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| This was the cover photo of the 2010 Christmas card from Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association. This stunning photo of river mile 34 in Marble Canyon is from "The Grand, The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, A Photo Journey" by Steve Miller. www.newwaverafting.com/TheGrand |
TL Report: Merry Christmas! We hope everyone is having a safe and joyous holiday. It's hard to believe that our trip is only 6 months away. Time is flying....
Some housekeeping:
- If you are on our trip, it's your last opportunity to have input on the menu for the trip by taking the food survey (link is now working). Please do so now as we are working on the menu right now.
- Remember that the final balance due date was moved from Jan 15 to Feb 15. I am going to pay off the trip soon after. As I mentioned before, let's all make a promise to one another that money will be a boring subject without any drama involved (please).
- Is everyone getting into shape? If you ever had a reason to spend time in the gym, this is it! Start on your inclines and rowing machine now :-).
- Start thinking about acquiring the gear you are going to need. Don't put it off until right before the trip. Check out Sierra Trading Post for good deals.
- Have you made your airline/campground/non-trip lodging reservations?
- Exchange folks: Do you need to set up shuttle from Flag to the South Rim or visa versa? Arizonashuttles runs shuttles 3 x a day from Flag to the South Rim and from the South Rim to Flag. The cost is $24 each way with advanced reservations. Be sure to synch up your air travel with the shuttle before buying tickets.
- Exchange folks: Now is a good time to coordinate gear between the 1st half folks and the 2nd half folks. Things like chairs/paco pads/cots can be handed off from one person leaving the trip to the folks arriving. Email me for help with this.
- Do you have any questions or concerns? Email me or make a comment below.
What the Grand Canyon forums are chatting about this week: Water shortages in Lake Mead. Lake Mead is the reservoir at the bottom of GC. It is currently at 38% of capacity according to a recent article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. This may affect our trip as there may be a move to release more water from Lake Powell (at the top of GC) to help with water levels in Lake Mead, meaning more water on the river for our trip. Check out this link if you'd like to read the Review-Journal article.
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| Elves Chasm with Stephen's Aisle running laterally. |
Mileage this Week: River Mile 116-118. At River mile 117.2 we will hike up Royal Arch Canyon and check out the incomparable Elves Chasm (below).
A short hike brings us to one of the most superlative sights in Grand Canyon, Elves Chasm. This enchanting fern glen was named by John Wesley Powell on his first trip exploring the canyon. This charming grotto is filled with maidenhair ferns and clear falling water and seems like a lush, green oasis in the middle of the desert.
We will definitely be spending some time here, swimming in the pool and climbing through the cave at the back of the falls to jump off the first teir into the pool. Christopher Smith, my friend and a professional photographer, gave me a beautiful photo of Elves Chasm for my birthday after our 1994 trip. It hangs in my living room and is one of my favorite pictures :-).
We will definitely be spending some time here, swimming in the pool and climbing through the cave at the back of the falls to jump off the first teir into the pool. Christopher Smith, my friend and a professional photographer, gave me a beautiful photo of Elves Chasm for my birthday after our 1994 trip. It hangs in my living room and is one of my favorite pictures :-).
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| Stephen's Aisle |
After Elves Chasm, we will enter Stephen's Aisle at river mile 116.9. This straight 2-mile north-south section of river marks the end of the Upper Granite Gorge. Their are no rapids in this section, but the scenery is absolutely superb.
GC History: Stephen's Aisle is named for Estevan (c. 1500 – 1539) (also known as "Black Stephen", "Esteban the Moor",) who is considered to be the first black explorer of the American Southwest.
American Explorer: Esteban, an enslaved North African, made the first contact with the native peoples of what is now the American Southwest. Fraught with misunderstandings, that encounter led to Esteban’s untimely demise in 1539 and prefigured the violence that would characterize the Spanish conquest and subsequent colonization of the region.
Esteban’s experience as a survivor of the failed Pánfilo de Narváez expedition to Florida in 1528 made him a natural choice to lead an exploration into the fabled lands of the north. Fleeing from fierce attacks launched by the Apalachee, Esteban and his master, Captain Andrés de Dorantes, along with Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and thirteen others, sailed west through the Gulf of Mexico on quickly constructed barges. They landed on a sandbar off Galveston Island where Karankawa Indians enslaved the explorers, four of whom survived and managed to escape five years later, in 1534. In 1536, the survivors and their retinue of six hundred Indian escorts came across a Spanish slaving expedition, a chance meeting that ended their eight-year-long, 15,000-mile sojourn.
The seemingly miraculous return of the intrepid survivors turned the attention of Spanish colonizers in Mexico toward the mysterious north which had long been rumored to harbor a treasure to rival that of the Aztecs. When the three European survivors refused to lead an expedition to the north, Don Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, engaged the services of Esteban, purchasing him from Dorantes. Protocol demanded, however, that a slave could not lead an expedition. Hence, Mendoza persuaded a Franciscan friar, Marcos de Niza, to at least nominally head the venture.
The group set out in 1539. By prior agreement, Esteban traveled several days ahead of Fray Marcos, leaving behind him a trail of crosses of varying size, corresponding with his findings. Esteban returned to his previous roles as healer, interpreter, go-between, and “son of the Sun.” Convinced of Esteban’s healing powers, some 300 natives joined his retinue and provided him with numerous presents. All went well until he reached Hawikuh, a Zuni pueblo (in present-day New Mexico). He sent a message ahead, stating that “he was coming to establish peace and heal them.” Pueblo elders responded with a warning: he must not enter the village. Esteban ignored the warning and was killed by the Zuni. The tribe had regarded him with mistrust, partially because his medicine gourd was trimmed with feathers from an owl, a bird that symbolized death to the Zuni.
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| Stephen the Moor |
Esteban’s experience as a survivor of the failed Pánfilo de Narváez expedition to Florida in 1528 made him a natural choice to lead an exploration into the fabled lands of the north. Fleeing from fierce attacks launched by the Apalachee, Esteban and his master, Captain Andrés de Dorantes, along with Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and thirteen others, sailed west through the Gulf of Mexico on quickly constructed barges. They landed on a sandbar off Galveston Island where Karankawa Indians enslaved the explorers, four of whom survived and managed to escape five years later, in 1534. In 1536, the survivors and their retinue of six hundred Indian escorts came across a Spanish slaving expedition, a chance meeting that ended their eight-year-long, 15,000-mile sojourn.
The seemingly miraculous return of the intrepid survivors turned the attention of Spanish colonizers in Mexico toward the mysterious north which had long been rumored to harbor a treasure to rival that of the Aztecs. When the three European survivors refused to lead an expedition to the north, Don Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, engaged the services of Esteban, purchasing him from Dorantes. Protocol demanded, however, that a slave could not lead an expedition. Hence, Mendoza persuaded a Franciscan friar, Marcos de Niza, to at least nominally head the venture.
The group set out in 1539. By prior agreement, Esteban traveled several days ahead of Fray Marcos, leaving behind him a trail of crosses of varying size, corresponding with his findings. Esteban returned to his previous roles as healer, interpreter, go-between, and “son of the Sun.” Convinced of Esteban’s healing powers, some 300 natives joined his retinue and provided him with numerous presents. All went well until he reached Hawikuh, a Zuni pueblo (in present-day New Mexico). He sent a message ahead, stating that “he was coming to establish peace and heal them.” Pueblo elders responded with a warning: he must not enter the village. Esteban ignored the warning and was killed by the Zuni. The tribe had regarded him with mistrust, partially because his medicine gourd was trimmed with feathers from an owl, a bird that symbolized death to the Zuni.
Equipment/Camp/Info Check: Cots
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| Roll-A-Cot |
If you've ever been on a wilderness trip before, you know that within a few days everyone's sleep patterns change and when the sun goes down, most folks retire for the night (unless you are working on your 4 cases of beer like Elaine). Early mornings are the rule so we can get on the river before the heat, and subsequent wind, hits in the afternoon. It's going to be hot in July (perhaps I've mentioned this before?) and I've read trip reports mentioning how hot the sand is when you are trying to sleep. In fact, after we received our permit in March, Bill and I were down at the outfitters store at NOC and met a newer staff member, who in the same sentence as "Congrats on your permit" also threw in "I was in the canyon last July, you'll definitely need to get a cot." Never having camped with a cot in my life, I was doubtful - until I started reading blogs on summer trips. Conventional wisdom is the sand doesn't start cooling down until midnight (if at all). Needless to say, I bought a cot. They run the gambit from inexpensive ($30) to way expensive. After a little research, I decided to buy a decent one - a Camptime Roll-A-Cot from from Mountain Sports ($104 with free shipping).
If you are going to bring a cot please BE SURE it folds down like the one pictured. For safety reasons a humongous cot that can't be stowed under a raft hatch (I.E. folding lawn chair) may end up left behind at Lee's Ferry.
Next Deadline: Final trip balance is due February 15th.
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