Grand Canyon Rafting: Upper Canyon 8.6 - 8.8.17
I'm very fortunate to work at a company that promotes relationship building and shows appreciation to employees by sponsoring four Grand Canyon trips and one trip to Moab. I signed up for a couple of the Grand Canyon trips and was selected for the first upper canyon trip with the Canyoneers company. We'd spend two days on the river and then hike out to the south rim on the third day. This sounded like a lot of fun and almost a once in a lifetime type of opportunity, so I was happy I could go. I wasn't so worried about the river portion or camping, or the distance and elevation of the hike out, but rather having to hike out in the heat that the Grand Canyon is known for. The average temperature for early August when I was scheduled to go is a high of 103. I know I don't do well in the heat but my coworkers assured me I'd be ok. I was selected for the trip in April so I had a few months to get myself back in shape. Luckily Aaron was climbing Rainier so he also needed to do some training hikes too. The hike out would be 9.5 miles and 4300' of gain. We had to carry all of our stuff out of the canyon so I planned for a pack weight around 22 lbs to account for 3 liters or water, some basic camping gear, and clothing I'd need for the river. This trip report will focus on the river portion of the trip, another will focus on the hike out.
Our trip was set to start on Sunday, Aug 6 but we had orientation the night before in Flagstaff. Our company group consisted of 26 people so we'd have two boats. At orientation they went over packing items, logistics about camp (such as bathroom facilities, sleeping pads, tents, and meals), talked about the boat and handed out some of our gear. We each got a sleeping bag, dry bag, tarp, and ammo can which had our silverware for the trip. We had to get everything packed into our dry bag and ammo can that night, then set them out by the hotel at 6am so they could be loaded into the trailer. After a quick breakfast and a few last announcements Sunday morning we loaded into the vans and headed for Lees Ferry. I slept through most of the car ride but woke up almost at the end to a beautiful landscape. We loaded all of the gear onto the two boats, grabbed a life jacket, and hopped aboard. The first 30 seconds on the river the water was blue, until another stream joined in carrying lots of sediment filled brown water which would be the consistency of the Colorado River for the rest of the trip. The water is blue at Lees Ferry because the Glen Canyon Dam strains most of that sediment out - it just doesn't stay like that for long.
The change of the Colorado River from blue to brown sediment filled water
The upper canyon is just shy of 90 miles to Phantom Ranch, where we'd leave the boats and start our hike out of the canyon. Our pilot Ethan, who was also the trip leader, said the boats go about 4mph as well as the river, so we'd travel at about 8mph which meant we had a lot of traveling to do on the river in those two days. After getting oriented with the boat and what was expected of us if we needed to signal for a pit stop or if we needed to crouch in the boat for a big rapid, we all started taking in the scenery. The first portion of the canyon is actually Marble Canyon. The canyon walls steeply rise above the water - needless to say I had a lot of fun looking at rock. I asked Ethan if people ever climbed in there and he said not really. Travis was the other guide on our boat and told us about the geology as we passed through different rock layers. Both he and Ethan recounted history of the canyon from various trips, explaining different rapid names or features along the way.
Marble Canyon had steep canyon walls close to the river
We pulled off at a beach for lunch. Travis anchored us in and the four guides set about grabbing the tables, food, and setting up a hand washing station for us. Both days lunch consisted of make your own sandwich with two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, mayo, and mustard. They also had chips, pickles, and cookies - it was a nice lunch. They told us the food would be good but it certainly exceeded my expectations - more about dinner later.
The lunch spread
After everyone had eaten all they could, we cleaned up and headed down the river. It was looking pretty cloudy and we knew the forecast was calling for some potential showers, so I put on my rain gear for the afternoon along with a few others. It only ended up raining for maybe a minute at most but I was happy to have the gear on for the rapids. We went through some fun rapids in the afternoon, more so than the morning. It was nice being on a motorized boat instead of a paddle boat because there seemed to be miles of flat water in between the rapids.
One of the many rapids we went through
The boats were really interesting, they had three sections with joints in between to help the boats articulate through the rapids. There were two giant rafts outboard and then benches in the middle. The ammo cans were stored under the front benches and the dry bags along with the sleeping pads were tied on the rafts outboard. There was also storage under the back benches for things like the propane and cooking utensils. There were also some compartments under the floor where people kept their beer and the guides stored snacks for us. They passed around nuts and granola bars in the morning, as well as some M&M's in the afternoon. The front of the boat definitely got hit hardest through the rapids, although some water found its way to the back where I was sitting as well.
The boats we were on for the trip
We made one stop in the afternoon before stopping for camp. We stopped at this giant cave carved out of the bottom of the wall with a large beach. I didn't expect the sand in the canyon to be so fine, it was like a southern California beach.
[Left] Looking at the cave. [Right] Looking out at the river from the back of the cave
Maybe another five or ten minutes on the river downstream from the cave we stopped for the night. We picked out spots along the beach and dropped our life jackets and ammo cans, then formed a fireman's line from the boats to get all of the gear unloaded and carried up the beach. The guides recommended sleeping out under the stars on the sleeping pads but I'm a fan of tents - to keep the sand out as well as the scorpions. I was lucky enough both nights to get a brand new tent to sleep in - and I had it to myself. I didn't inflate the sleeping pad as it was partly foam, but I also laid my sleeping bag on top for some more cushion. It was way too warm for the sleeping bag they provided but I had brought my small sleeping bag liner. The company had also bought chairs for all of us which was really nice to get up out of the sand a bit.
View of camp the first night
Right tent was mine, sleeping in the canyon on the beach
Dinner our first night consisted of salad, steak, peas, potatoes, and cheesecake. It was delicious. After you finished you washed your plate and utensils. We all hung around the big circle as the sun went down. The moon was super bright and we watched the moon rise as the light illuminated the canyon walls above us. I got ready for bed and turned in about 10pm. The bathroom situation worked as such: everyone went number 1 in the river so the beaches didn't get gross, ladies upstream and guys downstream. They basically had two vault toilets they brought out at camp and stashed somewhere a bit secluded for going number 2.
We were woken up at 5am by the stove getting lit. They made coffee first for those who wanted it and then cooked breakfast. Breakfast on day 2 consisted of pancakes, fruit, and bacon. I packed up my stuff before breakfast. We piled all of the dry bags, chairs, sleeping pads, and ammo cans and then formed a fireman's line again to get all of the gear off the beach and onto the boats. We started on the river about 7:30a on the second day. It was pretty shady in the canyon still so a bit cool at that time. The sky was a deep blue, there wasn’t a cloud in sight. After maybe an hour or so the guides told us about an attempt to dam the river in the section and how the Sierra club fought it. We stopped and walked through a tunnel that had been blasted in the canyon wall. It was a fun little adventure and they pointed out letters written on the canyon wall as we went, signifying different locations the surveyors had used when planning for the dam. Most of the day was spent looking at the beautiful scenery surrounding us and learning about the different layers of rock.
[Left] Floating through the canyon with blue sky above during the morning. [Right] At an intersection in the tunnel blasted into the wall as part of the dam effort
Late in the morning we finally entered the Grand Canyon. Travis pointed out the fault line that serves as the divider. The scenery certainly changed as the canyon widened. The canyon walls were much farther back from the river now. About lunch time it was getting pretty warm. We stopped at another beach and had sandwiches again. There wasn’t much shade to be had so I tried to crouch in the bushes best I could. A few people waded into the very cold water to cool down instead.
[Left] Fault line signifying where we entered the Grand Canyon. [Right] The Grand Canyon was a lot wider
After everyone was done eating we went on a short hike, less than five minutes, to see some petroglyphs. There were two rocks with them on there. The hike brought us up every so slightly in elevation above the river, providing a fantastic view. After walking back to the boats I was really warm so I waded in the river up to my knees. It was very cold and had a very quick numbing effect but it felt really good.
Petroglyphs
View of the river from our lunch time hike
After we got back on the river we went through a pretty big rapid, which we could see from the hike. After that it was a lot of flat water again so several people opted for a bucket which involves Travis filling a bucket with river water and dumping it over them so they could cool off. We went through some fun rapids again in the afternoon, hitting our first class 10. Rapids are rated up to 10 in the Grand Canyon instead of 5 like most rivers, not really sure why. We hunkered down and the front people got drenched, although welcomed in the hot afternoon sun.
[Left] Someone getting a bucket on the boat. [Right] The rock was amazing in the canyon
Early afternoon we entered the granite section. The rock walls were closer in on the river once again and were all granite. Travis pointed out the pink seams and talked about how the magma had cooled and formed some of the rock. Mostly I was mesmerized by the granite, looking for lines to climb.
[Left] Seams of pink in the granite. [Right] Found a granite apron to climb.
Before 3pm we stopped at a large beach and made camp for the day. It was a great spot and everyone picked out a spot for their tent before forming the fireman’s line again to get the gear off the boat. Since we had gotten there so early in the day we grabbed chairs and sat at the top of the beach, looking out over the river and enjoying the shade provided by the canyon walls.
Camp along the granite valley
Hanging out at camp, overlooking the river
Dinner our final night consisted of salad, salmon, pesto salad, and broccoli - it was delicious. After dinner Travis and Sara both serenaded the group with some songs which were excellent, with some of our group even joining in on leading some. I went to bed around 9:30/10 again in my tent. The second night was even hotter and I kept waking up in a puddle of my own sweat. We were woken up at 5am the next morning again by the fire for making coffee. I packed everything up with the anticipation of the hike. Breakfast was eggs, sausage, biscuits, and fruit along with a lunch making station. I had brought my own food for the hike out since I’m sort of picky, so I only packed a granola bar and a couple of cookies for lunch. After everything was cleaned up we loaded up the boats and took off.
The Kaibab trail bridge, approaching Phantom Ranch
I was wearing my hiking clothes instead of my river clothes that morning and sat in the middle of the boat. We had 10 miles to go down river, through a few fun rapids, before disembarking at the Phantom Ranch beach. Once on the beach we cleared out the dry bag leaving the sleeping bag, and cleared out the ammo can and packed up our packs. It probably took me about 20 or so minutes to make the transition. I filled up my water bottles, bid farewell to the guides, and started off on the hike.
Gear Review
A quick review of the gear I brought for the trip. I had my bikini, board shorts, rash guard, Keen sandals, sun hat with chin strap, and sunglasses with strap that I wore while on the boat. It worked well although due to my fair skin, I may have worn capris instead of the board shorts to help keep my thighs and knees out of the sun, however I did fine with sunscreening them a bunch. The chin strap on the hat was great when it got really windy the first afternoon, my hat definitely would have flown off without it. In my ammo can I kept my rain jacket, rain pants, sunscreen, sunglass case, and camera case. I had my camera and 0.7L water bottle carabinered to my life jacket as well as I girth hitched my GPS to my life jacket. It would have been nice to have somewhere to keep my sunscreen for more frequent applications.
At camp I would wear my hiking clothes - hiking shorts (from convertible pants), light hiking t-shirt, bra, and underwear. It was really nice to get out of my river clothes at the end of each day. I brought body wipes, deoderant, and wisp toothbrushes for my hygiene kit. I did have a thin long sleeve shirt and fleece which I never wore but needed in case it was cooler. I also had my sleeping bag liner, inflatable pillow, small travel towel, headlamp, extra batteries, duct tape, bandana, headband, hiking shoes, thin hiking socks, trekking pole, 26L pack, 2L camelbak, and my hiking food. The only thing I would have changed were capris for the board shorts while on the river, otherwise I was happy with what I brought.
GPS track
Just under 90 miles on the Colorado River through the upper canyon of the Grand Canyon