Higher River Levels Next Summer?

Check out the NY Times article that came out yesterday. This could mean they will release more water from Glen Canyon Dam to feed Lake Mead. That would mean higher water levels for us while we are on the river.



LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, Nev. — A once-unthinkable day is looming on the Colorado River.
Jim Wilson/The New York Times

September 28, 2010 - For the first time, federal estimates issued in August indicate that Lake Mead, the heart of the lower Colorado basin’s water system — irrigating lettuce, onions and wheat in reclaimed corners of the Sonoran Desert, and lawns and golf courses from Las Vegas to Los Angeles — could drop below a crucial demarcation line of 1,075 feet.

If it does, that will set in motion a temporary distribution plan approved in 2007 by the seven states with claims to the river and by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, and water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada would be reduced.

This could mean more dry lawns, shorter showers and fallow fields in those states, although conservation efforts might help them adjust to the cutbacks. California, which has first call on the Colorado River flows in the lower basin, would not be affected.

But the operating plan also lays out a proposal to prevent Lake Mead from dropping below the trigger point. It allows water managers to send 40 percent more water than usual downstream to Lake Mead from Lake Powell in Utah, the river’s other big reservoir, which now contains about 50 percent more water than Lake Mead.

In that case, the shortage declaration would be avoided and Lake Mead’s levels restored to 1,100 feet or so.

Lake Powell, fed by rain and snowmelt that create the Colorado and tributaries, has risen more than 60 feet from a 2004 low because the upper basin states, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah, do not use their full allocations. The upper basin provides a minimum annual flow of 8.23 million acre feet to Arizona, Nevada and California. (An acre-foot of water is generally considered the amount two families of four use annually.)

In its August report the Bureau of Reclamation said the extra replenishment from Lake Powell was the likeliest outcome. Nonetheless, said Terry Fulp, the bureau’s deputy regional director for the Lower Colorado Region, it is the first time ever that the bureau has judged a critical shortage to be remotely possible in the near future.

“We’re approaching the magical line that would trigger shortage,” Mr. Fulp said. “We have the lowest 11-year average in the 100-year-plus recorded history of flows on the basin.”

The reservoir is now less than 15 inches above the all-time low of 1,083.2 feet set in 1956.

But back then, while the demand from California farmland was similar, if not greater, the population was far smaller. Perhaps 9.5 million people in the three states in the lower Colorado River basin depended on the supply in the late 1950s; today more than 28 million people do.

The impact of the declining water level is visible in the alkaline bathtub rings on the reservoir’s walls and the warning lights for mariners high on its rocky outcroppings. National Park Service employees have repeatedly moved marinas, chasing the receding waterline.

Adding to water managers’ unease, scientists predict that prolonged droughts will be more frequent in decades to come as the Southwest’s climate warms. As Lake Mead’s level drops, Hoover Dam’s capacity to generate electricity, which, like the Colorado River water, is sent around the Southwest, diminishes with it. If Lake Mead levels fall to 1,050 feet, it may be impossible to use the dam’s turbines, and the flow of electricity could cease.

The fretting that dominates today’s discussions about the river contrasts with the old-style optimism about the Colorado’s plenitude that has usually prevailed since Hoover Dam — then called Boulder Dam — was completed 75 years ago, impounding the water from Lake Mead.

The worries have provoked action: cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas have undertaken extensive conservation programs. Between 2000 and 2009, Phoenix’s average per-capita daily household use has dropped almost 20 percent; Las Vegas’s has dropped 21.3 percent.

Nonetheless, “if the river flow continues downward and we can’t build back up supply, Las Vegas is in big trouble,” Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said in an interview.

While Las Vegas is one of the Colorado River’s smaller clients — it consumes 2 percent of the river’s allocated deliveries— the city relies on Lake Mead for 90 percent of its water supply. From 2002 to 2009, the metropolitan area’s population mushroomed by nearly 40 percent, to 1.9 million from 1.37 million.

In response to the population boom and the drought, which began in 1999, the authority began an aggressive effort to encourage water conservation in 2002.

Now it is expanding its options: it is tunneling under the bottom of Lake Mead to install a third intake valve that could continue operating until lake levels dropped below 1,000 feet.

278 Days to Go - Hance



Hance Rapid


TL Report: All quiet here.

Mileage This Week: River Mile 77-79. Ok, here comes the whitewater! At River Mile 77 we enter the Upper Granite Gorge which contains the most extensive exposures of gniess and schist rock. We will be in this gorge for the next 47 miles. What does this mean to us? Well, these metamorphic rocks are harder than the sourounding rock and more resistant to erosion. Being slower to erode, they form steep, narrow inner gorges which means the rapids are now steeper, more difficult (and more fun!) than we've seen yet. So, at River Mile 77.2 we will run Hance Rapid (named after John Hance, see History below). We will be scouting this rapid. Depending on water level, it is usually considered to be the most technically difficult rapid on the river.  "Technically difficult" doesn't necessarily mean it's the most dangerous, it just means theres a lot of obstacles to avoid in the rapid.  Therefore, we scout.


Scouting Hance


As I mentioned, water level plays a big part in how diffucult Hance is. Low water (around 8,000cfs) is more difficult than higher water (10,000-14,000?), but at any level, Hance is a challenge!



Running the holes in Hance



Paddle Raft in Hance. The guide sounds a little bit panicked!



On River Right at river mile 77.9, we'll pass John Hance's asbestos mine.  Due to the obvious health hazard, this site is closed to visitation.



Downstream from Red Canyon and Hance Rapids, on the north side of the Colorado River, is the Hance asbestos mine.

 



John Hance with Darby, 1884



GC History: John Hance (1839-1919)

Known as the canyon's "most talented prevaricator," the miner, pioneer, trail builder, hotielier, postmaster and mendicant John "Cap" Hance is a beloved figure in GC lore. He arrived in GC about 1883, and became it's first white resident. He also built the first tourist accommodation in 1885 at the South Rim and worked an asbestos mine near the river. Some say he came to the canyon to escape a less than savory past. He was from originally from Tennessee and fought with the Confederacy until captured, whereupon he switched allegiance and fought for the Union! Regardless of what brought him to GC, his love affair with the region lasted throughout his life. Buckey O'Neill once said, "God made the Canyon, John Hance the trails, without the other, neither would be complete." Another early visitor said, "To see the canyon only and not to see Captain John Hance, is to miss half the show". 

After giving up asbestos mining due to the high price of transportation out of the canyon, Hance was one of the first to realize there was a profit to be made in tourism. Hance advertised his services as a guide, and a few dozen visitors a year paid $20 each for a bumpy two day stage journey from Flagstaff, and another dollar for food and lodging at Hance's tent camp. A guest from San Fran wrote in his visitor' book: "Our pleasures here have been enhanced by chivalrous, daring, entertaining, and ever obliging Captian Hance." Another noted, "Splendid guide, in spite of his economy of the truth."

Hance Homestead and Hotel, circa 1900

Hance's stories have became so much a fixture of the GC experience that the Fred Harvey company gave him room and board at the Bright Angel Lodge in exchange for telling his whoopers to tourists. Some 100 of Hance's tall tales have been recorded in interviews with those who remember him. Many involved Darby, his faithful mule. In one tale, Darby attemped to leap across the canyon with a band of desperados in hot pursuit. Halfway across, Hance realized she wasn't going to make it. When astonished tourists begged to know what happened next, it was Hance's cue to say, "Why, we turned around and jumped back, of course."

In one of his most famous confabulations, Hance told visitors how he strapped on showshoes to cross the canyon when it filled up with fog. Unfortunately, when the fog lifted, he found himself stranded on the top of Zoroaster Temple, spending three days without food or water, until the fog was thick enough to cross again!

When Hance's health declined, Harvey employees kept him at the canyon as long as possible, then moved him to Flagstaff. The hotel staff kept him comfortable until his death in 1919. Hance's body was returned to his beloved canyon, where he is buried in the Grand Canyon pioneer cemetery.

Equipment/Camp/Info Check:  Ok, the water is getting bigger, so if you get tossed from the raft, how do you swim in whitewater?

Point feet downstream

Some of the GC tribe are familiar with river trips, but there's about 1/2 of you who don't have whitewater experience. That being the case, it doesn't hurt to go over some basics.   If you come out of the raft, the best thing to do is get back in fast. If you are next to the raft, grab it. All the boats will have more than two people in them, so you should have a friend to pull you in. (Another reason to be sure there are good group dynamics and make nice!!). If you find yourself too far from the raft (or if you are between a rock and a raft) you'll need to assume the safe swimming position. My kids kayak instuctors would always say, "Nose and Toes!" which is fairly accurate. Float on your back, with your feet up. You can use your feet to push off rocks and the lifejacket protects your back. At the bottom of the rapid, turn over and AGGRESSIVELY SWIM TO EITHER SHORE OR THE RAFT. The water is cold, and hypothermia is a concern, so be proactive and get yourself out of any unsafe conditions. This isn't Disney, you really need to help yourself and not depend on anyone else. I'll be around as a safety kayak, but it's a big river, and I can't be with everyone, so while I'm happy to swoop in and save you from time to time, you can't count on it. If you have any questions about gnarly swims in multiple rapids in GC, just contact my canyon buddy and your fellow tribemate, Elaine. She has alot more experience with this than me and after a few beers, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it. :-)

Next Deadline: Next Deadline: Final trip balance is due January 15th. If your trip status changes at anytime (ie, need to do a half instead of a whole trip), please let me know as soon as possible so we can fill your ½ space. This will lower your cost.

130 degrees in the sun

Just read a great August 2010 trip report here. Click on the "Wanna go on the Grand..." link at the top of the page. Here's the pix of the thermometers at Phantom first in the shade, then in the sun. Yozza.

 

285 Days to go - Nevills & Upper Rattlesnake Camp




View from The Tabernacle



What the GC forums are chatting about: There's been a lot of stories about people heading to pee in the river late at night and subsequently falling, tripping, or dropping off a ledge into the river. There's usually either a lack of headlamp or a wee bit of alcohol involved or sometimes both. Conventional wisdom is to have a pee bucket/jar near your real estate so you can pee without triping over rocks, scorpions, sleeping tribemates, etc.  Falling into a 40-plus degree river in the middle of the night is not only stupid, it's stupidly dangerous. People have drowned this way.

Remember you can only pee in the river or in a container that's dumped into the river. There's no exceptions, so prepare ahead! You don't pee in the Groover (what's the Groover? See this post) and you can't pee in, around or out of camp. This is the desert and urine doesn't get washed away with rain.

Modesty is thrown by the wayside on a river trip! People are quite modest on day one, searching for a rock or boat to stand behind but after a day or two, well, you just look the other way. Hey, no big deal.  

It's an honor system to obey the rules, and I promise you they are there for a reason, so lets be sure to be good stewards of the Canyon!!

Here's a really great trip report (and a fun read) of this guy on the right who fell into the river one night after imbibing.




Hiking up to The Tabernacle from Upper Rattlesnake Camp.







Approaching Nevills Rapid



Mileage This Week: River mile 74-76. After we  finish our Cardenas hike and pass Unkar Delta, (boycotting the-death-by-dehydration march), we will arrive at our fifth camp, Upper Ratttlesnake, at River Mile 74.5. This is a nice, medium sized camp with a side canyon coming in. This camp is supposed to have shade at 4pm in July which is why we are camping here. There is a neat hike (if the weather is not crazy hot) to a butte just west of the camp called The Tabernacle (see photo above). I couldn't find anything on why this camp is named Upper Rattlesnake nor any pictures of it. (Sorry, I really looked, too).







 



Google Earth image of Nevills Rapid



After we break camp the next morning we have a BIG day of whitewater. We'll start off the day with Nevills Rapid at River Mle 75.8. This is a class 6 (out of 10) 16ft drop that requires us to manuver around several pour-overs. We probably won't scout this rapid as it is "read-and-run". However, if anyone is uncomfortable we can certainly stop and take a look. Check out the Google Earth image of Nevills Rapid to the left. The water is running from the top right of the picture to the bottom left. You can see the hydraulics (frothy white bits) throughout the rapid.

This will be a good warm up for everyone because as I mentioned, we have a big day in front of us. Besides Nevills, we will run Hance (class 8), Sockdolager (class 7) , Grapevine (class 7) and a host of smaller stuff before making camp again. More on these rapids in upcoming posts.  



 GC History: Nevills Rapid was named after Norman D. Nevills (April 9, 1908 - September 19, 1949) who was a pioneer of commercial river-running on the  Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Nevills met and married Doris Drown (wow, unfortunate name for a river runner's wife) in July, 1933. For their honeymoon, they floated the San Juan in a boat that he had built from his mother's horse trough.





Nevills' chance for fame came in 1938, when he had the opportunity to escort Dr. Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, two botanists from the University of Michigan who wished to catalog the flora of the Grand Canyon, these were the first women to run the Colorado.



Always the gregarious adventurer, Norman obtained his pilot's license in 1944 and purchased a Piper Cub in late 1946. He delved into flying and quickly amassed hundreds of hours' flight time and intended to launch an aviation business. Norman and Doris were tragically killed on September 19, 1949 when the plane's engine cut out on take-off in Mexican Hat, Utah.

Wildlife Check: As long as we are talking about Upper Rattlesnake camp, lets check out the Grand Canyon Rattle Snake (Crotalus viridis abyssus).

This is a medium to large (16" to 54") rattlesnake with dark blotches on a variety of base colors ranging from reddish, pink, yellow/green, light tan, to gray. The blotches usually become bands near the tail. It is only found in northwestern and north-central Arizona. It is primarily diurnal (daytime active) but can be out and about around the clock when conditions are favorable. It feeds on squirrels, mice, lizards, and birds and is not aggressive. They usually flee if given the opportunity. Here's our lesson of the day: don't pick up any snakes. Any at all.    At anytime.    Don't do it.    Really.





Next Deadline: Next Deadline: Final trip balance is due January 15th. If your trip status changes at anytime (ie, need to do a half instead of a whole trip), please let me know as soon as possible so we can fill your ½ space. This will lower your cost.

"So this is the River”

“THE River," corrected the Rat.

"And you really live by the river? What a jolly life!"

"By it and with it and on it and in it," said the Rat. "It's brother and sister to me, and aunts, and company, and food and drink, and (naturally) washing. It's my world, and I don't want any other. What it hasn't got is not worth having, and what it doesn't know is not worth knowing. Lord! The times we've had together..."

                     - From the Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahme

The Colorado River through GC voted best whitewater rafting trip in US

Just saw this website had rated the top ten whitewater rafting trips in the US. I think this is more outfitter driven than anything else but it's nice to see our trip at number 1. I do think the Chattooga was robbed at just 8!

1. Rafting the Colorado River. In the grandest canyon of the Colorado, experience the excitement, serenity, joy and enchanting beauty of the river as it transforms this divine chasm and those who venture down it. Raft 279 miles in 18 days. The Grand Canyon is ever-changing, with massive walls that step back to expose eons of natural history, at one place dark and narrow, and at another lush with waterfalls thundering hundreds of feet in luminous free fall.
2. Oregon - the Rogue
3. Idaho - The Middle Fork of the Salmon
4. West Virginia - The Gauley and the New
5. Washington -  the Skykomish
6. Montana's  the Middle Fork of the Flathead
7. Idaho - the Salmon
8. Rafting on the Chattooga River - GA, SC, NC Boarders
The Chattooga begins at the Whitesides Mountain in North Carolina and flows in a southwesterly direction to form the border between South Carolina and Georgia. One of the wildest and most beautiful whitewater rivers in the America, the Chattooga was the first river in the Southeast to be designated "Wild & Scenic" by Congress and was used as a location for the movie Deliverance.
9. Alaska -Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers
10. Durango Colorado - The River of Lost Souls

292 Days to Go - Unkar Delta

Unkar Rapid, Class 6 (out of 10) dropping 25 ft

TL Report: Ooops, sorry guys I gave you the wrong date for the final trip balance. I said last week that it was January 1st, but it is really January 15th. Sorry for any confusion! and Whew! I did fine on my first Patho exam, so I have a moment to catch up the blog.

Furnace Flats

Mileage This Week: River Mile 71-73. As we leave Marble Canyon, we'll enter into Grand Canyon, and the very first thing you realize is wow, it's now seriously HOT. Grand Canyon is much wider than the narrow walls of Marble. This first section is appropriately named Furnace Flats (left). This is an active archaeological dig so there is no visitation on river right from river mile 71.5 to 72.

Cardenas ruins overlooking Unkar Delta

Just across the river from the start of Furnace Flats is Cardenas Camp. We will probably be doing a side hike here up to an overlook of the Unkar Delta which we will pass further downriver at river mile 73. There are some intact ruins at the top of the overlook. The structure (right) was discovered by the Stanton Expedition in 1890 and they think it might have been a watchtower. It stands 6 ft tall and has rectangular slots at the top for shooting arrows.

Unkar Delta from the North

Once we arrive at the Cardenas ruins we can see the Unkar Delta. This is an expansive archaeological site with many building foundations and pottery shards. It was extensively inhabited between 850AD to 1350AD. While we are allowed - and even encouraged - to stop here and check out the site, it is phenomenally HOT. I am not inclined to spend any time here due to the lack on shade. If it's overcast, and the tribe is up for it, we can reconsider a visit. 

Just before passing Unkar Delta we will run Unkar Rapid (see photo at very top) Here's a video of a paddle raft running Unkar.  Hey, this brings up a point, is anyone interested in taking along a paddle raft?

GC History: Cardenas Camp is named for Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, who was the first non Indian to see the GC in 1540. Here's what George Simmons in Canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers has to say,

"In August 1540, Pedro de Tovar returned from an expedition to what are now called the Hopi Pueblos and reported that the Indians had told him of a great river to the west. The Spaniards sent Cardenas to investigate, and in Sept, they reached the Grand Canyon at this vicinity Three days were spent in trying to reach the bottom of the canyon, and the three men who attempted it only reached one third of the way down. The Indian guide knew the way, but did not inform the explorers."

Equipment/Info/Camp Check: If you are interested in a book on the Unkar Delta and the Pueblean Indians who occupied it for over 500 years, check the book on the left out at Amazon.



Next Deadline: Final trip balance is due January 15th. If your trip status changes at anytime (ie, need to do a half instead of a whole trip), please let me know as soon as possible so we can fill your ½ space. This will lower your cost.

299 Days to Go - Hopi Salt Mine & Carbon Creek

Sacred Hopi Salt mine

TL Report: Hey, heads up, our Sept 1st deposit was due this past Weds! Thanks to everyone who sent me your money. Please contact me if you haven't sent me the dinero.

The final trip balance is due Jan 15, 2011.

 Please put this on your calendars.

Hopi Salt seaping from Tapeats Sandstone

Mileage This post: River mile 63-70. Leaving the Little Colorado River confluence means we are exiting Marble Canyon and entering Grand Canyon. This also means it's gonna get HOT. The walls of Marble Canyon are much steeper than Grand Canyon (= more shade) and we will feel the difference. On the other hand, now we will get to see the truly grand vistas of Grand Canyon in all its spectacular glory. So, after we've had a blast playing in the Little Colorado River (LCR), we will start downstream and on river left we will pass the Hopi Salt mine from river mile 63.5 to 65. This is actual table salt that seeps from the Tapeats sandstone near the mouth of the LCR. For hundreds and hundreds of years, the Hopi Indians traveled into the Canyon to connect this precious substance. As this is a sacred site to the Hopi and other Native Americans, these mines are closed to visitation.

"View" from the Desert View Watchtower above

At river rile 64, we can look up to the South Rim and see the Desert View Watchtower which is visible looking straight down river. The structure was designed by Mary Colter (who designed many of the GC lodges including Phantom Ranch), and was completed in 1932.

At river mile 65 we'll pass Carbon Creek Camp and Canyon. This is a lovely side hike with a waterfall that we may stop at. At river mile 66, we'll run class 4 Lava Canyon Rapid (not to be confused with Lava Falls later in the trip!) and at river mile 69 we'll run class 4 Tanner Rapid (see below). This is a wide, long, moderately mild rapid dropping over 20 feet.

Tanner Rapid

I found this quote about Tanner Camp in someone's GC journal:

Down at last by the Tanner Rapids, where the canyon is relatively wide, we found several pleasant sandy beaches to sport ourselves in. At first we didn't sport much, being too bushed to concern ourselves with much more than filtering water for dinner. But fifteen minutes later we had the caloric power of olive oil, olives, and anchovies -- along with a bottle of red -- rushing into our bloodstreams. Gradually, as the daylight waned, our energies waxed anew. We explored the area by moonlight for hours, exploiting our good fortune at finding ourselves in Eden. We slept that night outside the tent, on the sand, under the stars.

GC History: According to legend, in the depths of the LCR abide the spirits of the Hopi. In the dim past, these legends tell, the spirits emerged from the Canyon, and the dead returned to reside in hadean gloom. This exit from the world beneath is known to the Hopi as the Sipapu. Other legends tell of ghostly inhabitants who, arising from the abyss with glowing eyes and monstrous forms, traveled out across the Painted Desert to revisit their earthly homes on the Hopi mesas, where they now maintain a lively and beneficent interest in human affairs. It is natural, therefore that these great canyons, the abode of the dead, should be regarded with wonder and reverence, and that the things found in the canyons are possessed with great mystical powers.

Salt near the river

Hopi Clan Petroglyths

Near the confluence of the LCR in the Tapeats Sandstone, salt leaches out of the rock as water percolates through the coarse grained sands and then evaporates. An ancient trail from the Hope mesas to the salt deposits travels westward across the Painted Desert to the LCR gorge, then plunges down to the river through what today is called the Salt Trail Canyon. Since prehistoric times, people have made this precarious journey, close to the mystical underworld, returning with their heavy burdens. Hopi continue to use salt in ceremonies. Today, the NPS prohibits visitation to the salt mines and only sanctioned visits by the Hopi are allowed.

Info Check:  Here's a fun slideshow of a GC trip in 2007 in slideshow format if you guys have some extra free time. Click here.

Current and next Deadline: $500 per person was due September 1st.  Final trip balance due January 1, 2011. If your trip status changes at anytime (ie, need to do a half instead of a whole trip), please let me know as soon as possible so we can fill your ½ space. This will lower your cost.