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
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.
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