff got out to explore and almost lost his shoes as the mud tried to suck them off his feet.

A few miles later we stopped for the night and set up camp. It was still blazing, so we all pretty much settled into the shade and did a lot of nothing until the sun went behind the walls. The water, while not quite as muddy as it was back at the Little Colorado, was still thick. I was glad to have brought wet wipes because there certainly wasn't going to be any washing in the river. Dinner was catfish, portabello mushrooms, salad, and rice and beans with chocolate cake for dessert. After we got in our tent, I saw the most fantastic shooting star I've ever seen. It was magnificently bright with a trail that seemed to stretch all the way across the sky. I love the hour before we fall asleep. It's dark except for the shine of the stars. It's quiet except for the dull roar of upcoming rapids. I feel like a small speck in the world, but at the same time, I feel completely secure about where I am, who I am.


Tune in tomorrow for the last two days in the Grand Canyon. I also hope to have a link to pictures up.