Trip Report: The Mother of All River Trips

3 Weeks in the Grand Canyon

By Stio

July 6^th, 2017

Words by Cade Palmer & Photography by Becca Bredehoft

When our friends Dave and Mariah told us they had scored a permit for a private river trip through the Grand Canyon and asked if we wanted to join, Becca and I both said yes immediately, without hesitation. I mean… why not? Becca had been down on a commercial trip before, but I was completely in the dark, blissfully unaware. I had only been on one overnight river trip before; a 25 mile, mostly flatwater, two-night trip on the South Fork of the Snake. The Colorado River runs 226 miles from Lees Ferry to our takeout at Diamond Creek and we planned to spend a full three weeks on the river navigating a good bit of notable whitewater along the way. Twenty one days almost entirely disconnected from the outside world was definitely appealing to us. It felt like a rare opportunity in the modern world, but planning for a trip this long is certainly more complicated than a weekend trip down the local river. I was about to be blown away.

the scoop

Where: The Grand Canyon

When: Three full weeks in May, 2017

The Crew:

Boat 1: Dave Thulin, Trip Leader and Mariah Underhill, Trip Organizer Extrodinaire
Boat 2: Christo Johnson, Kim Sennet, AJ frye, Camille Shanahan
Boat 3: Aaron Schreiber, Christine Schnier, Marco Zuniga
Boat 4: Kevin Thompson, Becca Bredehoft, Cade Palmer
Cataraft: Kevin “Kevlar” Banash, Chrissy Murrrah
Safety Kayaker: Patrick “Paco” Thornberry

The Gear:

Cade:

Becca:

Trip Report: The Mother of All River Trips

Starting out: week one

Even with the help of an outfitter, packing enough supplies for 15 people to survive for three weeks away from civilization is no easy task. And by ‘survive’ I mean ‘eat until your stomach hurts three times a day,' ‘dress up like a pirate, play games, and drink cold beer at camp,' and ‘mix fancy cocktails (with ice!) on day 20 in the desert.' Day one (rig day) at the Lees Ferry boat ramp was a serious game of tetris, but we managed to fit everything our group needed for the trip onto our four 18-foot rafts and one cataraft. Once everything was strapped down and packed away, we sat down with a local ranger for an hour-long briefing on the finer points of norovirus, helicopter evacuations and scorpion stings before we were finally ready to push off. This is an attempt to document the trip highlights and lay out the tips and tricks we learned along the way.

Tips for top notch camp life

Split up into teams and be responsible for a different chore each day. Rotate through roles and be sure to include a "day off" for each team along the way.
Plan at least three layover days into the trip, so you can stay a full day in the same camp exploring the area and kicking back.
Take awesome friends that are both well equipped and experienced in the nuances of life on the river. Our group was diverse and well-rounded, and although our levels of river experience spanned from the very beginner to expert, each person brought their own set of skills, life experience and unique personality to the table.
Don't forget to bring the following:

A shade structure that can stand up atop a raft to keep you dry and out of the sun
Musical instruments are ideal for nights camping on the riverbank
Bocce ball
Frisbee
Horseshoes
Maybe even a dartboard

5. Bring plenty of food and good cooks!

6. Costumes make any evening more fun.

Know your water

The Whitewater Rating System: The Grand Canyon uses its own whitewater rating scale using numbers 1-10. 1 being a riffle and 10 being roughly equivalent to the international scale's Class 5. From Lees Ferry to our takeout we would go through 42 rapids rated 5 or higher and two (Crystal and Lava) rated 10.

Drop and Pool: The Grand Canyon section of the Colorado River is a ‘drop and pool’ river, referring to the characteristic long stretches of flatwater interspersed with rapids created by debris from numerous side canyons.

Be Prepared to Flip Out: We had some experienced oarsmen on the trip and were lucky that none of our boats flipped or had any swimmers. However, some of the other trips around us weren’t so lucky. While scouting at Horn Creek Rapid, we watched an oarsman from another party cartwheel off his boat at the top of the rapid, leaving his passenger to fend for herself.

Bring Other Toys: In addition to our gear boats and two kayaks, we brought along a few more toys to use on the water. We had three paddleboards that we planned to use mostly on the flatwater and a few of the smaller wave trains.

The Minimax: AJ also brought along a little 10.5 foot Minimax raft that accommodates 5-6 paddlers. The Minimax turned out to be the ultimate Grand Canyon vessel. Some of the waves and holes in the bigger rapids feel enormous and dwarf even the big gear boats. The large rafts regularly flip if oarsmen don’t find the right line or square up to the big waves. From the outside perspective, the Minimax looked like a tiny toy boat bobbing down the river. For the paddlers it felt like we were sending it through the torrents on little more than an inner tube at times. It had clean runs through some of the biggest rapids on the river including Hermit, Crystal, and Lava.

Our favorite pit stops

Play Games: There is no better place to play yard games than the sandy floor of one of the biggest caverns in the world. We tossed the frisbee, played Bocce ball and watched the sunset behind the canyon walls.
Explore Nature: The views from the canyon never get old. Nature left to its own devices surely is a knockout. As we paddled we watched high flowing springs shoot horizontally from the middle of the high cliff faces and cascade down hanging gardens of emerald green vegetation.
Hike: There are endless nooks and crannies along the river to explore. We pulled off and got out of our boats most days to hike to overlooks or wade deep into slot canyons that often lead to backcountry grottos hidden in the cool shade away from the sweltering sun on the river.
Swim Through Waterfalls: Elves Chasm was a high of the trip and is certainly a recommended pit stop for future paddlers. We hiked up to the water and jumped in, swimming through the waterfall into a mossy cave on the other side. Once in the cave, we scrambled up the wet boulders climbing to a point mid way up the falls before jumping, joining the water in its free fall to the pool below.
Go Back In Time: Nankoweap Granaries is perched high above the river in a particularly spectacular section of canyon. A quick half mile hike got us up to these ancient ruins, "storage units" built by the Puebloan people nearly 1,000 years ago to keep their grains dry during floods. You can still see the handprints in the clay and imagine the people who inhabited this remote canyon paradise.

Week 2: In the Groove(r)

By the start of the second week on the river, camp life began to flow in a natural routine of daily movements. The packing and unpacking became subconscious actions. We knew our jobs well and where to find everything we needed for cooking and cleaning. Everyone fell into an easy rhythm of daily duties and the unhurried existence of life at the bottom of the canyon. About the time we dialed in on an easy routine, the whitewater really began to pick up.

Week 3: Winding down

At mile 180, Lava Falls acts as a symbolic turning point on the journey, being one of the longest, most challenging, and most notorious rapids on the canyon. As we entered our third week on the river, Christo (a Grand Canyon guide and the most experienced Colorado River boatman on the trip) had mentioned the “After Lava Blues.” We still had a full week on the river, but we all started feeling like the takeout was just around the corner. On day 20, our last full day of the trip, we had the longest stretch of river miles to cover and we encountered the worst up-canyon winds of the trip. It felt like the canyon was trying to pull us back in, telling us not to leave yet.

ode to places that make us feel small

Twenty one days gave us time to float deep into the cavern of the canyon, unplugging from wifi, cell service, and electronics. Throughout the journey, the rock changes dramatically in type and texture, color and feel. White turns to red and coral pink, turquoise green and purple streaks appear, and pancake layers of sandstone stack upon each other endlessly. By the time we reached the bottom of the inner gorge, we were looking at rocks that were nearly two billion years old: gleaming black Vishnu Schist with streaks of pink Zoroaster Granite.

Nowhere else on this planet have I felt so disconnected from the outside world and yet simultaneously so connected to the natural world around me. I felt the pace of my own life slowing down, our days starting gradually with the sunrise, flowing at the river’s meandering pace, and ending as the sun dipped below the canyon walls. Over the past ten years of exploring terrain from a paraglider, I have developed a fond appreciation for places that make me feel small. The bottom of the Grand Canyon is certainly one of those places. And while I felt small, I also felt a part of something very big. Three weeks of river time gave me the space to reflect and revel in the awe of the landscape, but also the time to help me find my sense of place in it all.