ON THE WATER - Grand Canyon
Rather than bore myself and my blog readers with a daily overview of our EPIC ADVENTURE in the Grand Canyon, I’ve decided to organize my thoughts and photos by category! So rather than days 1-9, I am going to share our adventures “on the water”, “on the trail”, “in camp”, and “Rocks and Plants”. I was mesmerized by everything we saw and did. The entire trip was mind altering and I loved every moment of it. Being “on the water” was relaxing and exhilarating all at the same time. The first day we hit the boat I knew I would be in Heaven for 8 days! Our boats were big blue rafts that held 4 “guests” and 1 boatman. The boatman was the only one who rowed so we just chilled and soaked in the fresh air, the sun and the majesty of the geology. The river was incredibly high so it really changed the “landscape” of the rapids and flat water both. There were eddies everywhere and we had great fun watching the boatmen navigate the waters. The killer rapids that everyone was worried about 
included Crystal, Lava, Granite. Lava was clearly the “scariest” as the boatmen had already planned a celebratory beer at lunch “if” we all made it through. I found that being on the water got me really excited and pumped up but I was never scared or worried about being “in” the water if I fell out. I think because the water was so high...the very first day when we got in the boats the Trip Captain, Matt, asked if either of us had ever been on white water. John had never been up to that point. I’d been rafting in a number of rivers in the Northeast and Colorado. Matt asked what did I know about being on a raft as far as safety goes. I told him what I had always been told: “follow the bubbles to the surface and point your feet up to the sky” so they don’t get caught in rocks and I get dragged, stuck and drowned. Matt smiled widely and said he could simplify it for me…”don’t breathe under water”. OK, got it! In fact, Matt only had 3 rules for any guest on the trip. #1. Don’t breathe under water. #2 Don’t be stupid. #3. Don’t be an asshole. Apparently if a guest follows these rules he won’t drown, fall off a cliff, get eaten by a large animal, stung by a small reptile and would likely be able to sleep in his own 
tent every night. I thought they sounded like sound rules and I tried to follow them daily! The key to enjoying a boat trip in a raft is determining where you are most comfortable in the boat. Sitting up front brings with it great excitement, big water, lots of baling, very wet clothing and usually a perpetual soggy chill for most of the day. The back is exciting in a different way. In the front when you go through rapids you are pretty sure if you fall out it is because the waves swept you out when you forgot to hold on for dear life. In the back you generally feel like you are going to actually fall face forward out of the boat as the tail swings so high in the air you can actually see the smile on the boatman’s face. There used to be a ride at the carnival when I was a kid called the Pirate’s Boat. It was just a huge mechanical teeter totter that swung back and forth and the scary seats were in the very back because not only did you levitate out of your seat, you would be upside down and hanging from your belt while watching the people in the middle of the boat scream. I remember thinking it was a very surreal experience as I pondered who I would land on when I fell out. Being in the back of the raft gave me a similar experience. The front of the boat slams into the waves and you fly high and bounce and then get drenched. The back of the boat you roll high and get thrown forward and get 
drenched but not usually as wet as in the front. I started in the back with Kristi, John’s sister-in-law and watched John and Tom get thrown around and soaked and I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to spend my boat time in the front. There were plenty of people who didn’t want to get wet or have to bale so I had no problems getting my butt on the front of the next boat and keeping it there. The rapids were so much fun! It was not only fun getting tossed around like a pebble it was fun watching John and others get tossed around too! I got a much better feel for how crazy the ride was when I watched the waves crush down on John! It is amazing that none of us fell out, broke bones or at least suffered a concussion! Water can be really hard but the waves of the Colorado River were very forgiving! The water was FREEZING all the time. The kind of freezing where you stick your feet in the water and within 30 seconds your feet ache and you have brain freeze for no good reason. It is that kind of internal ache that makes your tummy roll and your toes curl. Brutal! I never really minded getting wet unless it was early morning or 
heavily shaded as the chill of the water stuck with you for hours. Of course later in the day when we were hiking I would be wishing I had that cold water all over me! Navigating the river takes a real artist, scientist and adventurer. It is not for the faint at heart. The rapids, no matter how “easy” they look, were never simple for the boatmen. It was wicked when we would get out of the boats to scout an upcoming rapid. We did this for Crystal, Granit, and Lava and it was exhilarating to see the water we would be riding in moments. The noise from the crushing waves is deafening and pretty intense. I would pick a spot in the rapids and watch the water fly by for what seemed like hours…it was hypnotic! I love the sound the water makes. Some of the people we camped with would complain about the noise of the river at night and I found it to be much better than ambient! Lava are the most feared rapids on the river. When we got on the boats the whole group was talking about the day we get to Lava….oooohhhhh! I didn’t really appreciate it until we got out to scout the water. First off, you can hear rapids coming for quite a while so it was easy to move from lounging position to “ready” position for the rapids. This means both feet on the bottom of the boat, one hand on a rope inside the boat and one hand grabbing a rope on the outside. That way I can balance 
myself depending on which side of the boat is getting slammed with water. It worked well and I was always happy to “get ready” for the water. Lava could be heard for almost a mile up the canyon…whoa! It made my heart race with excitement and wonder! What could be so special about LAVA? What I did know is that the LAVA rapids were created by the lava flows that had run through the canyon billions of years ago! More about lava later! Just as we were about to scout Lava Rapids we saw a smaller raft with 3 people take the right side of the rapids…Matt had already made it clear that the left side of the rapids were the only place to be! Apparently the water was no easier to read as high as it was. Matt told us that the river usually runs at 10,000 CF (cubic feet) and while we were rafting it was over 23,000 CF. We were never in fear of crashing into sharp rocks, or jagged obstacles in the water…the new challenge were eddies. The new flow of the water running over so many new obstacles below changed the flow and the eddies were really fun for us and challenging for the boatmen. So Lava was huge with holes, waves and eddies! Once the boatmen agreed on a path we hit it one boat at a time! None of our boats tipped over in Lava 
and as soon as we hit ground for lunch the boatmen cracked open beers to celebrate survival! John and I had the luxury of riding Lava in the Dory! “Dories are a unique type of rowing boat originally built from wood without a keel and with the bottom planking running lengthwise. Skiffs usually have the bottom planking running width wise. Dories have a narrow "tombstone" transom running all the way down to the bottom.” Some of our boating friends said we were airborne through the Lava rapids. I felt like we were flying for sure! Bruce, our boatman, said that he never gets any water in the boat! Well we proved him wrong…John and I were both drenched and I had water above my knees! IT WAS AWESOME! The water 
temperature was really freezing when we got in the boat on day 1. My feet would freeze in about 15 seconds and really hurt. As we floated toward Lake Mead it got more tolerable and by the time we 5 days in I was jumping in and out of the water all the time! It was so much fun! The hardest thing about the water temperature was in the mornings because of the shade! We would hit a waterfall early and swim around and then freeze until the water came over the canyon wall! Enjoy my photos of the water!
included Crystal, Lava, Granite. Lava was clearly the “scariest” as the boatmen had already planned a celebratory beer at lunch “if” we all made it through. I found that being on the water got me really excited and pumped up but I was never scared or worried about being “in” the water if I fell out. I think because the water was so high...the very first day when we got in the boats the Trip Captain, Matt, asked if either of us had ever been on white water. John had never been up to that point. I’d been rafting in a number of rivers in the Northeast and Colorado. Matt asked what did I know about being on a raft as far as safety goes. I told him what I had always been told: “follow the bubbles to the surface and point your feet up to the sky” so they don’t get caught in rocks and I get dragged, stuck and drowned. Matt smiled widely and said he could simplify it for me…”don’t breathe under water”. OK, got it! In fact, Matt only had 3 rules for any guest on the trip. #1. Don’t breathe under water. #2 Don’t be stupid. #3. Don’t be an asshole. Apparently if a guest follows these rules he won’t drown, fall off a cliff, get eaten by a large animal, stung by a small reptile and would likely be able to sleep in his own 
tent every night. I thought they sounded like sound rules and I tried to follow them daily! The key to enjoying a boat trip in a raft is determining where you are most comfortable in the boat. Sitting up front brings with it great excitement, big water, lots of baling, very wet clothing and usually a perpetual soggy chill for most of the day. The back is exciting in a different way. In the front when you go through rapids you are pretty sure if you fall out it is because the waves swept you out when you forgot to hold on for dear life. In the back you generally feel like you are going to actually fall face forward out of the boat as the tail swings so high in the air you can actually see the smile on the boatman’s face. There used to be a ride at the carnival when I was a kid called the Pirate’s Boat. It was just a huge mechanical teeter totter that swung back and forth and the scary seats were in the very back because not only did you levitate out of your seat, you would be upside down and hanging from your belt while watching the people in the middle of the boat scream. I remember thinking it was a very surreal experience as I pondered who I would land on when I fell out. Being in the back of the raft gave me a similar experience. The front of the boat slams into the waves and you fly high and bounce and then get drenched. The back of the boat you roll high and get thrown forward and get 
drenched but not usually as wet as in the front. I started in the back with Kristi, John’s sister-in-law and watched John and Tom get thrown around and soaked and I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to spend my boat time in the front. There were plenty of people who didn’t want to get wet or have to bale so I had no problems getting my butt on the front of the next boat and keeping it there. The rapids were so much fun! It was not only fun getting tossed around like a pebble it was fun watching John and others get tossed around too! I got a much better feel for how crazy the ride was when I watched the waves crush down on John! It is amazing that none of us fell out, broke bones or at least suffered a concussion! Water can be really hard but the waves of the Colorado River were very forgiving! The water was FREEZING all the time. The kind of freezing where you stick your feet in the water and within 30 seconds your feet ache and you have brain freeze for no good reason. It is that kind of internal ache that makes your tummy roll and your toes curl. Brutal! I never really minded getting wet unless it was early morning or 
heavily shaded as the chill of the water stuck with you for hours. Of course later in the day when we were hiking I would be wishing I had that cold water all over me! Navigating the river takes a real artist, scientist and adventurer. It is not for the faint at heart. The rapids, no matter how “easy” they look, were never simple for the boatmen. It was wicked when we would get out of the boats to scout an upcoming rapid. We did this for Crystal, Granit, and Lava and it was exhilarating to see the water we would be riding in moments. The noise from the crushing waves is deafening and pretty intense. I would pick a spot in the rapids and watch the water fly by for what seemed like hours…it was hypnotic! I love the sound the water makes. Some of the people we camped with would complain about the noise of the river at night and I found it to be much better than ambient! Lava are the most feared rapids on the river. When we got on the boats the whole group was talking about the day we get to Lava….oooohhhhh! I didn’t really appreciate it until we got out to scout the water. First off, you can hear rapids coming for quite a while so it was easy to move from lounging position to “ready” position for the rapids. This means both feet on the bottom of the boat, one hand on a rope inside the boat and one hand grabbing a rope on the outside. That way I can balance 
myself depending on which side of the boat is getting slammed with water. It worked well and I was always happy to “get ready” for the water. Lava could be heard for almost a mile up the canyon…whoa! It made my heart race with excitement and wonder! What could be so special about LAVA? What I did know is that the LAVA rapids were created by the lava flows that had run through the canyon billions of years ago! More about lava later! Just as we were about to scout Lava Rapids we saw a smaller raft with 3 people take the right side of the rapids…Matt had already made it clear that the left side of the rapids were the only place to be! Apparently the water was no easier to read as high as it was. Matt told us that the river usually runs at 10,000 CF (cubic feet) and while we were rafting it was over 23,000 CF. We were never in fear of crashing into sharp rocks, or jagged obstacles in the water…the new challenge were eddies. The new flow of the water running over so many new obstacles below changed the flow and the eddies were really fun for us and challenging for the boatmen. So Lava was huge with holes, waves and eddies! Once the boatmen agreed on a path we hit it one boat at a time! None of our boats tipped over in Lava 
and as soon as we hit ground for lunch the boatmen cracked open beers to celebrate survival! John and I had the luxury of riding Lava in the Dory! “Dories are a unique type of rowing boat originally built from wood without a keel and with the bottom planking running lengthwise. Skiffs usually have the bottom planking running width wise. Dories have a narrow "tombstone" transom running all the way down to the bottom.” Some of our boating friends said we were airborne through the Lava rapids. I felt like we were flying for sure! Bruce, our boatman, said that he never gets any water in the boat! Well we proved him wrong…John and I were both drenched and I had water above my knees! IT WAS AWESOME! The water 
temperature was really freezing when we got in the boat on day 1. My feet would freeze in about 15 seconds and really hurt. As we floated toward Lake Mead it got more tolerable and by the time we 5 days in I was jumping in and out of the water all the time! It was so much fun! The hardest thing about the water temperature was in the mornings because of the shade! We would hit a waterfall early and swim around and then freeze until the water came over the canyon wall! Enjoy my photos of the water!
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