News & Events
September 2009 Grand Canyon
Alison’s Excellent Grand Canyon Adventure
I was sitting in
the trip briefing meeting. People before me were saying how
much boating they’d done and how much they were looking forward to
going down the Colorado on a raft. I meekly put up my hand,
‘Is this the kayak trip down the Grand Canyon?’ I quickly
got up and fled to the right room, a room full of kayakers, down the
hall! Thus started my trip paddling the Colorado River down
the length of the Grand Canyon. One of the most spectacular
river trips in the world. And one of the longest paddling
trips with road access to the river, below Glen Canyon Dam, at Lees
Ferry and then 225 miles downstream at Diamond Creek, above Lake Mead
and the Hoover Dam.
A one armed Major John Wesley
Powell led the first (non Indian!) voyage down the Grand Canyon in
1869. The Powell expedition sounds like an
epic. He describes capsizes, long swims, seething, boiling
rapids, loss of rations and little food. Three of his men
decided not to continue and headed off on foot. They were
never seen again and it’s believed that they were killed by Indians.
It
is believed that parts of the Grand Canyon have been occupied
intermittently by Native Americans for more than 10,000
years. There are archeological remains from different
groups, know as pueblo people, including pottery, petro glyphs, twig
figurines, tools, weapons and buildings. At Unkar Delta we
visited the hilltop remains of a building, which would have provided
views of the whole valley. At Nankoweap we visited the
ancient granaries used to store grain high above the river and away
from rodents. Several Indian reservations line the canyon
or are nearby with the different groups including the Hopi, the
Hualapai, the Havasupai, the Zuni and the Navajo, having spiritual
links with the river.
Colorado means red river.
Apparently the Colorado was described as too thin to plow and too thick
to drink. Due to Glen Canyon upstream the river now runs
clear unless there is local rain, when sediment washes into the
river. For days we paddled in clear water. Then
on the tenth day we woke to a brown river. It was like
paddling in milky coffee and if you went upside down it was totally
black. By the afternoon the level of sediment had increased
and it now looked like brown paint. Rapids had a slow look
to them, weighed down by the silt and it was as if the rapids were in
slow motion. Fortunately the paint gave way to coffee again
but the film of sediment remained on everything, including gear, hair
and skin.
The trip is led by Randy, who pilots the 38 foot
support raft with duel pontoons and outboard motor. Randy
looks like a Colorado River guide, beard, moustache, long hair and
tanned skin. He’s also a great bloke, very knowledgeable
about the river and great fun. His offsider, Kate, is known
as a Swamper, which means she works very hard. Also on the
raft is Randy’s nephew, Lane, along for a working holiday.
That leaves the kayak guide, Harlan and the safety boater, Ben, to
complete the crew. Harlan is a local from Flagstaff and the
Colorado is his backyard. He knows every inch of this river
and paddles it all in a Blissstick Smoothy, a play boat.
He’s also by far the best paddler I’ve ever seen. When I
grow up I’d like to be able to paddle like Harlan. Ben is a
fellow antipodean and also an excellent paddler. We compare
notes on the Americans and spend one afternoon teaching them how to
play backyard cricket, great fun!
The paddlers are an
interesting group. Wally and Mitch are from the Netherlands
and have had boats especially built for the trip, a slalom boat but
with a bit more volume. Marcel is a retired teacher from
Switzerland. He’s use to paddling steep creeks with crash
helmet and elbow pads. He doesn’t like the big rapids, like
those on the Colorado, but loves the canyon. Tom is a Texan
and lives on jalapeņo peppers. He’s also in his sixties and
has been down the Colorado 16 times! Bob is also an
American and is 70 years of age. He’s a great paddler too
and is heading next to Bhutan on a paddling trip. He’s my
hero and the guardian of the ‘washers’. Washers is a game a
bit like ‘horseshoes’ and quickly becomes an addiction for the Dutch
blokes. The last paddler is Paul. He’s a C1
paddler. It’s a long way to paddle in a C1 and this leads
Tom and me to reflect on how many days you can travel on the raft and
still claim to have paddled the river.
These aren’t the only
people on the trip. There are also three non paddlers
travelling on the raft. There’s the delightful Margie,
Tom’s wife, Walter, a friend of Paul’s, and permanently with a camera
in his hand, and finally Paul’s mother, Annie. Annie is 84
and tough. You have to be tough to be 84 and go on a 15 day
paddling trip.
The Colorado and the numerous creeks flowing into
it bring life to the dessert. The banks of the river are
teaming with life, particularly at places like Vasey’s Paradise, where
water pours from the rock wall onto masses of green plains
below. Away from the banks and water, small plants with
pretty flowers cling to cracks in the rocks. As expected
there are numerous different cacti amongst the rocky dry
slopes. There are also numerous frogs and lizards but they
all tend to be quite small, however the pink Grand Canyon rattlesnake
impresses with its colour.
On the animal side we see mule deer
and a lone beaver but Bighorn sheep are everywhere. Their
agility in climbing cliffs is amazing. Apparently they were
keenly sought by the ancient puebloen people and twig sheep figures
have been found in caves.
That brings me to the
food. There is definitely a Mexican theme and I’m surprised
how tasty and varied the Mexican dishes are, having mainly experienced
the ‘Taco Bill’ variety. The food carried on the raft is
amazing and we are eating inch thick steaks near the end of the
trip. It is more the ‘American’ food that I shake my head
at. There is a condiment for everything and usually
several, there is a canned chicken, yes a chicken in a can, pre-cut
cheesecake with paper sheets for serving and spreadable marshmallow in
a jar. There is also a vast array of lollies with curious
names like ‘Mary Jane’, ‘Slo Poke’ and ‘Tootsie Roll’. But
my favourite lolly is the Atomic Fire Ball. An Atomic Fire
Ball is cinnamon hot and requires water or at the vary least an open
mouth and a fanning action to get air in and the heat out, to survive.
The
canyon itself is one of the most spectacular features of the
trip. There are different theories about how the canyon was
formed but there are numerous different layers and different types of
rock. The rock and the size of the canyon changes as we
travel down its length. Early on the canyon is narrow and
the cliffs low. It is not long before the cliffs tower
above us, however the canyon is still quite narrow. Further
down it starts to widen, with large banks where Indians grew annual
crops. Even further down the canyon is so big and wide that
you have to climb up high to get a glimpse of one rim. The
colour of the rock is also fantastic, pinks, reds, creams and
black. The red wall limestone is porous and water seeps
through it, collecting at the layer below. The water then
finds its way out, pouring out of the rock
face. Seismic activity has buckled layers of
rock and in some places the layers are incredibly twisted.
More recent volcanic activity has deposited layers of lava, creating
dramatic shapes and the most famous rapid on the river ‘Lava Falls’.
There
are 160 rapids on the Colorado between Lees Ferry and Diamond
Creek. The rapids are wide with big waves, the occasional
big hole, some fun, some very nasty and lots of swirly water and big
confused eddy lines. There are often three or four lines
through a rapid; the ‘cheat’ line, where you avoid everything; the
‘fun’ line, where you go through the waves but aren’t tempting fate;
the ‘hero’ line, this usually involves a hole that won’t kill you but
may well trash you; and finally the ‘don’t go anywhere near it’ line.
I
had never paddled big volume rapids before and although I was enjoying
them I kept ending up upside down. It was then they
explained to me how to paddle them. You actually don’t have
to paddle much. You concentrate on bracing in the wave,
lean into any lateral wave if you can’t cross them perpendicular and
get in some paddle stokes when you can, particularly if you have to
avoid a hole below. If you are going to paddle a hole try
and put your nose on your front deck and get ready for a
brace. You may surf for a while but you should get
through.
Sometimes the waves were nice and regular
and it was like a big roller coaster ride, like Hermit
Rapid. Most of the time the waves come at you from any
direction, crash over you, momentarily distracting you, as you
desperately try to see what’s going to hit you
next.
House Rock Rapid was my first
‘hero’ line. There are two big but safe holes, one
following the other. I could feel my legs trembling as I
paddled down the tongue into the bowels of the first. My
nose on the deck, I surfed for a while before going through and then
managed to avoid the second, nastier, hole. The rush of
adrenalin was fantastic.
Horn Creek Rapid was another ‘hero’
line. The last rapid for that day, Ben suggested that I ‘go
plug a hole!’ Sounded like fun so I followed him into this
enormous hole. I made it out the other side but then some
thing got me and I’m upside down. It took me three attempts
before I rolled up!
The rapids aren’t all innocent
fun. Dubendorff Rapid is another big rapid with two very
nasty holes and hidden rocks on river left. They are
definitely ‘don’t go anywhere near it’ holes. As you enter
the tongue you have to work hard to move to the right and keep away
from the holes. Wally doesn’t work hard enough.
I saw him launched into the air in the first hole and then he
vanished. It’s quite a while before I see him and his boat
in the wave train at the bottom of the rapid, as Ben and Harlan go to
rescue him. He’d been trashed, sucked out of his boat and
then slammed onto a rock. His thigh is swelling before our
eyes. Wally could hardly walk so it was no paddling for him
and onto the raft for a couple of days.
One of the big rapids
with a reputation is Crystal. Apparently in 1966 a flooded
Crystal Creek dumped boulders into the Colorado River creating a major
rapid overnight. In 1983 Glen Canyon Dam was full and a big
winter snowfall resulted in large volumes of water running into the
Colorado. In June the dam spillways were opened to ease the
pressure on the dam and the flow increased to 90,000 cfs.
Crystal became a monster, huge rapids were trashed, 80 people had to be
helicoptered out and one person died. With the river
running at a sedate 10,000 cfs there was a great line through Crystal,
just skirting the dangerous hole. It’s a great run but
still a little nerve racking due to its reputation.
It’s not all
big wave rapid paddling though. I’m the only one to take up
Harlan and Ben’s offer of paddling Tapeats Creek, a tributary of the
Colorado. The walk to Thunder River is along Tapeats Creek
so there is an opportunity to see Thunder River Falls and then paddle
back down Tapeats Creek. Sounds good, although it involved
carrying the boats up a fair way in the heat. I managed to
enlist some assistance from Walter and Lane, but at times it was like
rock climbing with a boat. Fortunately Harlan takes pity on
us and takes my boat. Between Harlan and Ben they carry my
boat and theirs. The walking track gives great views of the
creek gorge. It’s very steep and very narrow.
The
spectators gather as we start our descent. The first move
is straight away and involves a boof with turn. From there
on it’s a matter of working our way down the drops. The
eddies, when they exist are small and there is little room for all of
us. I keep seeing Harlan vanish in front of me.
There are several narrow slots and I see why elbow pads and a crash
helmet would be a good idea. Finally we reach the Colorado
again. It’s certainly given me a taste for steep creeking.
The
biggest and the best rapid on the whole section is Lava
Falls. Lava is about two thirds of the way to Diamond
Creek. As the name suggests the rapid was formed by a
massive lava flow. The Vulcan’s Anvil, a volcanic remnant,
in the river indicates that Lava is just around the corner.
The rapid is rated 8 to 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Lava looks
like a brown seething mass. It is hard to see a clear line
but easy to see where you don’t want to go. There is a huge
hole in the middle near the top. Huge laterals lead to a
massive maul where they meet. Whatever you do you need to
keep left and not end up on the right hand side of the
rocks. My plan is to paddle to the right of the hole and
then try to cross the lateral to the left and avoid the maul, then ride
the wave train to the end. Once you’re in the rapid its not
as straight forward. It’s more a matter of holding
on. Twice I found myself clinging to a high brace hoping I
was going to come up. Each time I slowly came back
up. What a ride! Lava certainly lived up to
expectation.
The last large rapid before Diamond Creek is the
unimaginatively named ‘Mile 209’ Rapid. 209 has a large
hole that has a reputation for swallowing rafts. It’s easy
to avoid the hole but I decide to go for my last ‘hero’
line. I’m not sure what happened but I think the hole
swallowed me up. Apparently I disappeared for some 15
metres and then reappeared. I remember it being very black,
the rapid trying to suck me out of my boat and finally feeling that
everything had calmed down. I then rolled up.
But
it’s not all about the rapids. There are numerous side
canyons to explore. The Silver Grotto has been gouged out
of the cliff and the rock pools and reflections give it a magical
feel. Redwall Cavern by contrast is a vast chamber which
frames a spectacular view of the river and canyon.
Phantom Ranch
is the only ‘civilisation’ on the river. The historic ranch
is now run by the National Parks Service. It’s possible to
post cards, and more importantly, drink ice cold lemonade at the air
conditioned store.
A short walk up a creek leads to Elves
Chasm. Water drops over the red rocks, lined with ferns and
travertine before falling into a green pond below. It’s a
beautiful spot.
A long and hot walk leads to Thunder
River. The river gushes straight out of the red wall
limestone cliff and into Tapeats Creek. It’s spectacular
and leads to an explosion of green vegetation below. A
short distance downstream in the dramatic Deer Creek Falls and a pretty
walk up Deer Creek canyon, a narrow canyon where the creek has cut
through numerous layers of rock, very pretty.
Havasu Creek is
one of the highlights. The river is a blue green from the
minerals in it and is a great contrast to the now brown
Colorado. The entrance to the creek is lined with steep
cliffs. Rafts from another group line the
entrance. A fair way upstream is Supai village, a Havasupai
Indian village, only accessible by foot. The walk up the
creek is beautiful and involves frequent creek crossings.
Harlan and Ben are carrying their boats to paddle the falls and the
creek.
Beaver Falls is our destination. The falls
are made up of two large drops. The rocks are covered in
travertine and the pools below the drops are blue green. It
is a spectacular place but the highlight is Harlan and Ben running the
falls. They spend a lot of time looking at the line before
they plummet down. My heroes!. I certainly
wouldn’t do it.
I would certainly recommend the Colorado through
the Grand Canyon as a must-do trip. For the record, I was
there in September, hot but not too hot. It was a 15 day
trip organized through Otter Bar Kayak School and run by Arizona
Rafting Adventures and we had a constant flow of 10,000 cfs.
Click on the links below to see some footage and photos from the trip.
Part 1 is Lees Ferry to Salt Creek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYb9TAuIhhg
Part 2 is Badger Rapid to Diamond Creek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFN0ape6ne4
Alison Boyes
(Technical information from Belknap’s Grand Canyon River Guide)