Regarded as one of the rarest birds in the world, the Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is the largest land bird in North America with a wingspan up to 9 1/2 feet and weighing up to 23 pounds. There is an active release program at the Grand Canyon, and I've been including condor info in the blog. If you've been following the Condors, here's the latest update:
Condors News
Marker Marshall, Grand Canyon NPS Naturalist Ranger
Arizona condor news, from Eddie Feltes of The Peregrine Fund
Sadly, 11-year-old breeding female 195 was found dead on September 18 next to highway 89A, north of Jacob Lake. She had several broken bones and had been seen feeding on road-killed carcasses in the past, so it is suspected that she was hit by a car. She and male 158 have had 4 failed nesting attempts over this past 4 years. To lose yet another breeding female is a great loss for the recovery program in Arizona. I count 14 females in the wild here aged 6 or more (that is, of potential breeding age), compared to 30 males. There are 11 males aged 8 to 11 who still have not mated (now competing with male 158), but there are no unpaired females above age 7. Condors typically take their first shot at breeding somewhere around age 6 to 8, so of course the good news is that the total number of wild birds of breeding age is rising year by year. In fact our oldest wild-raised bird, 350M/-0, is 6 years old and could breed in the next few years, although of course he faces a lot of competition for mates.
Also there are 4 birds—all captive-bred 3- and 4-year-olds—that have not been seen since spring or earlier. For now they're still counted among the 76 wild birds in Arizona/Utah, but they may eventually have to be presumed dead.
On a brighter note, 3 condors were released for the first time on September 25, and a fourth was re-released after having been in the wild for just a few days last spring. All are doing well. Two more birds may be released the first week of November, though it won't be a big public release like September 25. In other years the big public release was always in the spring, but high winds were often a problem, causing newly released youngsters to want to roost on the ground where they were vulnerable to coyote predation. Also, when they started branching out and taking longer flights from the release site they often ran into territorial breeding birds who drove them right back again. Fall releases bear some risk of the more far-ranging of the newly released birds finding carcasses with lead in them, but overall appears to be the better option.
Hunting seasons for deer and elk are in full swing, always a dangerous time for condors. Already this season, condors are known to have fed on carcasses or gut piles containing lead. The Peregrine Fund biologists will start trapping condors to test for lead poisoning once the birds start to show up back at the release site. But for now the condors that may have been exposed to lead are still finding lots of food up in Utah and on the North Kaibab, so it's a matter of waiting until snow covers those carcasses and drives the birds back to the Vermilion Cliffs.
Use of lead ammunition, instead of alternatives made of copper or other materials, is hazardous not only to California condors but also to other wildlife such as bald eagles, and to human health when we eat venison. In fact the health or natural resource departments of North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota have all come out with recommendations that pregnant women and children under age 6 should avoid eating wild game killed with lead ammunition. One of the best articles I've read on the subject is John Moir's "Condors in a Coal Mine," published in the September 2008 issue of the Smithsonian.
Although the majority of this population of condors are up in Utah and on the Kaibab Plateau dining on venison, others are gathering near the Bright Angel trail below Indian Garden. Xanterra lost a pack mule in that area this week; bad news for the mule but a good clean food source for California condors.
The Vermilion Cliffs chick has new status and a new name! It is no longer a chick but a fledgeling, having left its nest cave on October 20 for the first time. So far it's experimenting with short flights close to home, and of course is still depending entirely on its parents for food. It has been given studbook number 558. Since condor 158M is wearing tag 58 already, the youngster will eventually get tagged with something like K8 or K5. (Birds hatched in 2008 got tag numbers like H6. Birds hatched in 2009 got numbers like J6, the letter "I" having been skipped due to potential confusion with the number "1." So the "K" series is next, for birds hatched in 2010.)
Having made several backpacking trips into the Tapeats Creek region of Grand Canyon, biologists never did find a condor nest cave there. It is assumed that female 210 and male 122 failed in their nesting attempt this year, as did all but one of the six pairs that had active nests at one point this spring. Still, that's five pairs (minus female 195) who have had a little more experience for a new attempt at breeding in 2011.
What the Grand Canyon forums are chatting about this week: Several months ago I posted the criminal complaint against Morton "Doc" Thomas. Thomas was a trip leader for a Grand Canyon trip that was seriously (and now one might say criminally) mismanaged. On October 25th, Thomas pled guilty to 3 charges:
Operating a boat unsafely. This was due to leaving an inexperienced boatman behind unsupervised when Thomas decided to leave the trip. This charge was NOT for running rapids without scouting.
Operating a commercial trip without a permit. He did not share in the trip expenses and defrauded the trip of money, thus, this was not considered a non commercial trip, and
Falsifying the report he made to the National Park Service. Rangers tend to get upset when you lie to them.
He received 5 years supervised probation for each count, running concurrently. He was also banned from Grand Canyon National Park. Ouch.
Lateral Waves in Granite
Mileage This Week: River Mile 92-94. At River Mile 93.2 we will run Salt Creek, a straight shot, class 3 rapid. At River Mile 93.8, we will camp at Granite Camp, just above Granite Rapid. This beach is a very popular camp with hikers on the Monument Creek/Hermit Trail. As such, we may need to share this camp with hikers, and it's polite to offer food, drink and to pack out their trash so they don't have to carry it back up, up, up to the South Rim. In wilderness situations, everyone helps everyone else out. :-)
This camp is a particular favorite of mine, because I love the sound of the rapid roaring in the background at night. The very first thing we will do in the morning is get WET. Granite Rapid, class 8 (out of 10) is directly below camp. You can literally scout with breakfast/coffee in hand.
Granite Camp, you can just see the top of the rapid. Good Morning!
Granite, class 8 (out of 10) drops 17 feet. It's best known for the large lateral waves that come off the right hand side wall. There is also a very large hole bottom right that we will want to miss.
Granite video:
GC History: At Granite Rapid, Powell wrote:
"It is especially cold in the rain tonight. The little canvas we have is rotten and useless; the rubber ponchos have all been lost; we have not a blanket apiece. So we build a fire; but the rain, coming down in torrents, extinguishes it, and we sit up all night on the rocks, shivering, and are more exhausted by the night's discomfort than by the day's toil." - Powell Report, August 17, 1869
Equipment/Camp/Info Check: A good addition on your Canyon Library: Hell or High Water: James White's Disputed Passage through Grand Canyon
Besides being my brother, and one of our boatmen, James White is a controversial historical figure in GC history. Although John Wesley Powell (1869) and party are usually given credit for the first river descent through the Grand Canyon, the ghost of James White has haunted those claims. White was a Colorado prospector, who, almost two years before Powell's journey, washed up on a makeshift raft at Callville, Nevada. His claim to have entered the Colorado above the San Juan River with another man (soon drowned) as they fled from Indians was widely disseminated and believed for a time, but Powell and his successors on the river publically discounted it. Colorado River runners and historians have since debated whether White's passage through Grand Canyon even could have happened. Hell or High Water is the first full account of White's story and how it became distorted and he disparaged over time. It is also a fascinating detective story, recounting how White's granddaughter, Eilean Adams, over decades and with the assistance of a couple of notable Colorado River historians who believed he could have done what he claimed, gradually uncovered the record of James White's adventure and put together a plausible narrative of how and why he ended up floating helplessly down a turbulent river, entrenched in massive cliffs, with nothing but a driftwood raft to carry him through.Here's the link for 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.
TL Report: Part two for our exchange hikers: Bright Angel Trail is well traveled and is in good condition. Plan 7-8 hours to hike in or out. The total distance is 9.3 miles. Indian Gardens can be reached in 3-4 hrs from the river. At Indian Gardens you will find water, resthouses, tables and the ranger station.
Bright Angel Trail Map. The South Rim trailhead starts bottom left.
Here are some more tips for safe hiking from Phantom to the South Rim or visa versa:
Water: Carry AT LEAST two/three liters of water per person. More if possible. There will be potable water along Bright Angel Trail (at the One-and-a-Half-Mile and Three-Mile Resthouses and again at Indian Garden (4.6 miles from the rim). Water is NOT available at the River Resthouse. Bring water purification tablets in case potable water is not available and you have to purify water from Garden Creek. Bring drink mixes to mix with water to avoid water intoxication (electrolyte depletion).
Bright Angel Trail
Travel Light: The heaviest item in your pack should be water. Emergency phones are available at all resthouses. You will not need to carry any river or camping equipment.
Beat the Heat: Hike after the sun goes down. In July the volcanic rock retains the sun's heat and hiking should wait until after midnight. Temps can reach over 100 degrees during the day.
Clothing: Wear loose clothing and a hat.
Don't hike alone: Travel with someone else and set a steady pace. DO NOT PUSH YOURSELF.
Food: Carry energy-producing snacks like candy bars, raisins, granola, gorp, etc. Try to eat food with salt to retain water. Remember depletion of salt in your blood and tissue can lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion and even heat stroke.
Shoes: Wear well-fitting, well-broken-in shoes. If you are hiking in, be sure your toes do not hit the front of your shoes when hiking downhill. Otherwise you won't have any toenails for the rest of the trip.
Elves Chasm Canyon
What the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assoc has been chatting about this week: Sadly, news came last night that a non commercial river trip participant died after falling while free climbing at Elves Chasm at River Mile 117. Here is the NPS press release. As I have mentioned in previous posts, our trip will ask everyone to observe basic safety rules, one of which is not to free climb higher than you are tall. I know it's tempting to climb all the beautiful metamorphic rock but please remember that there can be catastrophic results when risk-taking on wilderness trips. This is not a dangerous trip, but not observing safety rules can make it so. Each of our trip experiences will impact every other tribe member, so, take one for the team and follow the safety guidelines!
Mileage This Week: River Mile 88-91. After leaving Phantom Ranch, we will continue down Adrenaline Alley (the 40-mile stretch from Sockdologar to Blacktail Canyon). Just past the Phantom Boat Beach we will pass under the Silver Bridge, which is the pedestrian bridge for Bright Angel Trail (no mules allowed on this one!)
At River Mile 89.5, We'll run Pipe Creek Rapid, class 3 (out of 10), a 7ft drop.
At River Mile 90.8, we'll scout Horn Rapid, class 8 (out of 10) an 8ft drop. Horn is considered to one of the most technically difficult rapids on the river, especially at lower water levels. We will definitely scout. The rapid is named from the spiraling water horns that form when water hits two rocks at high water.
Here are some videos of Horn. First, how we DON'T want to run the rapid, and second, how we do want to run it.
GC History: Pipe Creek got it's name in 1894 when Miles and Ralph Cameron were hiking with two other men along the Tonto Plateau between Granview and Bright Angel trails. Ralph was ahead of the others when he found an old Meers Haum pipe that had washed downstream. He scratched a date on the pipe that was a hundred years earlier than the present date and left it where his companions would find it. After he let the others speculate, he finally confessed.
TransCanyon Water Pipeline
TransCanyon Water Pipeline
The Silver Bridge was built in the late 1960s connecting the Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch and the North Rim. Only hiker traffic may cross this suspension bridge but that’s not the only thing moving across the canyon here. The Silver Bridge also provides a support structure for one of the great engineering feats of the Grand Canyon and a vital support for tourism at this popular national park—the transcanyon water pipeline. Through an extensive system of pipelines and pump houses, 500,000 gallons of water a day are piped from Roaring Springs near the North Rim down Bright Angel Canyon through Phantom Ranch, across the Colorado River suspended from Silver Bridge and then pumped up to the South Rim tourist area. This journey down one side of the canyon and up the other provides almost all the water for the South Rim developed areas—where most of the lodging, restaurants, and visitor services are located. Without this pipeline, the Grand Canyon Village could not support the millions of tourists that flock to the South Rim each year.
Equipment/Camp/Info Check: Staying OFF the Cryptobiotic Crust.
Crypto means hidden, and biota means life. So Crypto "crust" is made of very small organisms that can't be seen by the naked eye. Each time your boot lands on a patch of crypto - crunch, crunch, crunch - you destroy it and thus jeopardize every living thing in the vicinity, all of which contribute to the beauty you came here to see.
"Stop! Don't take that step!"
Crust trampled to dust can take up to 250 years to fully regenerate. Meanwhile, water runoff increases by up to 50% (think flashflood), soil loss increases by up to 600% (think duststorm), and the windblown sand kills yet more crypto by burying it and preventing photosynthesis (think Boston Strangler).
Freeze! Step away from the crust!
Whenever you're not hiking on an established trail, be alert for crypto. Avoid it diligently. Go around. Rock hop. Opt for gravel or sand. Follow drainage paths (rivulets, washes) where crypto doesn't grow. If you must walk on crypto, imagine it's a grave. Get off asap. Minimize damage by letting companions to follow your precise steps, so your group doesn't rampage a broad swath. Remember, "Don't Bust the Crust!"
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.
The sign on the only cafe in town reads "No Fries 'Til Mail." Life in the community of Supai, Arizona, literally survives on its mail--in fact, inhabitants eat more "mail" than they read.
Arguably the most remote mail route in the country, the Supai route is the last mule train delivery in the United States. The route brings everything from food to furniture to the tiny Havasupai Indian Reservation, consisting of 525 tribal members who live deep below the south rim of the Grand Canyon. There is no grocery store in Supai. All food stuffs are brought in by mule.
The only way in and out of Supai is an eight-mile trail on foot, mule, or horseback. The first two miles of the trail consist of a dizzying series of switchbacks that careen along the red rock cliffs of the Grand Canyon's shale formation.
Helicopters and air drops are impractical here, so the mule mail train makes the three- to five-hour trip five days a week, even through wind and rain. During a typical week, more than a ton of mail is sent via the mules, with each mule mail animal carrying a cargo of 200 pounds.
Here's a great CBS story on the mule mail delivery, the only other place than Phantom that still receives it's mail by mule. Here's the link.
Looking upstream at the Bright Angel Bridge (also called the Black Bridge) from the Boat Beach, Phantom Ranch
TL Report: Welcome to our friends, Don Atten, Kathy Campbell and their 17yr-old son, Gus! These guys are joining us for the Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch section of the trip. Don's a painter, Kathy's a PA and they are all round great people. We're excited to have you along!
Phantom Ranch Ranger Station
Mileage This Week: River mile 85-88. We have finally reached Phantom Ranch (often just called Phantom), the only Ranger Station at the bottom of GC. This is an exchange point for some of the trip. Folks hiking out at this point (Don, Kathy and Gus) will get ready for the big hike up Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim and folks hiking in (Donna, Elaine and Meg) will be joining us for the rest of the trip. I want to remind all our hikers that you must educate and prepare yourself for this strenuous hike!!! I can't emphasize this enough. Everybody hiking in or out must do so after the sun has set, no exceptions. Hiking in GC in July can be dangerous if you don't do it correctly. I will be blogging more about this in the next few weeks but here is some NPS Hike-Smart information. Please be sure to check and recheck your lodging options if you are hiking in or out. Email me if you have any questions.
Ok, on to River Mileage this week.
Here is a video of Zoroaster Rapid, class 5 (out of 10) a 5' drop at river mile 85.3. Just big fun waves.
Lower Cremation Camp
We will run another small rapid at Eighty-five Mile Rapid (class 3) then arrive at our next camp, either Upper or Lower Cremation. This is a very popular camp since it is about 1/2 mile upstream of Phantom Ranch. We MUST camp here as it is the only camp before Phantom so we can meet up with our exchange folks. That being so, we may have to share this camp with another group.
Boat Beach Phantom Ranch
On July 5th we will leave Cremation and head to Phantom Ranch just downstream. The Phantom Boat Beach is just past the black bridge (see photo very top of blog entry) at river mile 88.1. This bridge is the mule/pedestrian bridge for the South Kiabab Trail and the Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim.
A water spigot is available for river runners to fill water jugs at the Boat Beach. There is also a river runners' bulletin board. The actual Phantom Ranch ranger station and canteen is about a 1/2 mile up Bright Angel Creek.
Mail may be sent to Phantom Ranch for river pick up at the canteen if mailed to:
c/o Phantom Ranch River Mail
PO Box 1266,
Grand Canyon, Arizona, 86023
You can also mail out post cards from Phantom with the stamp that every river runner loves to see "Mailed by Mule from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Phantom Ranch". We can also receive care packages (bribe someone to send you one if you must!!) which are very welcome after a week roughing it. Remember it will be HOT so chocolate and melty things aren't good choices, but extra chapstick, cookies and such, take on new meaning here! Phantom Ranch holds the distinction of being one of the only places left in America whose mail is still delivered by mule, the other being Supai, Arizona (see this blog entry).
Be sure not to forget addresses, money/debit card and phone numbers (there's also a pay phone, but no cell service). You may want to bring a prepaid phone card or you'll be calling collect. The Phantom canteen (see pix below) does accept debit cards for Tshirts, candy, etc.
We should be at Phantom for a couple of hours in the morning. We will refill water here, drink their famous lemonade and find out (or not) any news that has gone on while we've been blissfully out of touch for the last week. After we say goodbye to Don, Kathy and Gus and collect Donna, Elaine and Meg, we will be off for a couple of BIG days of whitewater, including Horn, Granite and Crystal.
Inside Phantom Canteen. Looks like Xmas time.
Phantom Canteen, note the "mailed by mule" logo on the right. Wow, look at the temps, weather forecast (snow) and the sunset time!! Our weather will be a little different!
What the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assoc has been chatting about this week: Money, honey. There has been a lot of talk about how trip expenses should be broken down, i.e. if you are bringing your own raft, or maybe a kitchen setup, should you pay as much as someone who didn't supply any equipment? There's a lot of opinion both ways; however, this is a moot point for our trip. Our costs are being split evenly between all the participants. As long as the trip tribe is full (and it is right now) expenses will be split 16 ways (there is a max of 16 people on each portion of the trip). For those of you doing a partial trip, one of those "1/16s" will be split by user days so the expenses are prorated for the length of your specific trip (6 days for Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch, 12 days from Phantom Ranch to Pearce Ferry). Remember we all will have to give Uncle Sam his pound of flesh and pay the NPS river fee of $100/pp regardless of how long you are on the river.
GC History: All about Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Creek
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People have been traveling to the Bright Angel Creek Delta since prehistoric times. The Hisatsinom (or ancestral Puebloans) built their homes next to the Colorado River and farmed in the flood plain of Bright Angel Creek.
Bright Angel Canyon with Phantom Ranch buildings
Ruins above Phantom
Boat Beach
John Wesley Powell described these ruins when he came through in August of 1869. Exhausted and almost out of food, Powell and his men spent a well-earned layover day at the foot of these ruins. They dried out their scanty and moldy food (subsequently dropping the baking soda in the River, so they were then reduced to unleavened bread) and carved a new oar from a handy Douglas Fir log which had washed downstream. The creek was bright and clear in the summer sun, sparkling with pieces of mica. Powell named it ...Silver Creek. It was not until later, when he was on speaking tours, that it occurred to him that since he had named a creek upstream the Dirty Devil, it would be a nice balance to have a Bright Angel somewhere along the way. He immediately changed the name to Bright Angel Creek.
David Rust developed the Old Bright Angel Trail in 1903, and operated a tent camp called Rust's Camp. Originally guests crossed from the South Rim, where they had arrived by train, in boats. In a few years, Rust had installed a cable car. When Theodore Roosevelt came through hunting lions in 1907, he thought the cable car was "bully good fun". The area became known as Roosevelt's Camp. In 1921, the cable was replaced with a swinging suspension bridge. It swung a little too freely, however, so in 1928, the Black Bridge was installed and this has served the traveler ever since.
By the 1920's, the Park Service had requested that the Fred Harvey Company build a tourist facility within the Canyon.They contracted their architect, Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter, to draw up the plans. She produced sketches for a series of cabins. They were pleased, and announced they would name it Roosevelt's Chalets. Upon which she snatched up her work and declared, "Not if you are going to use my drawings!". A consummate perfectionist, she had already chosen a name: Phantom Ranch.
Why Phantom? Phantom Ranch is named after nearby Phantom Creek, but no one can agree as to where the name originates. Some say when Matthes was mapping, he missed it on the way through, so it was hidden, like a Phantom. Some say the prospectors named it because it fills with mist on a cold morning. Perhaps because it can't be seen from the rim: it is hidden within the folds of Phantom Fault. Dr. Harvey Butchart, one of the grand old men of the Grand Canyon, believed it was so named for Phantom Rock. About two miles north of the Ranch along the North Kaibab Trail, one can see, very briefly, a projection upon the horizon that looks like a cloaked figure. This is Phantom Rock.
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.
The "Horizontal" waterfall at the end of the hike at Clear Creek
TL Report: Last Friday was an eventful day at the South Rim of the Canyon. One man fell 500ft to his death while jumping from one rock formation to another, and two women were struck by lightning! Both women were treated and released, but you can see that the canyon is NOT Disneyland! At river level we won't be as exposed as the rim but we must be aware of our surroundings and weather conditions at all times. The thing that amazed me the most with the man's death was his age: 42. This was older than most deaths of this type. You tend to see this more in the younger guys, 15-30 or so. You can read more about the incidents from the Park's news release.
What the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assoc has been chatting about this week: The new 2010 Arizona State quarter featuring the Nankoweap Graneries (see this post) in Marble Canyon (even if it says Grand Canyon). Beautiful!
Grapevine Rapid
Mileage This Week: River Mile 82-85: At River mile 82.1 we will run Grapevine Rapid, class 7 (out of 10) an 18 foot drop. This rapid is full of holes and we will have to be careful to either try and miss some or at least hit them straight on.
At river mile 84.1, we will run Eighty-three Mile Rapid (I know that seems funny, but the river mileage has been adjusted several times over the years). This is a class 4 rapid dropping 7 feet, right before a beautiful side canyon hike we will definitely make at Clear Creek.
Cooling off in Clear Creek
Approaching Clear Creek
Playing in Clear Creek waterfall
We'll need to be careful to find the pull in for this side canyon as it is easy to miss. This is a great hike in the heat of the summer as it is narrow and cool. Basically we will hike up and over the schist and upriver to the side canyon then traverse back into Clear Creek. Once in the drainage, we will find a permanent clear stream of cool water wth a path leading up the canyon. We will cross and recross the stream a number of times as we walk the 1/2 mile or so up through twisting narrows to a wonderful waterfall with a great side flowing jet of water.
GC History: Grapevine was named by Major Powell (first explorer of GC) since the abundance of rocks remined him of clusters of grapes on vines.
Equipment/Camp/Info Check: Just a beautiful picture of the Bright Angel Shale, one of the many rock formations we will see.
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.
TL Report: See previous post this week linking to a NY Times article on the drought in the Southwest and how it is affecting the water level on Lake Mead. Basically the article is doom and gloom if you are growing lettuce in the desert, but is good news for our trip. Lake Powell (at the top of the river) has 50% more water than Lake Mead (at the bottom of the river) and the folks who control the water (the villianous Bureau of Reclamation) are looking at releasing more water through Grand Canyon next summer. This may mean higher water levels for us!
What the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assoc has been chatting about this week: Sad news. GC NPS put out a press release of the death of a hiker from heat stroke this week. In hot weather, you must hike smart when in GC. Plenty of water, never alone, at night if you can, well traveled trails. Here's the link if you want to read the entire press release.
The infamous hole at the top of Sockdolager
Mileage This Week: River Mile 80-82: Just before river mile 80 we will run Sockdolager Rapid, class 7 (out of 10), a 19ft drop. Check out the video below. This rapid has a large hole and lateral wave at the top right. It can be avoided by starting left, then manuvering around several pour-overs and haystacks downstream. The best way to run this rapid is to hit everything straight!
Scouting Sockdolager
After Sockdolager, we may do a side hike at beautiful Vishnu Creek. Since we are now in the Inner Granite Gorge, and the rock is very hard, the side canyons are narrower.
Looking downstream from Vishnu Creek Camp
Vishnu Creek hike
GC History: What does Sockdolager mean? It's a "hard, finishing blow", as in boxing or an "outstanding thing".
Sockdolager is one of the first large rapids in the Granite Gorge. This rapid was named by the original Powell expedition in 1869 during their bold first descent of the Grand Canyon. Powell and his crew were novice boatmen in primitive wooden boats, and they suffered greatly portaging around rapids and had some epic carnage running others. When Powell and his crew arrived at Sockdolager, Powell wrote:
"The sound grows louder and louder as we run, and at last we find ourselves above a long, broken fall, with ledges and pinnacles of rock obstructing the river... and the rushing waters break into great waves on the rocks, and lash themselves into a mad, white foam.."
Powells crew was forced to run the rapid due to the narrow canyon walls, though they would have portaged if they could. One of his crew, a bold ex-soldier named Sumner, wrote later:
"We finally encountered a stretch that made my hair curl." Once below the rapid, Sumner, a veteran of the Civil War, described how it felt to run Sockdolager: "I have been in a calvary charge, charged the batteries, and stood by the guns to repel a charge, but never before did my sand run so low. In fact, it all ran out, but as I had to have some more grit, I borrowed it from the other boys.."
Another expedition member, Dellenbaugh, described it as,
"The narrow river dropped smoothly and suddenly away, and then beaten to foam, plunged and boomed for a thrid of a mile... The boats rolled and pitched like a ship in a tornado. As we flew along... I could look up under the canopies of foam pouring over gigantic black boulders, first on one side and then on the other... The boats leaping at times almost half their length out of the water to bury themselves quite as far on the next lunge."
"The gorge is black and narrow below, red and gray and flaring above, with crags and angular projections on the walls. Down in these grand gloomy depths we glide, every listening, ever watching."
- Powell Report, August 14, 1869
Oh, no! Rafts high and dry.
Equipment/Camp/Info Check: Tides. The water in the Colorado River in GC is released from Glen Canyon Dam. The Dam lets out more water in the day and less at night, making electricity to sell during the day when prices on the market are just a sliver higher than they are at night. Due to these water fluctuations, we will experience "tides" at camp. EVERYONE is responsible to be sure the oarrigs are floating at all times. It is not unusual to have to get up in the middle of the night to move the rafts. If you are up peeing, and notice the rafts beached, get up the boatmen (they will be on the oarrig sleeping) and some other folks to help push the rafts back in the water. These boats can be very heavy and there is nothing worse than having to derig a boat to get it into the river again.
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.
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.
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.
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.
