Day 11 on the river and a long one. For me (Maria Coryell-Martin) it was my first full day on the river and exciting as we covered 17 miles and bounced through 14 rapids. The day began at 91 Mile Camp and ended at Lower Bass Camp and I spent the day with Cece in the lovely wooden Flavell wooden boat. It was a wet ride and I was grateful to be wearing a drysuit! At one point, the Flavell was so swamped, that water was literally flowing out of the boat. It was a relief, I suppose, to learn that the boat was not likely to sink.

The three big rapids were Granite, Hermit and Crystal and through the roiling and boiling waters, the boats endured some collateral damage. On Granite, the Susie-R was guided left, but a little too left by Ian and we all heard a BAM! as the stern fitting collided with a rock. Fortunately, only the metal was bent and the boat was otherwise undamaged. Crystal rapid left two boats with battle scars- Hazel hit the rocks in the middle resulting in a large tear and Cece and I were hit by a wave head-on and the left oar torqued around and cracked the splash guard. In the Flavell, I was pumping water out after every rapid, but my work was easy compared to Hazel’s boat. Yoshie and young Natalie(9) were dumping buckets of water out of the raft with Hazel as they made slow, waterlogged progress down the river.

Lower Bass Camp was a relief for us all to reach! We had a quick dinner buycbdproducts made plans for today- Day 12- a day off! For many folks this meant laundry, showering, and some personal time. I took off on a hike to sketch, Hazel’s boat was successfully patched, and Yoshie and Natalie even did some fishing.

For me, it was great to have some stationary time for my art. Sketching while rafting is pushing my speed-sketching to new levels! It’s easiest on land, where at least the scenery stays put! I’m building my canyon “palette of place” and having a grand time. It’s great to share this river experience with such an enthusiastic team of folks.

With an early start from lower Creation Camp.  Hazel and Conan took two inflatables and ferried our four mid trippers to Pipe Springs Creek.  There Chris, Marion, Sabette, and Jason began their hike to the Rim on the bright Angel Trail.  The rest of our group stopped at the boat beach above Bright Angel to get water, make phone calls, charge some batteries and then went on to Phantom Ranch for a drink at the bar and to mail some letters. At eleven thirty the group left Bright Angel and headed down to Pipe Creek. All made the pull in except Dave who missed it. Like father like son rowing the Flavell.  Dave tried to land on river left and was unable so he crossed over and landed on the right shore at the bottom of Below Pipe Springs camp. Being solo in the Flavell he was able to tie the boat but had to sit on the stern and keep it from being smashed on the rocks with the swells. Several of the party checked on Dave and could see he was okay. Lunch was prepared and they waited for the new trip members. Brynn, Maria and Tom P. were followed by Q. About 2:15 everyone departed and joined up with Dave who was cold, wet and happy to see them. All ran down to Horn Creek to scout on the right. Everyone had successful runs. The replica boats especially all had great runs. We camped on river right at a small but nice camp. Special hello to my family and friends. I am greatly enjoying the trip with the great mix of people we have. The replica boats are fun to run. The GEM rides like a dory and the two Reilly boats are flying through the waves. Love you Pam and miss you, Dave.

Leaving Little Nankoweap Camp, the flotilla of boats meandered down the mighty Colorado River for nearly 16 miles today.  The canyon really opened up as we left the Marble Canyon, and we were able to catch a glimpse of the Desert View Watchtower as we entered the more open expanses.  Viewers at this watchtower would have wondered looking down upon the three historic vessels ply the river a mile beneath them, perhaps questioning whether they had been transformed back into the 1950s for just a moment in time.  Using Tom’s vast expertise and visual knowledge of the river, both he and Chris hiked high above the river to film the wooden boats as they drifted by.

While there was little in the way of whitewater excitement, we did manage to battle the elements later in the day.  Arriving at Tanner Wash, just above the roar of Tanner Rapid about a half an hour prior to sunset, all was calm.  Just after sunset, as the lengthy but delicious pizza dinner preparation was underway, a stout upriver wind picked up, moving sand, blowing the fire out, and sending Tim’s tent nearly into the river.  The headlamp search party saved the day, and no items appeared to have been lost.  Later in the evening, the rain began to pour…

So what is daily life like on a rafting trip? Kitchen crew starts at 7:00, coffee at 7:30, breakfast at 8:00, then cleaning up, breaking down of camp, dragging the rafts out into the river, loading tables, chairs, propane, stove, fire pit, food, water, wine and numerous bulky heavy personal bags onto the rafts. With everything securely attached, we shove off. Today we achieved this in record time and were off the beach slightly before 10:00! Two hours later, we arrived at our camp and reversed the whole process. We had an easy run today of about eight miles from Eminence to Nankoweap. Boats were freely swapped again today to give an opportunity for everyone to try out the replica boats. I was back at the helm of my 700 pound long haul trucker. This was our last day of Mauv Limestone for a while. This section of the river is quite calm. The shore has plenty of sand banks and vegetation (versus sheer cliff) providing habitat for ducks, woodpeckers, kinglets, sparrow and coyotes. We are camped on a large delta that has been previously inhabited over the years by numerous first nations. After lunch our tribe of sixteen split into several factions for photo ops, canyon hikes or runs or just hanging out at camp. I hiked up with three other tribe members to the Anasazi granary for a photo match. After dinner at 6:00, our evening ended with siting around the fire as the new moon and Jupiter come up over the rim and Tom reads us river journals from trips taken in the 1950’s.
With all my love – Cindy

We awoke on day 5 to a remarkably warm-feeling 37 degrees.  In retrospect that sounds quite chilly, but after three consecutive sub-freezing nights, it was quite a relief.

Our first stop was Vasey’s Paradise – a large spring that gushes out of the redwall hundreds of feet above the river – where we replenished our water jugs.

Then it was down to Redwall Cavern – a large cave in the redwall cliff at river level that has a large sandy floor and is large enough to hold several thousand people.

The rest of the day was spent rowing down a beautifully calm and magnificent stretch of river where enormous amphitheaters and giant caves in the redwall cliff towered hundreds of feet above us.  By now the Canyon was a couple of thousand feet deep and looking very impressive.

Up to now I had been rowing the “Piedra” – an 18 foot inflateable boat that had to weigh at least a ton when fully loaded.  While it coasted nicely over the rapids, it was very hard to control due to its size.  When I would strike the oars, nothing when happen.  It usually took several strokes to see any results.  But after lunch I had the opportunity to row the Susie R.  What a difference!  This boat actually turns when you want it to!  And when you row forward, it MOVES forward!  What a concept.  I rowed over two small rapids and several riffles, and it handled like a dream!

After 10 enjoyable miles we arrived at our day’s destination to a glorious 59 degrees.  Everyone removed several layers of clothes, and Leif dove into the river for the first bath of the week.  He also through Yoshie in for good measure.

It was a great day.

Arnie Richards

Another cold morning gave way to a “warm” sunny afternoon.  Ahhh the sun!  Temps were only in the 40’s but compared to the previous days’ cold and wind, today felt almost balmy.

We left North Canyon camp after a delicious breakfast of eggs, ham and muffins to boat what they call “The Roaring Twenties.”  This section of the river gets its name from the large number of moderate sized rapids from river miles 20 to 30.  Along the way near river mile 25.7 we parked the boats and hiked up the river bank to search for the spot where P.T. Reilly and crew had stopped to repair his Susie R in 1957.  After only a little searching we were able to find the exact spot and replicate many of the pictures taken there on that trip.

All of the replica boats performed impressively well through this tricky section of river, and their passengers were kept busy bailing, especially after 24.5 mile rapid.  The Gem, rowed by Tom Martin and carrying our trip leader, Dave Mortenson, was filled to the oarlocks giving him a good workout with the bailing bucket.  Unfortunately the Susie R suffered the first replica boat injury of the trip just before pulling into camp at South Canyon.  It collided with a sharp rock on her starboard chine creating a 3 to 4 inch splintering hole causing her to take on a little water.  The damage is nothing that its builder Ian Elliot can’t patch though.  Interestingly, the 1957 trip suffered a similar mishap at the same location when the Flavell, rowed by Brick Mortenson, struck a rock and had to be repaired on the very beach on which we are now camped.

As I write this the group is chatting around a glorious fire waiting for another delicious, hearty meal to fill our bellies.  And just downstream we can see Vasey’s Paradise flowing out of the redwall.  Not a bad place to spend the night, if you ask me.  I do miss my lovely wife, Angie and sweet little boy, Leo though.  I can’t wait to see you both in just a few days!

Signing off on Day 4,
Jason Wesley

We started in the shade at camp an amazing breakfast of pancakes, blueberries and bacon (thank you Pam and Cece).  Boats loaded and we are head down to scout “House Narrows”.  It is so interesting to be around so many experienced people and to hear them talk about the water, to see the water and then to actually to run the rapids.   A nice leisurely launch in the sun where we rocked ‘House Narrows’ and then off to the next portion of the river where some people took photo’s at the ‘Rock Boulder Narrows’.  It is totally unbelievable to think that only a small portion of that rock was sticking out in 1957 and to see the drift wood that has been there since.  We got to camp at North Canyon – the best by far.  The temperature has risen and there is next to no wind.  A group of us hiked up the canyon – it was so nice to move the legs at a fast pace and the scenery was so beautiful (right out of a book).  The graduation of rocks and the slot canyons coupled with the ice and green grass is a sight.  My first night off – so nice to leisurely set up camp, take a wash and change the clothes.  The mood is good .  We had ‘Mexican’ food for dinner and we are all sitting around the camp waiting for the brownies to cook and taking small sips of the wonderful wine and tequila brought on the trip.

Signing off Sabette – hello to all my friends and family in beautiful ‘British Columbia’  Canada.

12 year reunion

Today looked stormy most of the day, with some clearing late in the afternoon…little did we know what was ahead. But, we loaded up the boats at OC’s. Chris Forsyth from Rich and Todd’s trip came over with his life jacket, and he rowed the GEM to Back-eddy, then hiked back to his camp. Our float into the Muave Gorge was quite. We stopped at 145 Mile on the left in the sun for lunch. Zach’s trip passed us heading for Matcat. After lunch we headed on to Upset. At this water level “Upset” is not too Upsetting, and we all had good runs with LoL Q filming and Dave taking photos from the shore. The hard hulled boats all stopped at “Ledges Camp”, also called “Reilly’s Roost”. It was here in 1999 that Dave first told Tom about Brick, Pat and Moulty, and of their river trips in the 1950’s. Twelve years later, here we were, running replicas of the three 1950’s dory’s through the Canyon. Who would have thought it even possible!

We then headed to “Last Chance” camp, where overhangs provided some shelter we would very soon need. On our arrival late in the day, the sky was clear, and the downstream view to Havasu Canyon, stunning as ever. What will happen tomorrow? Well, tomorrow is another day…

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