What follows is a summary of facts and figures of my journey down the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. Hopefully I'll have more to say in the coming days, but for now I just want to get the basics down.
I was part of a party of fourteen, and I've listed their names below. I've included each person's age to convey that aspect of the group's diversity:
Arlyn Agababian (38), Asheville, North Carolina
Daniel Cox (23), Morristown, Tennessee
Emily Cox (51), Morristown, Tennessee
Kiley Haberman (30), Marietta, South Carolina
Elmore Holmes (58), Memphis, Tennessee
Wiik Ingle (52), Asheville, North Carolina
Rob Lieb (59), Holmes, New York
Kaylin Owens (29), Cosby, Tennessee
Nathan Rakestraw (30), Erwin, Tennessee
Brady Sleeper (53), Asheville, North Carolina
Amelia Taylor (39), Sevierville, Tennessee
J.D. Terry (45), Mammoth Lakes, California
Genevieve Verrastro (41), Asheville, North Carolina
Nick Wirick (36), Del Rio, Tennessee
The flow of the Colorado River varied between around 9000 and around 11,000 cubic feet per second during our trip. That's at Lee's Ferry, anyway; flash flooding on tributary creeks impacted the flow farther downriver.
And now, a summary of our daily progress:
Day 0 (August 26)
Met at our outfitter's property and traveled some two and a half hours to our putin. Rigged our boats and camped at Lee's Ferry (Mile 0).
Day 1 (August 27)
Headed downriver through a mixture of sunshine and heavy rain. Spent the night at Hot Na Na camp (Mile 16.5).
Day 2 (August 28)
Busy whitewater day as we ran House Rock Rapid (Class 7 on the 1-10 scale), North Canyon Rapid (Class 5), Twentyone Mile Rapid (Class 5), Georgie Rapid (Class 6), Twentyfour and One-Half Mile Rapid (Class 6), Hansbrough-Richards Rapid (Class 6), Cave Springs Rapid (Class 5), Twentyseven Mile Rapid (Class 5), and Fence Fault Rapid (Class 5). Camped at Nautiloid camp (Mile 35).
Day 3 (August 29)
A mellower day for whitewater, with just a couple of Class 4s. Camped at Main Nankoweap camp (Mile 53.5), where we hiked up to a Navajo granary.
Day 4 (August 30)
Passed the mouth of the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of Grand Canyon proper. Rapids included Kwagunt Rapid (Class 5), Tanner Rapid (Class 6), Basalt Rapid (Class 6), and Unkar Creek Rapid (Class 6). Camped at Upper Rattlesnake camp (Mile 74.5).
Day 5 (August 31)
One of the bigger whitewater days, with Nevills Rapid (Class 6), Hance Rapid (Class 8), Sockdolager Rapid (Class 7), Grapevine Rapid (Class 7), Zoroaster Rapid (Class 5), and Horn Creek Rapid (Class 8). Passed Phantom Ranch, which was still closed as a result of the Dragon Bravo fire. Replenished our water supply from the spigot at Boat Beach. Spent the night at Ninetyone Mile Creek camp (just shy of Mile 92).
Day 6 (September 1)
Three Class 8s: Granite Rapid, Hermit Rapid, and Crystal Rapid. Also Tuna Creek Rapid (Class 6), Sapphire Rapid (Class 6), Emerald Rapid (Class 5), Ruby Rapid (Class 5), and Serpentine Rapid (Class 7). Stopped for the night at Bass camp (Mile 109).
Day 7 (September 2)
Layover day at Bass camp. Hiked over a small ridge to the Shinumo Creek watershed and swam beneath a waterfall.
Day 8 (September 3)
The river run resumed with mostly small rapids, excepting Walthenberg Rapid (Class 6). The water had turned muddier overnight due to some flooding up on the Little Colorado River. Visited Elves Chasm, a popular swimming spot. Camped at Lower Blacktail camp (just before Mile 121) at the mouth of Blacktail Canyon. The canyon was beautiful, but the camp was rocky and inhospitable, especially in the rainy, windy conditions we had.
Day 9 (September 4)
Whitewater highlights included Forster Rapid (Class 5), Fossil Rapid (Class 5), Specter Rapid (Class 6), Bedrock Rapid (Class 7), Deubendorff Rapid (Class 7), and Tapeats Rapid (Class 5). Passed the point where the Colorado River necks down to just 76 feet wide. Camped at Across Deer Creek camp (just before Mile 137).
Day 10 (September 5)
Visited Deer Creek Falls along with a throng of customers from a commercial raft trip. Proceeded downriver at stopped for a hike up the beautiful Matkatamiba Canyon. Camped a short distance farther down at Matkat Hotel camp (Mile 149). Watched as a heavy thunderstorm created flash-flood waterfalls on a cliff face just upstream.
Day 11 (September 6)
Headed downstream and ran Upset Rapid (Class 8). Continued down to Havasu Canyon, where storm runoff had washed out the milky-blue water we had hoped to find. Camped at Lower National camp (Mile 167).
Day 12 (September 7)
Woke up to find the Colorado flowing a dark reddish-brown. Even the "whitewater" was that color as we headed downstream. We arrived at Lava Falls (Class 9), arguably the most bodacious rapid in the Grand Canyon, and the color of the water made it seem all the more intimidating. We all survived Lava and spent the night at Below Lower Lava camp (Mile 180).
Day 13 (September 8)
The water had turned a dark grey overnight--probably runoff from the Dragon Bravo fire burn area. The sediment load was so thick that I couldn't see my paddle blade at all when I dipped it in the water. We encountered mostly mellow whitewater, but headwinds picked up in the afternoon. Camped at Hualapai Acres camp (Mile 195).
Day 14 (September 9)
We spent another day fighting strong headwinds. Our best distractions were Kolb Rapid (Class 6) and Two Hundred and Ninemile Rapid (Class 5). Pushed all the way to Lower Fall Canyon camp (Mile 212).
Day 15 (September 10)
Hot weather made the headwinds strong for a third day in a row. Biggest whitewater was Two Hundred and Seventeenmile Rapid (Class 5). Camped at Two Hundred and Twentyfour Mile camp (Mile 223.5).
Day 16 (September 11)
Takeout Day. Paddled the final couple of miles down to Diamond Creek (just before Mile 226), where we de-rigged our boats and loaded everything onto our outfitter's truck and trailer. A drive of several hours back to Flagstaff ensued.
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