Grand Canyon Raft Trip - Day 7

 

Day 6 Campsite.  With the beginning of Day 7, I knew only one more day and we would be leaving the canyon.  The people that we met were awesome and great war stories will be told and retold. I hope that we can get together again for a future trip, somewhere, sometime. 

The day started with a birthday celebration for Cindy who was given a birthday banner.  I believe a lot of wine was consumed as well. 

Morgan, our first mate, decided it was time for the Tutu.  It eventually ended up with Cindy to complete her birthday attire. 

We await our first rapid of the day, Lava Falls. We took a short hike to see Lava Falls prior to rafting this rapid.  It is one of the most difficult rapids in the canyon. 

180 Mile, Lava Falls. Will did another great job of successfully completing this difficult rapid. 

For lunch we stopped and took a short 1/3 mile hike up a difficult climb to reach a the cave pictured below.  

Here we finished our lunch and proceed back down to the raft.  The path was rugged with rocks that you see in the front.  You need to make sure your footing is solid so not to fall.  Falling on any of these rocks and boulders would put an abrupt  end to your day.  

                        

Prior to boarding the raft, some people decided to cool down,  The temperature in the canyon was well above 100 degrees. In fact, the last three days were the hottest of our trip.  Drink plenty of water and stay cool. 

 

We approach mile 205 Kolb rapid. There are peaceful floats in between rapids to catch your breath after the excitement of crashing through cold, big waves. A rapid’s rating can change depending on river conditions. The water flow during our trip was minimal which meant be extra careful.     

Mile 205 Rapid, Kolb.  

Grand Canyon Raft Trip - Day 6

Kathy taking a break from folding up our chairs and waiting for departure.  Everything has to be loaded and unload each day.  You need a good group of people to ensure the task is done as quickly as possible.  

You can see in this photo Bob covers his legs with a sarong.  We purchased ours from Canyoneers.  They were worth every penny,   

Again we meet other rafters along the river.  These type of rafts are manual oaring and can take 14 days or more to complete their journey.  

A storm develops ahead of us.  We were lucky the rainfall was minimal.  Storms miles away can have severe consequences in the river.  

Last 3 days of our trip were extremely hot and you must keep cool to ensure you don't get heat stroke.  In addition to pouring water on your body, you dip your hat and sarong and use the sarong to cover your arms and legs. 

It feels very cold, but needed to be done. 

Each name on the back of our preservers represents one of the rapids in the canyon.  Horn is a number 10 rapid for difficulty.  Although we were not splashed every time we rode a rapid, it was the piloting skills that ensured a successful trip.  

Avoid rocks at all costs.  They can flip a raft in seconds.  Thankfully our pilots did a fantastic job to keep us safe throughout our trip. 

Beginning of another hike up a river wash.  Not sure why the guy is wearing is life preserver.  

We finally arrive at our destination only to find out we have to swim under the boulder and climb up another slippery rock to reach another level.  I decided that I will stay right here until the group starts back.  

According to most estimates, the Grand Canyon is home to at least 80 big water rapids.

 

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip - Day 5

 

JJ decided to bring out the Pirate flag and our group responded immediately.  

We decide to create the cross bone sign with the hook.  Every time we got close to another raft we began to sing our song followed by the cross bone arm and hook.  

We are getting ready to hike the Black Canyon Trail. A 2-mile roundtrip hike.  Our pre-hikes never prepared us for hiking in the canyon.  Here you make your own trails along the wash and up and over the boulders. 

Kathy stops for a photo along the route.   The hike is scrambling over large  boulders and ends with cliff jumping. 

A video of the scrambling and hike along the river wash. 

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Cliff jumping at the waterfall.  I decided not to take the plunge because I wanted to enjoy my last three days on the river without incident.  The ledge area was not very stable and one slip the party is over.  

Lava Rock along the canyon walls. At least 150 lava flows have been mapped in the Grand Canyon. 

A look at our campsite.  

No campsite would be complete with the Groover, our toilet,  There are two, each located on different sides of the campsite.  The wash station is for washing your hands after doing the deed.  Just pump the foot plunger and water magically  flows.  The red plastic container has toilet paper and indicates that the toilet is open for business.   

 The Groover consist of an ammo can with a toilet seat attached,  I can tell you this you always have a great view when sitting on the Groover!

End of Day 5

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