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| Rafting | 281.00 Miles |
1,926 AEG |
| | Rafting | 281.00 Miles | 24 Days | | |
| 1,926 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I thought it might be about time to post this trip and some photos.
What can I say? Trip of a lifetime? But I did it last year, too! But this time I had a private Special Use Permit from the Park Service. Last year I was invited on someone else's private trip.
It really took a long time to plan this trip, and we had 19 months. I had several really good boaters helping with the logistics. We used Moenkopi Riverworks for catering, plus we rented a very small amount of equipment from them. They comped us a couple things, too, since they are friends of ours. (Thank you, Brady!)
We hired River Runners Shuttle Service of Meadview, AZ to shuttle our vehicles.
We put in at Lees Ferry on Sept. 20 and took out at Pearce Ferry on Lake Mead on Oct 13 (one day earlier than planned in order to help a crew member catch an earlier flight back to North Carolina.)
We started out with 12 people in the group, 3 of whom planned only the half trip, and hiked out at Monument Creek/Hermit. The people came from Flagstaff and Tucson, (plus me from the White Mtns.) and Tennessee, Colorado, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Montana. They were mostly all super expert boaters. We had 5 rafts, two kayaks, one open-deck canoe, and a "Shredder" (a very small cataraft) in our fleet. After the 3 hiked out I was the only one without a boat, so I "floated" (pun intended?) around on different boats, and tried my hand rowing different sized rafts and one day in the kayak as well.
We did a lot of the usual hikes, some of which I will write up separately. Saddle Canyon, Nankoweap, Beamer Trail, Monument Creek, North Bass to Bass Camp, Deer Creek Patio, etc. I missed the pull-in at Havasupai, so Scott and I had to wait for everyone downstream. Ever tried pulling in there? If you're a newb it can really be messy. Also missed Matkat, and had to wait downstream, but that was another boatman's fault. I didn't care, having been there the previous year. Same with Havasupai, have been there several times before, both hiking and rafting.
We had a great group, mostly got along fine, with a few personality issues now and then. But for the most part we did get along fine, and I made some new friends. Especially I hope to go boating again with Jane from Boulder, who was a real inspiration to me, having her own raft and rowing the whole Canyon.
I did row a lot more this year than last year, including Granite Rapid. It's a pretty darn big one, but is a straight shot. I thought that on this year's run Horn Creek Rapid was by far the scariest. (Some of you will recall last year's spectacular flip in Lava.) This year I rowed a lot of other named rapids. Downriver, I especially wanted to try Diamond Creek rapid because it was the very first rapid I ever tried to row, back when I took that guide training class from NAU Outdoor Rec. I got all sideways that time! This time I not only aced it but aimed on purpose for a couple big holes down near the foot of the rapid. Scott said, "Hey why don't you aim for those two holes, this boat will just plow right through them!" That was really fun! And got Scott soaking wet, too!
We saw some wildlife, mostly a whole lot of bighorn sheep. We saw one pink rattlesnake, a couple of ringtails, and a couple of foxes. The incident with the foxes was interesting. I had hiked several miles up Parashant Canyon, an hour ahead of the rest of the group. On my way back a fox ran across the canyon in front of me, and then seemed to continue to cross the canyon around every turn or two. But my pal, Jane, hiking upcanyon, intercepted me, had seen the fox, but had seen two at once. So, I still don't know if I saw only one, or both of them!
Well, it was a fine run, with a great group of folks! My photos will tell the story! |
| _____________________
There is a point of no return unremarked at the time in most lives. Graham Greene The Comedians
A clean house is a sign of a misspent life. |
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