Rafting the Upper Canyon: Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch

Some time ago our friends Linda and Steve invited us to go on a 1-week rafting trip through the Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately they had to cancel, but we decided to go ahead with the trip since it is something we have wanted to do since we were in Moab a few years ago.  Linda and Steve, we wish you could've been with us, but hopefully these photos/videos are a good substitute!

Our trip started at Cliff Dwellers Lodge in Marble Canyon, AZ.  Bright and early Monday morning we gathered with our fellow passengers while Steve Hatch from Hatch River Expeditions issued us our gear for the trip and gave us a brief orientation.  We then stuffed our personal gear into two dry bags provided by Hatch and loaded up in vans for a short drive to Lee's Ferry.  Our guides Rachel and Dom went over safety information and helped us load our bags onto the boats.  Including our two guides and Sean, our "swamper" (general all-around helper and boatman-in-training), we were a total of 32 people on two rafts.  After getting our gear situated, we all climbed into our respective rafts and were underway by late morning.

The first day we went about 30 miles downriver, going through a series of rapids called the "roaring twenties" along the way.  Lots of splashing, but nothing too crazy.  Most of the time we sat in the back of the raft called the "tea room", where it is more stable and a little drier.  By day 2 we were feeling adventurous and briefly moved to the very front of the raft - nicknamed "the bathtub" for good reason.  After an afternoon of being constantly doused by 50-degree river water (the water comes from the bottom of Lake Powell -- brrr!), we meekly moved back to the tea room and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the trip...

In the Bathtub

In the Tea Room

One of the highlights of this section of the river is the Redwall Cavern.  It's an enormous cave carved into the rock right at river level.  On his first trip down the river in 1869, John Wesley Powell estimated that it could hold 50,000 people inside.  It's not *quite* that big, but it could maybe hold 5000 people, if packed in tightly.  Pictures don't really do the place justice, so Kevin took this photosphere instead to give a 360-degree view.

Views: Redwall Cavern by Kevin Salt

Another cool stop along the way is a side hike up along the Little Colorado River, a tributary of the Colorado.  The color of the Little Colorado is a milky turquoise blue due to its mineral content.  The water is much warmer than the big river, and there's a great section of small rapids that you can swim through.  Kevin was taking photos with the Go Pro while we were swimming and our guide Dom told a funny anecdote about a kid who lost his brand new Go Pro at the same spot.  The parents later wrote and asked the guides to look for it.  One of the guides found it, sent it to the family and received a note back saying that, actually, it wasn't theirs.  The guide then went back to the Little Colorado with a snorkel mask and found 3 more Go Pros!  Needless to say, Kevin kept a good hold on the camera, while Dom donned the mask he'd brought and went fishing for Go Pros.

The camping part of the trip was pretty luxurious, as far as back country camping goes.  At the end of each day, everyone chipped in with the camp setup.  We all created a "duffle brigade" line, passing the equipment from one person to the next all the way up the beach.  Each person then claimed a camp chair and a cot and set up their spot for the night.  Because of the heat, most of us opted to skip setting up tents and just slept under the stars on our cots.

Views: Camp Night 1 by Kevin Salt

My Belknaps river guidebook listed our first night's camp as "Sand Pile" and it was a pretty accurate description.  There was sand everywhere and when the wind kicked up overnight it was like sleeping with a hot hair dryer blasting sand at your face.  We didn't get a lot of rest that night but we learned from the experience.  At subsequent camps we set up our cots a little closer to the river to catch the cooler night breezes off the water.  I had no problem sleeping after that first night!