Grand Canyon by Air

Getting from Marble Canyon to Whitmore Wash by raft took us six days.  Getting from Whitmore Wash back to Marble Canyon took a lot less time.

On day seven, Hatch flies you out of the Canyon to a nearby ranch via helicopter, which is why our last camp was at the Whitmore Wash Helipad.  I think the term "helipad" is used very loosely here, because it was basically a high, flat, very small patch of dirt where you could maybe park a Mini Cooper.  There wasn't even an official-looking "H" marking the area (until one of the kids drew one in the dirt, as a joke).  We got a very early start, and everyone was all packed and ready to go by 7 am.  The helicopter flew in like something out of M*A*S*H and landed on the postage stamp helipad.  We then went up in groups of six or seven based on weight.  Kevin & I were on the second flight, and it was maybe a seven-minute flight to the Bar 10 Ranch.



Bar 10 Ranch is a working cattle ranch where you can ride horses, hike, rent ATVs, shoot skeet, and do other cowboy-ish things.  That's all well and good, but for us the primary activity we wanted to do was hit the showers.  Luckily there were several private shower rooms and plenty of hot water.  It felt really, really good to finally wash all the sand out of my hair.  While we were at the ranch, we also had to check in for our flight back to Marble Canyon.  It was by far one of the most pleasant airline check-in experiences we've had: fast, efficient, no ticketing, no security screening (other than checking your ID), and we got to keep our shoes on the whole time.

The check-in desk for Vision Air

We were taken by bus to Concourse A (the only concourse) where our plane, a nineteen-seater Dornier 228 turboprop, awaited us on the runway.  The flight back to Marble Canyon took about 30 minutes.  Although we weren't able to fly directly over the main section of the Grand Canyon, the view out the window of the side canyons was pretty spectacular.

It was a fitting way to end the trip.  We traveled the Colorado River/Grand Canyon by boat, helicopter, plane, and car.  The only way we could have done any better was by tacking on the Grand Canyon Railway (a real thing) and a submarine tour of Lake Powell (not a real thing - yet). 

Grand Canyon Rafting: Trip Summary and Video

Kevin put together a short video with clips from throughout the trip.  For those of you who just want to see us go through the big rapids, most of those clips are towards the end.



One of the aspects of the trip that we enjoyed the most was meeting all of our fellow rafters and the river guides.  There were a lot of different people on the trip, from all walks of life, with some cool stories to tell.  And the three guides (Dom, Rachel, and Sean) were fantastic -- putting in long hours, cooking up outstanding food, keeping us safe, and making sure we all had a great time on the river.  We enjoyed getting to know everyone and are glad to have shared this amazing experience with them.

          Top: David, Matthew, Christine, Rich, Teresa, Darla, Rick, Jason, Lee, Dom, Rachel
          Middle: Christopher, Ray, Amanda, Kevin, Donna, Steve, Pierce, Caroline, Chris, Michael, Clint, Michael, Danny, James, Bruce
          Front: Kelli, Scott, Bridget, Troy, Karen

Trip Summary:

Day 1, Monday 07/07/14
     * Put in at Lee's Ferry, Mile 0
     * "Roaring Twenties" series of rapids
     * Camped at Sand Pile, Mile 30.5

Day 2, Tuesday 07/08/14
    * Redwall Cavern
    * Little Colorado River
    * Camped above the Little Colorado River, Mile 62

Day 3, Wednesday 07/09/14
    * Hance Rapid (rated 7-8, accd to Belknaps)
    * Phantom Ranch
    * Granite Rapid (rated 7-8)
    * Hermit Rapid (rated 7-8)
    * Camped at Schist, Mile 96.5

Day 4, Thursday 07/10/14
    * "The Gems" series of rapids, including Crystal Rapid (rated 7-10)
    * Hiked to the falls at Shinumo Creek
    * Elves Chasm
    * Afternoon rain, but cleared up before camp at Stone Creek, Mile 132.5

Day 5, Friday 07/11/14
    * River turned red due to rain the day before
    * Deer Creek Falls, hiked Upper Deer Creek
    * Hiked partway up Havasu Creek
    * Camped on the ledge at Mile 158.7

Day 6, Saturday 07/12/14
    * Hiked National Canyon
    * Hiked Fern Glen Canyon
    * Lava Falls Rapid (rated 8-10)
    * Camped at Whitmore Wash Helipad, Mile 187.5

Day 7, Sunday 07/13/14
    * Helicopter to Bar 10 Ranch
    * Plane back to Marble Canyon

Rafting the Lower Canyon: Phantom Ranch to Whitmore Wash

Moonrise in the Grand Canyon

After running Hance Rapid (one of the larger rapids on the river), Rachel signaled that the engine on the lead boat was having problems.  We were in a narrow section of the canyon with no beaches, so she pulled up against a steep canyon wall.  Dom then used the other boat with engine running to hold the lead boat in place while they changed out the outboard.

Fixing the outboard

Kevin and I were laughing because these boats are each powered by a 30 hp Tohatsu outboard, the same engine we had on "Solstice's" dinghy (which we lovingly nicknamed "the Beast").  The two-stroke Beast was 10 years old and constantly giving us trouble.  The Tohatsus on the Hatch rafts are four-stroke and considerably newer, but the brand's performance (or lack thereof) seems to be pretty consistent.  Anyway, after about a half hour, the guides had managed to lift off the broken outboard and replace it with the spare one, and we were on our way to Phantom Ranch.

Ahh, Phantom Ranch!  Our brief stop at this green oasis midway through the trip was our only link to the outside world for the duration of the week.  Some people sent postcards, other people just enjoyed sipping lemonade in the shade (or beers in the air-conditioned canteen!).  It was my first time here, but Kevin recalled riding the mules down the Bright Angel Trail as a kid with his family.  You ride the mules down one day, stay the night in Phantom Ranch, and ride the mules back up out of the canyon the next day.  Kevin said that arriving by raft was a much more pleasant experience, and much easier on the derriere.

Views: Phantom Ranch Beach by Kevin Salt

The lower section of the Grand Canyon is known for some awesome waterfall hikes.  Elves Chasm is a beautiful waterfall with a natural rock ladder behind it.  People can climb up the rocks and then jump from the lower section of the falls.  Some of the younger kids (and more adventurous adults) did the jump multiple times.  Further downstream, Deer Creek Falls is a massive waterfall that dares you to try to get up close to the powerful spray.  And on day five, we hiked up along the light blue water of Havasu Creek, where a series of perfectly-sized swimming holes are fed by small waterfalls.

One of my favorite camp spots was the ledge camp for day five at mile 158.  The river comes right up to the rock ledge (steep dropoff, no swimming!) and just beyond camp is a rapid that echoes off the canyon walls.  The guides advised us to be very careful in the dark when using the "facilities" - it would be very easy in this camp to get turned around and walk right into the river.

Views: Ledges Camp by Kevin Salt

And speaking of the "facilities", this is a typical porto setup.  That is all I'm going to say about that.

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!

Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon

Our big Grand Canyon rafting trip doesn't start until tomorrow morning but we decided to head north a day early so that we could take a detour to Page, AZ and check out the sights.  The Colorado River is west of Page, and just outside of town is a great spot to view the river -- Horseshoe Bend.

The river makes a snaking 180-degree turn.

If you look closely at that photo, you can see a tiny raft down there in the river.  There are several companies who offer 1/2 day or 1-day float trips on the calm section of the river just below Glen Canyon Dam.  Of course, we are looking for a little more action than that. 

There were hundreds of people at the overlook, and lots of them were getting awfully close to the edges of the cliff overhangs.  Obviously there is no guardrail here, so visitors are presented with many opportunities to win a Darwin Award.  I was glad we were using the "Go Pro on a stick" method of photography so that we didn't have to get too close to the edge to get a decent selfie.

We then headed over to Antelope Canyon, a beautiful sandstone slot canyon that has been carved over millennia by flash floods caused by monsoon rains.  This process is still going on today.  The walls of the canyon have been worn smooth by time and the elements.

There are two sections: the Upper Antelope and Lower Antelope Canyons.  Each can only be visited as part of a tour.  The upper canyon parking lot was full of tour buses and we hadn't booked ahead, so we chose the lower canyon and only waited 5 minutes for the next tour.  Our tour guide, Ivanna, grew up in the area and is now a student at the University of Arizona, guiding tours during her summers off.  She took our small group down the stairs into the canyon and pointed out some of the best spots for photos.

We learned that the canyon is still prone to flash flooding and can fill up fast.  When it rains upstream in the canyon basin, all of the water is funnelled into the narrow canyon and can easily sweep people off their feet.  This is what the canyon looks like from the rim during a flash flood:

Video credit: TheMrByrom via YouTube

I would not want to be in there during a rainstorm!  Luckily there was no chance of monsoon rain today.  Here's the view we had:

About 50 feet below the rim, looking directly up at the sky.

And a short video we took, with views of both Horseshoe Bend and inside Lower Antelope Canyon: