Grand Canyon 2010 Trip Report

Grand Canyon 2010 Trip Report

Commercial Raft Trip

Sometime in 2009 some white water paddling friends of ours asked if we would like to go on a commercial Grand Canyon (GC) raft trip with a bunch of their friends. Evidently there was a group of people who would make this same trip every two years by chartering two J-Boats (big motorized rafts) and guides from a GC outfitter (Hatch). We jumped at the chance because we had been wanting to do the GC for a long time. Several of our rafting buddies had done private GC raft trips when they could get a permit but private trips are 18 to 21 days long while the commercial trip was going to be around 7 days. Although rowing my own raft down the GC was tempting I felt I would like to see the river from the viewpoint of a big raft before I stepped up to doing it solo. We sent in our reservation money for the 2010 trip. As it turned out our two friends had to cancel but we went on the trip anyway even though we did not know anyone on the trip.

We all met the day before launch at a small motel near the put-in called the Marble Lodge. We had dinner and got to meet all the other folks and the trip leader who organized this trip every two years. Next morning we loaded up our trucks and drove to Lee’s Ferry put-in to meet the guides and load the rafts. Since there were two J-Boats half of the 20+ participants would go on each raft. We just by chance got put on the raft with most of the young and fun loving people (Liz and I still feel young anyway). The other raft did not seem to have the same chemistry as our raft so we were very lucky. We quickly realized that Liz and I were the only passengers that had any rafting experience. All the others would take this trip but had no idea what it took to make it happen. Liz and I helped the guides with loading and unloading and anytime they needed a hand and the guides soon realized that we had a lot in common and appreciated or help.

The J-Boats are made to carry heavy loads, lots of people and handle the big water of the GC. They have a central round raft with an outboard motor well in the back. They also have two outrigger long tubes attached to the sides for stability and more room for the passengers. All the gear including tents and personal baggage was loaded in the center and the heavy ice chests, etc were deep in the bowls of the center raft. The passengers could set on a bench on the side next to the baggage, ride the outrigger tubes or set in an area behind the baggage protected from wind and water spray. There was even a small area in the bow where you could set if you really wanted the white water drenching experience.

On the first day Liz and I put on our rain suits and life vests and set on the side bench next to the baggage. Everyone else was wearing shorts and t-shirts and though we were crazy since it was a pretty hot day. This all changed when we hit the first rapid. The GC is ice cold no matter what the air temperature is. When that first wave came over the raft, everyone in shorts and t-shirts screamed and realized that Liz and I had the right idea. They all started pulling out their rain suits if they had them. For a more exciting ride we would straddle one of the outrigger tubes and hang on to rope handles. For a real exciting and extremely wet ride we would get in the bow. Most of the folks on our raft except for a few would rotate through these spots and had a great time. On the other J-Boat they all seemed to hang out in the back of the raft trying to stay dry and warm.

Camp life – The GC is in the desert, a simple fact. It is usually hot and dry but on our trip it did rain occasionally and did get cool. Each passenger was given a dry-bag with a sleeping bag, poco-pad, tarp, etc. and you could get a two man tent if you desired. The idea was that unless it was raining you would put down the tarp on the sand then put the poco-pad and sleeping bag on top. The view of the stars from the GC sleeping like this can’t be described. There are no background lights so you would have dark where the canyon walls were then millions of stars where you could see the sky. The only issue is that Liz and I were told that there were lots of scorpions running around on the sand. We were told to bring uv-lights because the scorpions would glow under a uv-light. I did bring two lights and the first night we kept waking up and shinning the light until we realized this was either a joke played on us or the scorpions were somewhere else. We only saw one and that was about an inch long. What we did see were bats. I kept seeing something flash real close to our bed just above our heads. I thought it was bugs but when I put on my light I could see hundreds of bats zipping all over above us. They never hit us but they kept the bugs under control. It did rain a couple of nights and we used the tent. The guides did all the cooking and clean-up but the passengers helped unload/load the raft. A few of us would help with the clean-up after the meals since this is what you do on private raft trips.

Side hikes – I can’t say enough about all the amazing places you get to see on the GC. One real good point for a commercial trip is that you get to do a lot of side hikes. Since the J-Boats can make better time than oar-rafts you get to the good spots quicker and have more time to enjoy them. I’ve included lots of pictures of the hikes we took but the one that stands out is Deer Creek. It is where the tall waterfall is in the pictures with a gap in the cliff wall where the water comes out. To get there you have to hike almost to the top of the cliff then take a very narrow trail back into the cliff. The pictures of Liz hanging onto the wall while working past a narrow spot with a very deep cavern behind her is this trail. After Liz and I got into the larger area where the water started we both said we didn’t want to go back out on that ledge. Of course there is one way in and one way out so we had no choice but that was a scary point that had to be passed. The ledge was narrow, it had loose sand on it which made it slippery and the wall jutted out which made you have to lean out over the cavern! Still it was worth the trip so don’t skip this hike. The hikes you want to make are Redwall Cavern, Nankoweap Granaries, Deer Creek and Havasu Creek. Many more but these are the big ones.

The included map shows our trip; we started at Lee’s Ferry at mile 0 and completed at Whitmore Wash mile 188. The take-out was just below the notorious Lava Falls Rapid which can be one of the toughest rapids in an oar raft. Our trip through Lava was anti-climatic in our big J-Boats but I did appreciate what it would have been in a 16’ oar rig. We left the GC at Whitmore Wash which really was just a very small flat surface where a single helicopter could land. The guides would spread water on the sand to keep it from blowing excessively as the two helicopters lifted the passengers out 4 or 5 at a time and take them about 10 miles on top of the ridge to what looked like a working dude ranch. There we waited till all the passengers arrived then we took two twin engine airplanes back to a dirt strip next to Marble Lodge where all our vehicles were parked. We said our goodbyes and then drove over to a small town close to the Monument Valley where Liz and I took a guided tour back into the valley in the back of a pick-up truck in the middle of a sand storm but that is another story.

I’ve included about 130 pictures out of the over 600 pictures I took while on the GC. Hope you enjoy them but they don’t do justice to the GC experience.