Grand Canyon Rafting Trip - Day 4

 

Day 4 is swap out day.  We change rafts so Will can drop off the people hiking out and pick up the people hiking in.  It takes a while for the swap and we have time to hike to Phantom Ranch.  The pilots are in communication as to the status of the hikers hiking the Bright Angel Trail,   The $5 dollar lemonade at Phantom Ranch was well worth the money.   

As we attempt to back away from Phantom Ranch the NPS rangers request our assistance in a raft accident.  They need us to take a repairman and pilot with supplies down river to repair a raft and assist in piloting the raft out of the canyon.  

NPS picks up two individuals from Flagstaff and fly's them with equipment to Phantom Ranch for transport on our raft.  The crew arrives with two wheel barrels of equipment for repairs.   

With the new crewmembers on-board, we are ready to depart. 

 

Since we switched rafts, JJ is our new pilot and is ready to assist.  JJ is a solid 5'2" ball of TNT.  

We finally arrive at the accident site and look over the situation.  We deliver the repairman and pilot.  The repairman says it will take two days to complete the repairs before they can continue.  They thank us for a job well done! 

If you click on the photo you can see Oliver and Morgan, the two crewmembers assisting Pilots Will and JJ, trying to find a good support for holding the rafts.  We were amazed at their climbing abilities.  

Our next stop is a waterfall .  You can see the walk is along a creek bed. 

They finally reach the end of the hike and everyone take a turn under the waterfall. 

A video of the waterfall.  

Our camp for night 4.  Before we can get our tent, sleeping pad and large dry bag, we have to form a line and off load all the cooking equipment and tables,   This is a tedious task and requires many people to complete.  The beaches are sandy and hard to walk on.   

End of Day 4

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip - Day 3

 

This is the third day of our Grand Canyon Rafting Trip. Each day has been better than the last. We are excited about our upcoming side hike into the Little Colorado River.

We welcome the morning shade along our route because we know the afternoon sun will be very hot.  We constantly drink water to keep hydrated during the day, Believe me you do not want to get dehydrated in the Grand Canyon.  Serious medical conditions can occur quickly. You also need salt content to absorb the water.    

Fun Fact

The Grand Canyon might look like the perfect place to go looking for dinosaur bones, but none have ever been found there, and for good reason. The rock that makes up the canyon walls is vastly more ancient than the dinosaurs – about a billion years more ancient, in some cases – but the canyon itself probably didn't form until after the dinosaurs were long gone.

With it's amazing turquoise waters, the Little Colorado River is an incredible sight... not to mention the swimming. This was the highlight of our trip. The swimming was amazing as you ride the water down stream.

We encounter anther group of visitors up ahead at the start of our body ride down the little Colorado..

The water here is warmer than the water it meets at the Colorado River.  I tried to video my ride down the river.  I had the waterproof camera attached to my left wrist.  Do you know how hard it is to film while trying to swim.  Needless to say I was underwater much of the time.  My video file is too large to insert it as a video.  

Kathy trying her turn in the river. 

Kathy narrating a waterfall hike.  You make your own trail in the canyon.  

The hike was well worth the effort. 

End of Day 3

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip Day 2

Morning call for coffee and juice.  For breakfast we had pancakes, bacon and fruit.   Last night we decided to sleep without our tent under the beautiful stars.  I tried to get a nighttime video of the stars but was unsuccessful.  

Our first stop "Red wall Cavern".  The below video provides a better glimpse of this huge cavern.  

Our dry bags are attached to a nylon line for security.  We wear river shoes for entering the raft.  These shoes have excellent grip for walking on rubber but when sand is on the bottom of your shoe you must be extra careful when entering or exiting the raft. 

Our motorized C-Craft raft design has a lower than usual center of gravity, 64,000 pounds of buoyancy, and a special articulating frame system that holds everything in place, but also allows the boat to absorb the river’s energy.  

You see many other rafting vendors during your trip down the canyon.  Some of the smaller rafts take 14-days to travel the 226 mile venture.  

It's amazing to see how much greenery and animals live and thrive in the Grand Canyon. The Hopi Indians were one of the first to live in the canyon. The 6 tribes generally associated with the Grand Canyon are the Hualapai, Havasupai, Navajo, Hopi, Paiute and Zuni. Each of these tribes have resided on the Colorado Plateau long before the arrival of Europeans and each has their own unique culture and heritage as well as a common connection with the Grand Canyon.

The canyon is specular to see from any direction.  That's  "Will" our Trip Leader and pilot.  He provided great details about the canyon formation and people who led early expeditions of the canyon.  He studied Geology in college and was very knowledgeable of rock formations along the Grand Canyon.  

Remember I mentioned in Day 1, how shallow the water level is in the canyon.  Notice in this video Todd, my personnel Cardiologist, who was also on trip is pointing at a rock that normally you would not see during the trip.  

Grand Canyon Raft Trip Day 1 - "Our Journey Begins"

 

We departed Flagstaff AZ, for a 2 hour plus bus trip to our departure point at Lee's Ferry. This is the very start of the Grand Canyon, where adventurous river runners launch their boats for trips down the canyon.

Those traveling across the country on Highway 89A between Bitter Springs and Jacob Lake, AZ arrive at two bridges similar in appearance spanning the Colorado River. These two bridges, one historic and one new, represent one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado River for 750 miles. 

We finally arrive at Lee's Ferry our departure point. The two boats directly in front of of the orange life preservers belong to Canyoneers Grand Canyon Adventurers, our host for our 8-day journey

We all have our yellow day-bags which contain our personnel items for each day of our trip. Each night/morning we load items such as sun block, extra clothing, camera etc, for daily use. The bags are always available and secured each day.

We fit and adjusted our life preservers which must be worn at all times when in the raft.  The canyon water temperature is between 46-50 degrees throughout our trip. The life preservers must be fitted properly in case someone would fall into the water.  We would use the person to person hold and pull to assist lifting an individual from the water,    If the preserver is not fitted properly, we would pull the person right out of the preserver. 

Remember the bridges in the earlier photo, this is what they look like from below. The oldest bridge is called the Navajo Bridge. The Navajo Bridge served the area well for 66 years. However, as automobiles and trucks became larger, wider, and heavier, the need for a stronger, wider bridge became evident.

Ahead is Paria Riffle, mile one, our first look at white water.  This is a very mild rapid.  The rapids in the Grand Canyon are numbered 1-10.  Ten being the most difficult to navigate by the pilot.  The water level in the canyon is extremely low and very hazardous at this time.  

The canyon walls are magnificent in both beauty and height. Nearly 40 identified rock layers form the Grand Canyon’s walls. The story of how Grand Canyon came to be begins with the formation of the layers and layers of rock that the canyon winds through. The story begins about 2 billion years ago.

When watching videos, click bottom right [  ] to expand video to full screen mode. 

After successfully navigating House Wall Rapid, rated 9.8,7.7., we watch our sister raft encounter the rapid.    

Kathy and I decided to sit up front to experience the rapids for ourselves.  Yes, the water is damn cold!

Mile 20:  We hiked one mile up-canyon, scrambling over boulders, to reach a stream where pools are carved into the slick rock. During times of plentiful precipitation, the stream transforms into water slides dropping into plunge pools.   

Unfortunately, the water levels in the canyon were very low and we did not get a chance to experience the water slide. 

 

Our first day in the canyon ended with a Medevac rescue of one of our members.  There was not major medical event.  Our Trip Leader determined he was not physically capable of proceeding.  The Grand Canyon has on average 300 rescues per year.  

The helicopter landed 10 feet from our projected tent site. All gear had to be relocated to ensure it was not blown away.  We had dinner in the dark about 9 p.m.   We slept without our tent the first night under the stars.  Although the stars were unbelievable, neither of us slept well. 

Note:  Some of the  date stamps on the photos are not correct.  When you change the camera battery, you have to reset the date stamp.  My mistake. 

 

End of Day 1