40 Days To Go - Lava part 2

C1 enters the top of Lava

TL Report: I have to apologize, my shoulder was killing me last week and I was already late on the weekly blog, so I really copped out on the Lava entry. It's infamy demands a little more coverage, especially on it's history, so while not originally intended, it gets an additional blog post here. 

I made a mistake upping my workouts/paddling to get ready for this trip in combination with all the typing I did for school, and my right shoulder is now very unhappy. Ortho visit tomorrow and hopefully some cortisone will fix things up, atleast so I can paddle. Lesson learned.  Be careful not to overdo and stress out your body so you end up injured before the trip. Do not be like your trip leader. :-(

We are getting out the equipment lists this weekend and starting to see what last items we need to purchase for ourselves and the kids. Are you ready?

We will be heading out West on June 21st with stops at Canyon de Chelly and the North Rim before meeting up with the tribe in Flag on June 27th.



Above diagram from Colorado River Briefs for a trip through
the Grand Canyon by Dan Lindemann.  Note the left and right run.



Mileage This Week: River mile 179. There's a reason that big rapids on rivers tend to be named for Lava Falls (anyone run the infamous Lava South on the Bio Bio? Lava North on the Alsek?), this is the biggest, baddest rapid in North America and is considered to have the fastest navigable water in the Western Hemisphere. Some reports state the water is moving 90 to 100 miles per hour (but the NPS says it's more like 25 to 35 mph). Either way, this epic, intimidating rapid deserves all our respect.  

Running Lava

Here is a trip report of spending the night above Lava (like we will) then running it in the morning. Click this link then scroll down a bit for the text.

Yes, Lava Falls is one of the scariest ten seconds on the river, for kayakers, passengers and boatmen alike, but without it a river trip through the Grand Canyon would not be the same. It is the climax of an amazing trip that none of us will forget.



GC History: Here's some history on Lava and Prospect Canyon that I thought was interesting....

Aerial photographs of the debris fan at Lava Falls Rapid. A, (March 24, 1996) Lava Falls Rapid was constricted by a 1995 debris flow from Prospect Canyon. B , (April 9, 1996) Reworking during the rising limb of the 1996 controlled flood removed 5,900 m 3 of the edge of the fan, increasing the width of the rapid by an average of 5 m. (Courtesy of the USGS)

  

Powell's expedition

  Powell wrote:                                        

"Great quantities of lava are seen on either side (of the river); and then we come to an abrupt cataract. Just over the fall a cinder cone, or extinct volcano, stands on the very brink of the canyon. What a conflict of water and fire there must have been here! Just imagine a river of molten rock running down into a river of melted snow. What a seething and boiling of the waters; what clouds of steam rolled into the heavens! Thirty five miles today. Hurrah!"  
               
                         - Powell Report, August 25, 1869



John Hillers, a member of Major Powell’s
second Colorado River expedition,
captured this photo in 1872 from the foot of
Lava Falls along the right shore.

 

Historically Lava Falls has always been a big rapid, even Major John Wesley Powell and Robert Brewster Stanton refused to attempt it. They feared for their safety and lined and portaged around it. The first successful run of Lava came twenty-seven years after Powell skirted the rapid. George Flavell and Ramon Montez (spellings vary), started their expedition during late August of 1896 and ran all the rapids of the Grand Canyon except one, Soap Creek. Flavell published his journal of that trip, in which he said, “There is only one stone we must not hit, our Tomb Stone!” Sounds like sheer luck carried them through. Like most rapids in Grand Canyon, Lava Falls has changed a lot since the days of Flavell and Montez; unlike Flavell and Montez, not all river runners have fared so well.

When Major Powell viewed the rapid in 1896 it actually started 85 meters downstream from where it starts today.

Photo from the right shore at the head of Lava Falls rapid in 1894. Note the Black Rock jutting into the current for a comparison with the Hillers photograph above.

Prospect Canyon, who's debris litters Lava Falls comes in at river left. It was named for John conners and Franklin French, two prospectors from Holbrook, Arizona.  According to Tim Martin, in his book, Day Hikes from the River, the Prospect Canyon drainage covers an area of over 100 miles and the last mile of the wash drops over 3,000 feet. This combination equates to very unstable rock formations and is part of the reason Lava Falls has such a large amount of debris in it.  

Equipment/Camp/Info Check: The GoPro HD helmet camcorder. This is the camcorder that Bill is buying for the trip. Apparently he expects me to wear it on my helmet while I am kayaking (I'm thinking about it), he will also mount in on the oarrig behind him for footage. It comes with a waterproof case.

The video below is footage using the GoPro of some of the major rapids in GC. I especially like the waves at the end of Hermit, I actually felt a little motion sick watching it, the resolution was so good.

Whitewater Rafting the Grand Canyon, GoPro HD helmet cam from Earl Nicholson on Vimeo.