425 Days to Go - Hot Na Na

TL Report: I received a new quote from Moenkopi Riverworks for an 18 day trip with the new take out date of Saturday, July 16, 2011. As I’d hoped, the additional two days won’t cost us anything more since we avoid paying Hualapai Indian Reservation fees by not taking out at Diamond Creek. Just for kicks, I also had Moe quote us for a trip with 5 oar rigs instead of 4. While the trip will be fine running 4 oar rigs, it sure would be less crowded with 5. The good news is, the quotes are all coming in at under $1000 per person anyway we look at it. Moenkopi also says we can lock in 2010 prices by paying a $100 deposit now, so I sent a check to Flag this week. It seemed a little surreal to actually write the first check for the trip this far out, but Moe already has trips booked for June 2011 if you can believe it. I also reserved the River House in Flag for the night before we shuttle to Lee’s and the night we take out at Pearce. If everyone decides to stay there it will be around $15-$20 pp/night for shared accommodation.

Thank you to everyone who has paid their first deposit. If you haven’t paid your $100 deposit yet, it’s due MAY 1, 2010. See the deposit deadline page link for details to the right. I really don’t want to ask anyone for money, so please put these dates on your calendar.

What the GC Private Boaters Assoc is chatting about this week: Conversation mostly centered on what kind of satellite phone is the most reliable in the Canyon. Riveting topic. :-) The good news is, they say phone we will have (IRIDIUM, left) has the most satellites and is likely to have the best reception. However, you need to keep this in perspective, reception is iffy at best, and depends on if a satellite is overhead, and if we have a Southern exposure.

Mileage this week: River miles 14-17. We will probably be looking to make our first nights camp in this general area.

Usually we will decide on how many miles we need to run by how many side canyons there are to hike on a particular day and what camps have shade in the afternoon. That being said, we have to keep in mind that we have to be at Phantom at River mile 88 on July 4th or 5th (not decided yet). At river mile 14.5 we have Sheer Wall Rapid, class 2-3, At river mile 16.7 is Hot Na Na camp.

GC History: One of the prime individuals responsible for preserving the GC was Theodore Roosevelt. He first visited the park area in 1903 and made the following speech on May 6, 1903.

"In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which, so far as I know, is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to do one thing in connection with it in your own interest and in the interest of the country - to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is."

"Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which every American if he can travel at all should see."

Equipment Check: Here are a few GC books I recommend, although many of them are difficult to find, but well worth the price. I will have several books (the first five listed) along on the trip in a day accessible ammo can on Bill’s oar rig.

Great Grand Canyon Books

• Grand Canyon River Guide by Bill Belknap. If you are only getting one, get this one. Trust me; you’ll want your own copy. The guide is a waterproof map containing info on history, geology, flora and fauna, and a lot of photos.

http://www.backofbeyondbooks.com/bestsellers.cfm?mode=detail&id=1211130780002

• Guide to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon Lees Ferry to South Cove by Tom Martin and Duwain Whitis. Waterproof map.

• Colorado River Briefs by Linda Lou Lindermann

• The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell.  I read this book my last canyon trip, dry but wonderful history from Powell’s first trip.

• Day hikes from the River, Tom Martin

• Field Notes on the Grand Canyon by Ann Zwinger

• Beyond the Great Unknown by Edward Dolnick

Next Deadline: $100 deposit per person due on May 1, 2010. Also tell me if you are doing a full or half trip and if half, which half, Lee’s Ferry to Phantom Ranch (Phantom arrival July 4th or 5th, 2011) or Phantom Ranch to Pearce Ferry (take out July 16, 2011).

Comments, questions, concerns? Email me or use the comment link and I’ll post you back.

432 Days to Go - Soap Creek

TL Report: First off, let me mention that if you are on this trip, your first deposit of $100 is due May 1st. See the link to the right (money deadlines) on how to send it to me. I have updated this page a bit. This week I did some more housekeeping for the trip. I organized some things/deadlines to keep me straight, read some trip reports and  looked at blog ideas for the future. I figure it's a good idea to go over things like safety, resource protection, kitchen set up, how to work the groover, the wind factor, geology, etc. You get the idea. Bill's volunteered to be a guest blogger in the future. It any of you guys want to contribute, let me know!

What the GC private boaters association is chatting about this week:  I posted a question on the forum about what was the "funnest" thing or best non essential idea someone brought on their GC trip. Thirty posts later I've got a lot of ideas. People mentioned blow up beach balls, horseshoes, Bocce balls (heavy, though!), water guns (more like water cannons), etc. People also posted some fun games like ammo can tug-o-war, giving everyone 2 clothespins to secretly place on others (apparently this is hilarious, I guess you need to do it to believe it), Sumo wrestling with Paco pads, etc. It was a fun post. I think I'll ask all of you to bring one fun thing each that no one would expect on a trip like this. (no blow up dolls, there will be kids on this adventure) Other chatter surrounded the death of Ted Hatch whose family founded Hatch River Expeditions, the oldest of the commercial outfitters in GC and insane ways to use a Paco Pad, ergo the post earlier this week on running Lava on one. :-) CRAZY.

Mileage This Week:  River Mile 11-13 begins with Soap Creek Camp and Rapid, class 5 (see below) which is formed from boulders washed down from Soap Creek.

Soap Creek derived its name from an incident involving Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon missionary and guide. He shot a badger in the now named Badger Canyon (river mile 8) and carried the animal to his camp at a what is now Soap Creek. He cooked the badger over the night, but the water in which it was cooked was highly alkaline, and by the following morning, the fat of the badger had turned into soap.

At River mile 12.1, we'll see Brown's Inscription on river left. On the hot afternoon of July 9, 1889, a surveying party, working for the Denver, Colorado Canyon and Pacific Railroad, finished the job of lining their boats through Soap Creek. The eight men were surveying the canyon to build a railroad from Denver, across the continental Divide, then downriver al the way to California. Using inadequate boats and wearing no lifejackets, the group camped at the foot of Soap Creek. That night the company's president, Frank Mason Brown, had some unsettling dreams. In the early morning of July 10, 1889, Brown related those dreams to the head surveyor, Robert Brewster Stanton. After a meager breakfast, Brown, in the lead boat, pushed off from camp at 6:25am. Just five minutes later, this lead boat flipped in the strong eddy fence at the top of the riffle at Salt Water Wash. Unfortunately, Brown drowned. The group stopped here for the day, searching along the river for him. Peter Hansbrough carved an epitaph for Brown on river left near the top of the eddy. (See above, it stats "FM Brown, Pres D,CC&P RR Co was drowned July 10, 1889 opposite this point." Six days later, Hansbrough flipped his boat at 25 mile rapid and drowned. One of the very cool things about the canyon is the arid air doesn't allow for a lot of decomposition. History is virtually preserved throughout time.

GC History:  With the passing of Ted Hatch I thought it might be interesting to look at his family as they are one of the more significant outfitters in the West.

 Bus Hatch started running the rivers of northeastern Utah in 1929. A carpenter by trade, Bus was curious what lay downstream of his hometown of Vernal, Utah. Therefore, he built himself a boat and set out exploring the Green River. River running quickly turned into a passion for Bus, and his enthusiasm spread. Soon people were asking Bus to take them downriver, and a business was born.

Bus led the first ever commercial rafting trip in the United States. Soon, rivers in other parts of the country were luring Bus, and he took his first group down the Grand Canyon in 1934.

Back in those days, even a river trip that people had paid for was still somewhat exploratory. Bus lacked the amenities of modern river trips: coolers that hold ice for days, propane stoves, and a host of other items we take for granted on rafting trips nowadays. Often the provisions for a trip consisted of a shotgun and ammunition, and a few bottles of whiskey for good measure. Bus thought these items could get him and his clients through any emergency...and he was right.

Bus became a pioneer in white water rafting; he was one of the first people to run the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho, and his wanderlust led him to Pakistan, where he logged the first descent of the Indus River in 1956. How cool is it that he did a first descent on the Indus? I used to have a video of Green Slime and Jerry Moffat's expedition on the Indus the year before I was in Pakistan to run the Gilgit (1991). This is absolutly HUGE water.  I can't find the video anymore. Anyone have a copy out there?

(left) Bus Hatch 1934 in GC



Bus continued to run rivers until his death in 1967.

At that time, his son Ted (see photo right, 2008) took over the Grand Canyon operation, which remains strong and is owned and operated by a third generation member of the Hatch family: Bus' grandson, Steve.






Equipment Check:  Tents. The questions is, do you need one or not? My answer is yes. We will be in the "ditch" during Monsoon season, which is July through September. Rain can be a big issue in GC. It can affect where we camp, where/if we can side hike (side canyons can flash flood if the weather looks stormy) and how many mile we make on the river. Believe it or not cold can also be an oddball issue at times. I've read a couple to trip reports in June where the weather was rainy and 50 degrees on the river. Top that off with very cold water and life can get uncomfortable fast. Sand storms and strong wind is another thing to add to the mix.  So a tent is a good idea, even if we have perfect weather and you don't need to break it out.
As I said, none of the above may happen, but the lesson here, since we are in the wilderness without any other help around, is to be prepared.

You don't need an expensive tent, especially if you're not going to use it alot. REI has some reasonable tents at a little over $100. Remember that the beaches on  the Colorado vary in size and space on the oar rigs is limited, so go small (2 man max) and light. Three season is fine. Bill and I are going to buy two 2-man tents for us and the kids.

Next Deadline: $100 deposit per person due on May 1, 2010. Also tell me if you are doing a full or half trip and if half, which half, Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch (Phantom arrival July 4th or 5th, 2011), or Phantom Ranch to Pearce Ferry (take out July 15 or 16, 2011).

Comments, questions, concerns? Email me or use the comment link and I'll post you back.

Lava on a Paco pad.

This guy has some cahones. I guess it's true, you can do anything on a Paco Pad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEZEq1F_r6w&feature=PlayList&p=2980C5A70BA5C7C5&playnext_from=PL&playnext=2&index=4

439 days to run 226 miles, well now it's possibly 279 miles

TL Report: I had a phone call from Brady Black with Moenkopi Riverworks today, totally out of the blue. He was on the river when I asked for my quote and just wanted to touchbase about outfitting our trip. I was really impressed. Not only has Brady emailed me personally about menu options, etc, but he was happy to add his advice for not only lengthening our trip, but also how to do it less expensively. All round great guy. I mentioned he posts alot on the GC Private Boaters Assoc and I like what he has to say there, too.
Anyway, the gist of our conversation revolved around taking out at Pearce Ferry (mile 279) instead of Diamond Creek (mile 226). There's a lot of good reasons to do this. One, we get to experience the Canyon below Diamond Creek, which not many river runners do. I did this stretch on my first trip and loved it. Basically we would camp below Diamond, then float the next night across Lake Mead overnight to the take out at Pearce Ferry. We can then derig on Saturday morning about 7am in the cool of the morning instead of the heat of the day at Diamond. The shuttle back to Flagstaff is the same time/distance. The best part is this can add two days to the trip. For all you work-a-holics gasping "No, I have to be back at work!" Relax. The original itinerary had us taking out on a Thurs, and flying out on a Friday. This itinerary has us taking out on Sat morning and back in Flag by lunchtime. You can fly out later on Sat evening to be back at work on Monday. At this point you may be asking "Why can we fly out the same day we are taking off from Pearce when we couldn't do this from Diamond Creek?" Well, Pearce has a nice new maintained road, whereas the Diamond "road" is a creek bed. It isn't a predictable takeout as this creek can flash, trucks can get flats or we may have to wait for other trips to derig. The other nice thing is the extra day or two shouldn't cost us more as we won't have to pay the $1200 fee the Haulapai charge to cross their reservation at Diamond. 

So here's the advantages in a nutshell:

• Add 1 to 2 days to the trip
• Get to experience 53 more miles of the Colorado River
• No additional cost for the extra river day(s)
• Saves us $1200 in reservation fees
• Won't have to derig in the very hot sun at Diamond
• Predictable nice new road at Pearce

Also, Bill and I had lunch with Amanda Gettler yesterday and discussed her GC trip last month. She had a lot of good suggestions for us about menus, camps, first aide, etc. Thank you Amanda!

What the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assoc is chatting about this week:  There were some really funny posts/stories of folks trying to cross Hoover Dam with river gear post trip. Apparently there are security check points before crossing the dam to prevent terrorism. Well one guy loaded down with rafts and ammo cans was stopped and the security folks were very suspicious of the ammo cans/raft. (For all you non river folks, surplus military ammunition cans are frequently used for river stuff as they are water proof.) Of course, the used ammo cans were his groover and the cans were full of poop. They insisted he open them and the aroma of summer baked poo was apparently enough to have all the cops puking on the spot. Serves them right. Other conversation on the forum centered around the best cameras to use on the river, how much experience you need to row the Canyon, and which camps to use your first day.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gcpba/messages

Mileage This Week:  River Mile 7 to 10:   When we launch at Lee's Ferry, we will enter Marble Canyon. As you can see below, this Canyon is narrow, steep and beautiful.

At river mile 8 we'll run our first significant rapid, Badger, (see pix) Class 5 out of 10. Here's where I first realized how big the water in Grand Canyon is. I remember thinking, this is so much bigger than anything we've got in the South and the rapids are so loud!  

 Two side canyons face off here, with the river caught between them. Boulders washed into the river from both these side canyons (Badger Canyon to river right and Jackass Canyon to river left) have formed a small natural dam over which the river tumbles. We may or may not scout this rapid. Below Badger are two camps, both of which have a lot of rapid noise, so we'll be moving along downriver. 

Marble Canyon with the Vermillion Cliffs to the North and the Echo Cliffs to the South. This Canyon has 70 feet of uplift per mile and the river has 8 feet of downcutting per mile. In laymen's terms, the rim is rising up 78 feet for  

every mile we travel through this canyon.

Rapids on GC are rated on a 1-10 scale so don't let the Class 5 rating of Badger freak you out. It's not the same as a class 5 rapid in the South.

GC History:  August 8, 1869 - "The limestone of this canyon is often polished, and makes a beautiful marble. The rocks are of many colors - white, gray, pink and purple, with saffron tints. It is with very great labor that we make progress, meeting with many obstructions, running rapids, letting down our boats with lines from rock to rock, and sometimes carrying boats and cargoes around bad places." - Powell Report

Powell wrote that his party passed between great cliffs in which there were a number of caves, eroded on a grand scale. He named the gorge Marble Canyon, noting that the walls towered hundreds of feet in the air. The party ran through nearly a rapid per mile in this canyon, except for four portages, where the men lined their boats through what were called extremely swift currents and whirlpools. There is no marble in the canyon, but the river has polished the Redwall Limestone so that it has the affect of polished marble.

Equipment Check:   I was asking Amanda at our lunch yesterday how people on her trip recharged electronics like an ipod (or for me my Kindle). She said one of her crew had a battery operated recharger. You just add double AA batteries into this dealie, and plug your iPod in. Cool. I found it on Amazon, and it's only about $20.  Here's the link for the Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Battery-Extender-Generation-International/dp/B002TR09G2/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1F19OU82DLJUI&colid=3PGQ9UE6OQ9IG and the iPod: http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Charge-Portable-Charger-iPhone/dp/B000R1C42O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271460835&sr=1-3

 

Next Deadline: $100 deposit per person due on May 1, 2010. Also tell me if you are doing a full or half trip and if half, which half, Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch (Phantom arrival July 4th or 5th, 2011), or Phantom Ranch to Pearce Ferry (take out July 15 or 16, 2011)

Comments, questions, concerns? Email me or use the comment link and I'll post you back.

446 Days to Go - Navajo Bridge

TL Report: I did some housekeeping for the trip this week. I made a tentative decision on going with Moenkopi Riverworks for our fud/equipment/lodging, read a couple of trip reports and had a lot of fun checking out Amanda Gettler's GC photos from her trip two weeks ago. Stevie Leibig (one of our boatmen) and I also discussed eliminating most of the dutch oven cooking as it will be hot already and probably miserable cooking dinner/desert with the DO. So deserts will probably be more pre-made stuff like brownies, cookies, no bake cheesecake and the like. Dinners will be made over the propane stove. I'd rather be hiking than spending 3 hrs in the kitchen, anyway.

What the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assoc has been chatting about this week: Alot. this is a very active forum and they don't pull their punches. Conversation over the last week was centered on the One Trip A Year (OTAY) rule the NPS has for private trips. Basically you can only be on one trip down the Colorado River thru Grand Canyon a year. This is HOT topic among GC private river runners and the Commercial Outfitters. Apparently the NPS was about to rescind the OTAY part of the Colorado River Management Plan solely for the unclaimed winter trip second chance lottery. So, if you had gone on the river during the summer and wanted to do another trip, you'd be allowed to enter the lottery for unclaimed winter trips. However, despite support from the GC private boater community, the commercial river runner lobby requested it be shelved, This is exactly what happed, three days before the NPS was supposed to make the announcement OTAY would be eliminated. This led to alot of commentary about the unconstitutional tyranny the NPS rains down upon private boaters. High drama in that sector. Considering this only affects 1% of boaters, this seems a little overdramatic, but to each his own. There was also alot of posting on scorpion bites. It turns out you can bring a UV or blacklight flashlight to certain camps and the scorpions glow a neon green. I've only seen one scorpion on the canyon during my first trip, but I wasn't looking for them either. Apparently the bite is pretty unpleasant, so closed toe shoes are a good idea in camp. Nothing really works to repel them, so using a tarp to sleep on, and only putting out your sleeping gear right before bed is key to avoiding a bite. Using a cot is another solution if you are concerned. Cots are supposed to help with the heat also.

Mileage This Week: River Mile 4 to 6: On river left at river mile 4.0, there is a small side tributary entering the canyon. The lower end of the debris fan is a popular lunch spot. Now is a good time to start picking up any bits of trash we might find. It's a good habit to get into, not only at lunch but at every stop. At river mile 4.5 we will cross under the Navajo Bridges. These brides are 470 feet above the Colorado River. The upstream bridge was opened in 1929 at a cost of $385,000, the downstream bridge was opened in 1995 and cost $15 million. This is the last car crossing until Hoover Dam, 350 miles downstream. Wow.

Here's a great photo from Amanda's trip. On their way to Lee's Ferry to rig, they stopped and took this pix from the Navajo Bridge. Turns out to be of a trip that launched one day ahead of them that they met up with on the river. Yes, those specks are tiny rafts.

At river mile 5.0, the Coconino Sandstone appears at river level, then at river mile 5.1, the Hermit Shale appears below the Sandstone. Imagine standing there 280 million years ago, you would see a tree checked savannah at or near sea level. On River Left is the Navajo Indian Reservation, ergo the name of the bridges.

Sixmile Camp is located at river mile 5.9 and is another lunch spot for us to consider.

GC History: In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell, a Civil War veteran who had lost his right arm in the Battle of Shiloh, led the first voyage to explore the Grand Canyon. Until then, the Canyon appeared on maps of the West as a mysterious void. Powell's expedition was the last great exploration within the continental United States. What started as a scientific expedition turned into a harrowing adventure through some of the roughest and most beautiful country in America. Powell and the majority of this crew survived famine, mutiny, and some of the most dangerous rapids known to man. His journal, "The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons" is fascinating reading when youre in GC, and I highly recommend picking up a copy to read on the river.

August 5, 1869 - "With some feeling of anxiety we enter a new canyon this morning. We have learned to observe closely the texture of the rock. In softer strata we have a quiet river, in harder we find rapids and falls. Below us are the limestones and hard sandstones which we found in Cataract Canyon. This bodes of toil and danger." Powell Report

Equipment Check: PFDs or personal floatation devices or just plan lifejackets. The NPS has got regulations out the wazoo for PFDs and they are dead serious about inspection. At the put-in the NPS ranger will scrutinize each PFD. Here's what the trip regulations say about PFDs: "Each participant MUST have a serviceable U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device (PFD) Type I, III or V. One extra PFD must be carried for every 10 persons on the trip. These PFDs must be maintained in good and serviceable condition in compliance with the USCG standards AND MUST BE WORN AND FASTENED PROPERLY AT ALL TIMES WHILE ON THE RIVER. All PFDs must have a USCG approved label stating the PFD is designed for whitewater rafting, canoeing, sailing and/or kayaking. GENERAL BOATING OR SKI VESTS ARE PROHIBITED. The PFDs may not have any holes, rips, tears, broken buckets and/or broken zippers."

This means:

• No rips, no cords (like prusiks), or even whistles on your PFD
• No broken anything (buckles, zippers, non factory sewing) on your PFD
• All PFDs must be for rafting, not skiing, and be type I, III or V
• your PFD label must clearly state the above (if you can't read it, it will fail) 
• You need to wear your PFD AT ALL TIMES on the river. Period. 

Next Deadline: $100 deposit per person due on May 1, 2010. Also tell me if you are doing a full or half trip, and if half, which half, Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch, or Phantom Ranch to Diamond Creek

Comments, questions, concerns? Use the comment link and I'll post you back.

And I'm thinkin' Moenkopi Riverworks is going to outfit our trip.

I have been going over the outfitter's comparison spreadsheet, and I think I've come to the conclusion that Moenkopi Riverworks will outfit us. Their "Door to Door" Rental Package supplies a lot of free stuff a trip with 1/2 non river folks might need. For example, Paco pads are free ($245 each), Dry bags are Free ($35 to $70 each), PFD's are FRee ($90), Parking for cars while on the river is FREe (can be expensive), and a whole bunch of other stuff is FREE, too, like an inflatable ducky, a z-drag kit and a parawing shade. Moenkopi also has a River House in Flag that sleeps the entire trip before/after our trip for $240/night. A Deal.

 Also, the owner, Brady Black seems to be a pretty well liked guy in the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Forum, always answering questions and active in river issues. Our friend, Amanda, just returned from her trip using Moenkopi and said they were great.

So, even though they aren't the least expensive option, with all the free stuff that you (or some of you) won't have to buy for the trip, they'll actually save us money in the long run. Here's a link if you want to take a look http://www.moenkopiriverworks.com/index.php

Some cool Lee's Ferry photos

Lees Ferry Overview

The Vermillion Cliffs in the background

The Vermillion Cliffs with Marble Canyon in the foreground

The Hester's Grand Canyon River Trip - 453 days to launch, but who's counting?

Hey all, as I was getting my thoughts together on what I wanted to write for our Grand Canyon trip this week, it occured to me you may or may not want my GC ramblings filling up your email on a semi-regular basis. And that being so, I decided to start a blog so you can check in at your leisure. This way, I can post things I think will be of interest to you, deadlines, photos, rapid info, menu ideas, links and the like, and you, as a trip guest, can be incredibly interested and entertained (or perhaps blow it off completely, like Elaine :-)). It's up to you. I've got a few things I will be including each week until launch (and as my brother in law, Mike, said, "Ah, that's an awful lot of weeks", (oh, well, I'm excited) and you can post comments, questions or observations. So here goes.

Trip Leader Report: Since learning that we recieved a permit, I've been in contact with all four of the private equipment outfitters. I've input all their fees into a big spreadsheet to see which is the best outfitter for our trip. So far, each outfitter is running within about $50 per peron of each other. My goal is to keep this trip under $1000 per person and that looks very realistic at this point.

What the Grand Canyon Private Boater Forum is chatting about this week: I caused a bit of a stir this week simply posting if anyone had any experience getting the the National Park Service (NPS) ranger to give the 1 hour orientation talk on rigging day (June 28, 2011) instead of launch day (June 29, 2011). I read about this possiblity on one of the outfitter pages (PRO). I thought this could give us an earlier launch if we didn't have to wait on the ranger for the "chat". Well. After a lot of discussion, some weird racial slurs against Mormons, and 20-odd posts later, I got an answer from one of the River Permit rangers. No, the NPS won't do this unless the ranger has a medical emergency on launch day. Huh? That didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. What sort of medical emergency could the ranger anticipate on a Tuesday to not give us the talk on a Wednesday? Weird. No worries though; launch day is launch day, which means it's all good.

Mileage this week: All full trip participants will need to meet in Flagstaff, AZ on June 27, 2011. The following day, we'll take a 3 to 4 hour shuttle to Lee's Ferry, the put in for the Colorado River. Each week in this blog, I'm going to break down the mileage of the trip starting from the top of the river. This week is Lee's Ferry to Mile 3.  

Lee's Ferry is considered to be mile 0 for Grand Canyon river trips, but is actually located 15 miles below Glen Canyon Dam. Boats are unloaded and rigged (this takes 3 to 4 hours), then floated down to the launch beach just downstream. After dinner at one of the nearby lodges, the boatmen will spend the night on the boats and the rest of the trip will camp at the river runners campground close by. The next day, after the River Orientation talk by the NPS, we will launch. There are no significant rapids in the first three miles but we will go through the Paria Riffle at mile 0.3 (riffle is a western river term for small waves). Double click on the map for a larger version.

GC History: John Doyle Lee (right), a Mormon, moved to the confluence of the Colorado and Paria Rivers in 1871 and established Lee's Ferry. He and his family built the ranch houses and planted the orchard (now owned by the NPS) downstream of the boatmen's ramp. The ranch was originally called "Lonely Dell" by Emma, Lee's 17th wife. John Lee was executed by firing squad in 1877 for participation in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In the massacre, 54 white men and 300 Indian allies attacked a Missouri-Arkansas wagon train, killing all 120 adults and older children. Lee was the only one of the 54 men ever brought to trial. Emma continued the ferry business after her husband's death.  Across from the put-in is Lee's Backbone, a giant slanted rock leading down to the river. If you cross the river, there are wagon wheel ruts dug into the rock from the 19th century wagon trains. Lee's Ferry was an important Colorado River crossing from the 1890's to 1928, when the Navajo Bridge was constructed just downstream.

Equipment check: Check out the equipment list on the page link to the upper right. As I mentioned last week, REI has a really good deal on dry bags, REI dry bag link. You will need a large dry bag and it helps if it has backpack straps. I can rent on for you from the outfitter, but it's almost as expensive as just buying one.

Next deadline: $100 deposit per person due on  May 1, 2010. Also tell me if you are doing a full or half trip, and if half, which half, Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch, or Phantom Ranch to Diamond Creek.

Any feedback? Anything you'd like covered? Any questions? Sock it to me.