DAY 8
Officially halfway through the trip, which seemed unreal. Chris and I jumped in KJ’s boat again. It wasn’t long before we stopped at Blacktail Canyon, or Naptail as KJ called it. We wound our way up the narrow slot canyon until we found a post-up spot. Kate and Andy pulled out their instruments once again and introduced us to the beautiful acoustics the canyon provided. Tricia and Phoebe did some singing for all of us and I got to do some much needed reading while being serenaded, which was truly relaxing.
Kate & Andy jamming away
Eventually another group joined us and they had several instruments so it turned into a full band jam sesh. We only got to enjoy it for a little while before Lew quietly ushered us out. The building clouds and light sprinkles were not conducive to spending a lot of time in the slender canyon.
Lots more big horn sheep over the course of the day. There were a couple fun rapids like Fossil, which was the longest, snake-like rapid we went on. It wound its way in an S-shape down the canyon and dumped us out near where we would have lunch for the day.
Post-lunch had a hefty rapid in store, Bedrock. We had to pull over and let the guides scout it, which was always a sign that some super soaking waves were on the way. In the middle of the rapid a giant bed of rock from a previous flash flood years and years ago (hence the name) was waiting for any dories that dare turn the wrong way. Our crew went first and KJ smoothly navigated us through the obstacles into a little eddy at the bottom so that we could boisterously cheer on the other boaters.
Camp that night was at Stone Creek. A small side creek was hidden above the camp so Chris, Phoebe and I carted some buckets of fresh water to the main river so we could indulge ourselves in a hair washing session. After scrubbing a few layers of silt from our scalps, some of the adults and I enjoyed some rum cocktails and stories until it was time for bed.
Stone Creek Camp
DAY 9
Another river beer today! Uncle Scott pulled a Modelo out of the water after only a few minutes of being in the dory and we all shared it. But that wasn’t the only excitement for the day (thank goodness), our first stop was Deer Creek Waterfall. The fall itself was a sight to see but we marched up the steep hillside to the top of the waterfall and followed a very narrow trail through the mouth of Deer Creek’s slot canyon.
Along various sections of the canyon walls you could just barely spot ancient handprints outlined in some sort of yellowish paint. They varied from kid’s hands to adult’s and were difficult to spot at first. Our little walk along the slim trail led us to this open rock bench in the canyon that they called The Patio. Another spot that looked right out of a fairytale book. A cottonwood tree protruded along the creek’s edge and clear pools of water formed nice spots for dipping.
The Patio
The Braid Brigade
Lew invited whoever wanted to join him to continue up towards the valley to a possible running spring he knew of. Tricia and I went a little ways with them before returning to the shade of The Patio to enjoy our lunch. After getting hit by a violent nap attack, we hiked back down to get back on the dories.
Prime post-up
On multiple occasions in the last few days, like this morning, we had been graced with river beers, usually stuck in an eddy or near a beach. On the return walk to the dories I heard a guy talking about all the Modelos he had lost in the river a few days ago (all but one of the beers we had found in the river had been Modelo) so I turned around to inform him we had found them. Of course I laughed when he jokingly asked for them back, who wouldn’t drink a free river beer?! Sorry dude.
Mine and Chris’s little section for the night
Our camp spot tonight tested the patience of several of the group members, as it was very tight quarters and we were all within sight of one another. By this point in the trip we were all much more comfortable around each other luckily so the awkwardness that was seen on day one was gone.
DAY 10
Phoebe and I decided to voyage together in Kate’s boat along with Tricia and Christopher for our Havasupai Canyon day. I was keen on the adventures for the day because the Havasupai Falls area has been high up on my list of places to go see. Unfortunately the weather determined that it might rain, so our water shenanigans would not last all day like I had hoped.
Finding parking for the canyon was reminiscent of a mall parking lot during Black Friday. Somehow the boatsmen maneuvered the dories in and got all of us off without too many problems. Lew warned us of the imposing weather and said that we would take as much time as we could in the canyon with this kind of weather. Satisfied as I could be with that kind of answer, our group meandered up the hillside toward the mouth of the canyon. We had pretty impeccable timing since upon our arrival, most of the boat traffic ahead of us was beginning to depart.
The water in this canyon is truly stunning. It is perfectly turquoise and crystal clear, the kind of water you see in a lot of tourist destination photos. Our group hiked about .7-.8 miles up the canyon to a bend in the river. People had put in quite the effort along this little bench, and lined rocks along the side of the creek to create a 45 foot long lazy-river. We immediately all jumped in and very lazily floated in the inviting water.
We spent a very short time at this portion of the river before we turned around to go to one of the lower spots. I think being right near an exit to higher ground made the boatmen feel a lot better about letting us frolick a tad longer. A fair compromise. At one point I tried to eat my sandwich and couldn’t muster the energy. By this point in the trip I was pretty tired of lunch meat and the hot temperatures did not bode well with improving my taste for the soggy concoction of cheese and meat.
When our water romp came to an end we climbed back to the boats. They were now tied on the opposite wall of where we had parked so some wading was necessary. I was enthralled with the crystal blue water combining with the murky silt water. Both their color and temperature were polar opposite, and it was an odd phenomenon to witness.
Tricia, Phoebe and I all got a turn on the oars in the latter part of the day, go fem squad! Our little arms eventually got us to camp which was nestled along the side of some somewhat disconcerting overhangs. Once again it looked like it might rain, and heavy lightning was steadily creeping closer and closer so I rallied Chris into setting up a tent. Poor choice because of course, it didn’t rain which seemed to be a classic Colorado River trip problem.
Questionable overhangs around our camp spot
DAY 11
Didn’t have a crew to cruise with so I chose to experience the views from the Mothership. I was properly stoked mostly just because of the rig’s name (my festival nickname became Mothership a few years back). My dad had decided to check out what it was like to ride on the big rig motorboat too, so we jumped on and settled in.
The dories are definitely more exciting to be on but one of the benefits to being in the motorboat is being able to hover in place on the river. We spotted a big horned ram on one side of the river and instead of having to pass him by, we got to stay right near the bank and watch this bad boy send it straight up this cliff face with absolutely zero fear. It was pretty badass to say the least.
Mr. Ram making his way up the cliff face
After about an hour on the river we pulled into the mouth of National Canyon. Before parking, one of the crew members, Chuck, began telling us about this massive flash flood that took place about 5 years ago. It was so large that when he returned the spring after it had happened, he did not recognize the canyon. Over 15,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) of water gushed through the canyon. For comparison, the main fork of the Colorado River that we were on ran between about 8,000- 17,000 CFS. So this flood was massive for this small canyon. Of course we had no real way of knowing the effects it had had since this was our first visit here.
The cousins clan took off ahead of the pack and fairly quickly arrived at the waterfall springs hidden back in the canyon. The first thing I noticed was the sheer quantity of shiny little frogs that were littered up and down the walls of the spring and even bobbing in the water. We took our time swimming around and climbing behind the falls to other pools. The group eventually caught up and everyone took turns cooling down and getting a free waterfall massage.
Camp that night was at mile 176, which to me seemed crazy because we had gone so far yet still had quite a ways to go. I was in a sour mood that night so I mostly just read and then went to bed early, which was a solid plan since the next day was an early-ass wake up so that we could get the high water for the greatly anticipated and notorious Lava Falls.
Got some family photos in. Arent we cute?
Young Cousins Clan
Immediate family.
DAY 12
We were woken by the first conch shell before the crack of dawn; that’s how we knew that Lava Falls was no joke. For the past 4 days Uncle Scott, Hitch, Chris and I had been nagging Duffy to let us ride with him for this day because we wanted to send it hard down these gnarly rapids. We had a solid crew and the excitement was enough to overpower the sleepiness. Duffy himself had previously flipped 3 times in this rapid, and all the other boatmen had either flipped or watched boats flip through this infamous wave. It was nothing to scoff at.
Before we reached the rapid, we passed a ancient sacred rock in the middle of the river known as Vulcan’s Anvil. This majestic, dark black boulder was firmly planted in the middle of the river, and was impossible to miss.
Vulcan’s Anvil, hiding in the right shadow
Shortly after the Anvil, we reached the top of Lava Falls. All the dories pulled in so that the boatmen could evaluate which route would be best. Now I’m not super knowledgable in the ways of rapids, but when I first saw Lava Falls what caught my attention was the gaping 15 foot drop at the beginning of the rapid that fed right into a behemoth of a wave. It looked terrifyingly powerful to say the least.
Guides scoping Lava
Strategies were discussed and apparently so was the order of descent, as our boat ended up being the first one to head down. The feeling I got before dropping into Lava was not a new feeling, but one that I do not feel often enough. Excitement, adrenaline, fear and stoke all raged through me as we entered Lava Falls. As we hit our first major drop Uncle Scott and I prepared so that as we headed back up to crest over the wave, we literally threw our entire bodies weight to the front of the boat to help push us through the wall of water, all the way screaming in elation. The rapid was so exciting that it was a blur, but I know I had the time of my life. Whether it was the build-up or the rapid itself, man was it a damn good time. We eddied out at the bottom and cheered for the rest of the group as they powered through this monster.
Blurry, but here is us ramming through Lava at 8am
In celebration of all making it through Lava Falls, or what would become known as ABL (Alive Below Lava) we stopped at Tequila Beach. Of course, a bottle was pulled out and we all took turns celebrating with a shot (mind you it was only about 8am). I was pretty shocked when even my little sister grabbed it and tried a sip, only to be utterly disgusted with it. A pretty funny sight.
Me in my element on Tequila Beach
I’m going to blame Tequila Beach but after that stop Uncle Scott, Chris and I kept drinking. It was a really fun afternoon of rapids, stories and a few bow rides. Towards the afternoon the relentless, hot winds took over and Uncle Scott, being the gentleman that he is, took over rowing for Duffy for a while. One of the longest days we had, we did 30 river miles and still managed to get to camp (Indian Canyon) in the early afternoon.
It was a blazing hot day so all of us were hiding in various parts of the shade and many of us had cold drinks to help with the heat. We watched 2 separate storms roll towards us, but somehow neither one actually made it overhead.
After a dank pesto chicken dinner, Chris called upon the Young cousin clan for a pow-wow. I won’t divulge everything we discussed but in summary Chris assembled us together to reflect on our family values, and how we came to see these as important values in our lives. Where our parents came from, who our ancestors were and what that means to us going forward. It was a powerful talk, and is something that I’m glad to have had with them, especially after 12 days on the river together. This was the first time we had all spent this kind of time together and I think it really solidified our connection as a family unit.
Post pow-wow pic
Our fam bam session was the perfect ending to such an epic day. It was actually unbelievable that this trip was almost done, but I refused to go to bed with a heavy heart and instead went to bed even more pumped for day 13.
DAY 13
Jumped in KJ’s boat again with Aunt Heidi, Rad Dad Brad and Margaret. The amount of bantering that ensued back and forth between my aunt and father during the day was hysterical and not surprising if you know our family.
KJ, Aunt Heidi and I
First stop was at a cliff jumping spot. So far on the trip, cliff jumping had been limited due to the poor visibility into the water (and by poor I mean you can’t see an 1/8th of an inch below the surface), but the boatmen knew this spot was good and let everyone jump to their heart’s content. Tricia definitely had the best one of the day though when she quite literally face-planted in a failed front flip attempt.
Along a section of the jumping cliffs was an ominous yellow sludge hole known as Pumpkin Springs. It was pretty gross looking, but definitely unique. It was bubbling in various patches and I could only imagine what would happen if someone got in.
A short ways down the river was another jumping rock, this one much higher and of course only my family was keen on jumping off. Chris got an epic hair whip-to-backflip jump that I highly recommend scoping.
There were only a couple of rapids today, one of which came out of nowhere and completely swamped us. On another one, Aunt Heidi and Margaret got to jump out and swim down the rapid which was pretty comical to watch.
The lunch spot today had a cool point of interest. Up the hill a little bit was the high water mark from 1983’s flood etched into a rock. It read “92,000 CFS”. Nutty to think that the river hasn’t always been where it is, and even nuttier to think that 92,000 is NOTHING compared to its pre-dam days. Damn thats a crazy thought (pun intended).
After getting back on the river we passed a Hualapai Indian inlet and KJ told us about some of the conflicts that have occurred in recent history with the government versus these tribes and the territory. Pretty interesting stuff that I would like to learn more about in the future.
We stopped at the base of a rapid and tied up to the Mothership. Lew lead us up to this marvelous waterfall grotto. It took some rock scrambling and sketchy ladder climbing to get to, but the water was warm and inviting. I found a section to lay down in. The flowing water around me had a comforting feeling to it and I also enjoyed knowing my hair was getting a little silt rinsed out of it. In the midst of photo taking several of us heard quite a loud clap of thunder and immediately all of us departed from the area.
The Groto
Inside The Groto
In a bittersweet moment, we arrived at the final night’s camp. We spread up and down the beach and got the beer and booze out. It was the final night so we had to clean up shop right? After grabbing a spritzer, I rallied with a group to walk up the side canyon we were camped near. Kate had told us that there was waterfall and a natural bridge up there so of course I wanted to go check it out.
We almost missed the bridge at first, it was a hidden arc of mud among the brown hillside, but finally saw it and stood to admire it for a moment before continuing up. Compared to many of the waterfalls we had seen along the trip, this one was inconsequential but all the same I still enjoyed going to see it.
On the way back, the cousin clan got ahead (of course) and we ran into a rattlesnake quietly meandering his way up the hillside. Very casual encounter, no rattling and I was amped to see the first one of the trip. It’s always pretty scary to see them out and about but for some reason I enjoy getting to see the suckers out in the wild.
Final night’s camp
Not only was the booze buffet under way for the night, so was the food buffet. All the food that was left had to go so we had a pretty deluxe dinner with filet mignon, fish, salad and all the works. Somehow Hitch powered through 3 filet mignons, a feat I was impressed with.
Andy and Kate broke out their instruments one last time and we all sat around singing and enjoying our final evening together. I still wasn’t sad the trip was about to be over, but rather was excited on the new perspectives I had gained and eager to see what the next section of my story had in store for me. I had a very strong feeling I wouldn’t be leaving the river for long.
Final night’s sunset
DAY 14
Not much to write about today except for the sappiness I could drone on and on about, but that’s for a future post.
Our short time on the dories lead to a meet up with a speed boat that got us down to our bus ride home. Saying goodbye to the boatmen was the only hard part and I felt like a kid again when KJ whipped out the tootsie pops to pass around. It felt reminiscent of when you would get candy after getting a boo-boo when you were a kid.
And that was the end of our 14 days on the Grand Canyon that had somehow flew by in the blink of an eye.
a motley crew
Life of K2 