Welcome to our Grand Canyon trip, time for introductions

Grand Canyon 2020

Introduction

This is a simple blog to capture the memories of an adventure.  I'm not a blogger, so this one is layed out a bit awkward.  I wanted the days in chronological order listed on the page, so when you get to the bottom of a page, you need to click older post to get the next one.  Or scroll back up to the top and use the links on the right.  Ok, so I also added to each page a link to the next day just above the comment box, at the bottom of this page it is Link to Day 1.  Sorry in advance for any confusion due to this.  On with the story!

Susan had been talking about rafting the Grand Canyon for as long as I've known her, going on 40 years.  So on that December 2018 morning during our weekly bike ride when Mark Johnston started talking about putting together a trip for the summer of 2020, my response was, "Susan and I are IN."  

A lot happened between that December bike ride and July 2020, most notably COVID-19.  Mark had arranged to purchase an entire 18 person all paddle rafting trip for 14 days.  He invited friends and family to join him, and had filled out the adventure.  But as large groups go, things happened.  In early 2020 a few people had already dropped, and Mark was hunting around to re-fill the last 3 spots.  It seemed like he had almost done it, and then COVID hit.  Not only did COVID delay filling the last 3 spots, but our group of 15 solid participants dwindled to 5.  Lots of things happened to various people who were planning to attend, but bottom line is now there were 5 folks from Santa Barbara committed to embark on this adventure.  Those 5 were Mark and his wife Maren, their neighbor and long time friend Lise, Susan and I.  

Mark eventually did get 3 more folks to join, Steve Pepper, Casey Schmidt, and Mike (?).  The eight of us met at Marks house a couple of weeks prior to get acquainted, and to get the last 3 to fill out all the paperwork and such.   I was excited about the 3 locals joining us, it seemed like a good group.  

Fast forward a couple of weeks.  Mike (?), a married man in his late 60s, was convinced by others that the Grand Canyon was no place to be during COVID.  Much too dangerous.  The rest of us just shook our heads and sighed, as it seemed like there was no better place to socially isolate than the Grand Canyon.  Mike was replaced by Casey's daughter Naomi, and Arizona Raft Adventures (AZRA), the outfitter we paid to run this adventure, filled out the rest of the spots.  

After lots of fretting over what to bring and packing, Mark, Maren, Lise, Susan and I left Santa Barbara July 11 at 7 am to head for Flagstaff, AZ.  Even in the midst of COVID, we did not realize that gas stations and fast food restaurants would not welcome us to use their facilities during our drive out.  Our first break was along the Pear Blossom Highway behind some bushes.  From there on rest stops along the highway became our friend.  

Orientation was in the evening that day.  We were told to expect the temperatures to range from 110+ highs to lows in the low 80s or high 70s.  I realized leaving that meeting I had brought way too much stuff.  After orientation, we packed our dry bags, and I left a third of what I had brought for the trip behind at the hotel.   

July 12 was the first day of our river trip.  We left the hotel at 7am for a 2ish hour drive to Lee's Ferry.  When we arrived, we realized this trip was finally going to happen.  No last minute emergencies, COVID closings, or other distractions was going to stop it.  We had made it.  

Introductions

For starters, pictured directly above are Susan and I (Matt).  We took the bulk of the pictures in this blog, and is definitely written from my viewpoint.  As mentioned above, Susan's been wanting to do this trip as long as I've known her.  Not sure why I didn't motivate to try to plan it sooner, thankfully someone did the planning for us and invited us.  A group of 8 of us came from Santa Barbara, and were joined by folks from all over the country.  I'll introduce the SB folks first, then everyone else.  

This is Mark, our liaison with the trip outfitter, AZRA.  Mark invited us on this adventure.  Mark and I were involved in Boy Scouts, and have been on many adventures together.  We have been sharing Sunday morning bike rides for several years as part of a larger group, and have been friends for about 20 years.  Mark will help you with anything you have going on.  And he wears cool shorts. 

Above is Mark's lovely wife, Maren.  They've been down here together once before, over 30 years (and two kids) ago.  This is Maren's third trip into the Grand Canyon.  It was great getting to know Maren better on this trip, I learned she really loves to sing!  Definitely a fun person to be around. 

Also in the picture above is Steve Pepper (aka Pepper).  Mark met Pepper at the Banff film festival showing at the Arlington Theater.  Mark invited Pepper to join us and he was immediately interested.  It only took him 4 months to actually commit and put the $ down.  I know he's glad he did.  He has an infectious enthusiasm, and a love for playing games.  We got along very well.  Pepper lives just down the 101 in Carpinteria. 

Besides the folks you know already, this is Naomi (young Naomi) and Casey.  They hale from Solimar, just down the 101 from us.  A mutual friend (Mike) introduced Mark and Casey.  When Mike backed out at the last minute, Naomi joined our group.  This was probably 3 days before we left, so she had no time to plan.  Just go and buy a bunch of stuff at REI and enjoy the ride.  Casey and Naomi were game for anything, and always had the best camp spots. 

Above is Lise.  Not the greatest picture, but it really captures her enthusiasm for this trip.  She is Mark and Maren's neighbor and long time friend.  When Maren told Lise about the trip, she invited herself along.  I enjoyed getting to know Lise better during these two weeks, as we have known each other since our kids attended the same preschool decades ago.  Lise is very independent and has a can do attitude that doesn't quit. 

Now for those participants who traveled from other areas of the country.  All note that capturing people in my pictures is not one of my gifts, so I apologize to those who didn't get much of a good picture in here. 

This is Brian Jahn from Michigan.  He and his son Mike were the only father/son pair on the trip.  Brian is an engineer, and it showed in the design and construction of the tightest CPAP rig I've ever seen.  Waterproof, 700Whrs of battery capacity, and so quiet I never heard it.  Brian has been in the canyon once before and was thrilled to be able to bring his son on this trip.  Brian's journal also contributed to this blog, as I quote it a few times.  

Pictured above is Mike Jahn, Brian's son, also from Michigan.  On the trip's first day Mike and I discovered our mutual love for ultimate frisbee, and quickly became friends.  He also plays a bit of guitar, and did a great job with Wish You Were Here.

The new person in this picture (far right) is Katie from the Chicago area.  She traveled a bunch for work, and is presently on a sabbatical year and traveling the world.  Little did she know that time out of the US wouldn't last too long.  She's making the most of it, and certainly was a great addition to the trip.  We hope to see her when she passes through town in August on her way up the west coast.  

Two intros in this picture.  First in the red is Mike from Georgia. This was Mike's fourth time down the river, I believe all of them in the past 4 or so years.  Mike loves the rapids, he certainly enjoyed all the scenery and adventures of the trip.  To the right of him with the guitar is Chris, the group's physical therapist from Colorado.  The group kept her busy during the trip with massages, tapings, advice, and we were always asking her to play guitar in the evenings.  She sings like an angel also, another great addition to the group.  Everyone who came was a great addition, because they all really wanted to be there.  There were no tag alongs on this trip.  I think this was Chris's 3rd trip to the canyon, and she and Mike had shared a trip previously.  Small world.  

Last but not least of the participants is Norbert from Texas.  Norbert was the elder statesman of the trip making his first trip to the Grand Canyon.  Norbert's a quick wit, also really loved the rapids.  He also shared with me that he met with Saint John Paul II several years ago.  What an honor.  

Now for the assistants and guides.  Because of COVID, our trip had fewer participants than normal.  But it takes a certain amount of people to row 6 boats down the river, with 7 minimum in the passenger boats and 1 person minimum in the gear boats.  With only 14 participants, we had extra assistants to help out the group.  The guides were responsible for rowing or captaining the boats, and the assistants helped out on land with cooking, cleaning, setup and takedown of the camp.  Having extra assistants was a big bonus, as it took some load off of the guides and made everyone's life easier.  There were two types of guides.  Three stayed in the passenger boats, three stayed in the gear boats.  

Our trip leader, Tommy, hailing from Northern California.  Tommy has 30 years of experience guiding in the Grand Canyon.  He's a fantastic story teller, incredibly knowledgeable about the canyon, calm, cool and collected.  He took us places he knew we were physically able to go, that not everyone that goes on one of these trips gets to experience.  We were VERY fortunate to have Tommy as our trip leader.  I feel any of the guides could have fulfilled the role, but all I know is Tommy did an excellent job of completing the task.   Tommy was a passenger guide.  

Next passenger guide is Margeaux.  Full of humor, vim, vigor, and bit of spare nail polish.  Margeaux has been guiding on the Colorado River for about 10 years.  Margeaux is a fantastic boatman, knowledgeable guide, and gracious hostess as she welcomed us to dinner each evening, reminding us to wash our filthy mitts first.  I have great memories of a fun and silly afternoon in Margeaux's boat during a big rapid day.  

Three more of our female crew.  From right to left, Stefanie, Honey, and Rachael.  Stefanie is the remaining passenger guide, who lives in Arizona.  Stefanie has 13 years of guiding experience, but is a relative new comer to the Colorado River.  Very capable, giggly (especially in fun rapids) and our head cook.  A bit of a misnomer, as she never actually cooked, but kept 14 days of food organized and provided for preparation to the cooking crew (for 25 people) at each meal.  A huge job she completed very well.  She even offered ice for our drinks on day 12 of the trip at dinner time.  All refrigeration was either the river or ice in chests.  She never missed an opportunity to get extra ice from a motor boat.  She also chose some interesting, but always fun, lines through the rapids.  

Above are Che and Margeaux.   Che was one of our gear guides, and is local to the area.  Fairly quiet, but very friendly and a great part of our crew.  Che traded places with Stefanie one day and guided a passenger boat, I think for the first time.  He did well, and definitely helped keep things running smoothly.  

Curtis and Honey, Curtis was  gear guide also from Nor Cal, rather near Tommy and Naomi.  Curtis is very knowledgeable of the flora and fauna in the area, and several times during the trip pointed out something of interest on a hike.  As I write this, Curtis is leading another trip down the Colorado River.  I didn't hear how many years of experience he has, but another very capable guide.  

And then there is Honey and Rachael (L/R).  These two are best buddies since the beginning of time, or at least from elementary school.  They are both local to the area, with Rachael being the remaining gear guide.  Early in the trip they kept each other company on Rachael's gear boat, but eventually Honey (one of the assistants) spent the remainder of the trip in the passenger boats.  I think Honey spent more days on the river in the same boat as Susan than I did.  Rachael was our defacto nurse, dispensing advice and OTC meds as required to the group.  She was my follow up nurse helping me recover from a spider bite I got on the last day of the trip.   Both were so full of smiles.  I remember getting breakfast from them on the first morning, and they were so cheerful I thought that they were faking it.  It didn't take long to realize they're just loving life on the river.  

Tommy and David Z (Right).  David is an accomplished photographer, chef, and all around nice guy.  David helped out as an assistant, and really shined in the kitchen, making a great dessert every night.  Cakes, cookies, more cakes, more cakes.  Did I mention we had cake during the trip, fresh baked?  I'm really looking forward to seeing if any of the pictures he took during out trip make the cut and get published.  

Last, but certainly not least, are Naomi (between Margeaux and Tommy), Ryan (2nd from left), and Michael (2nd from right).  Michael and I went through Lava together in the front of the boat, so I'll always remember him for that, as well as the epic Bocce Ball game we shared with Pepper.  Ryan got a great series of pictures of Mike Jahn laying out over the river catching a disc.  Ryan loves mountaineering, and had sectioned several parts of the river during his adventures, but had not completed the whole trip.  And then there was Naomi 1.0, or self described "Old Naomi"  She was anything but Old.  Vivacious, and a fun loving personality, but not afraid to get down to business, always keeping the focus of the trip as the top priority.  A lovely addition to the group.  And the story of how her and Tommy met is very interesting, but I wouldn't do it justice.  Ask her next time you chat with her.   

Link to Day 1

Day 1, a time to learn

Meet Tommy, our trip leader.  He had the task of figuring out how to navigate COVID while cramming 7 people into 18' long inflatable raft full of gear.  As with all situations encountered during our trip, he managed the situation with concern for all and with a mixture of seriousness and humor.  It became clear early on that we had no germaphobes on the trip, and we were relieved to find out we would not be required to wear masks while rafting down the Colorado River.  But Tommy was always ready.

For the entire trip, masks were required by the crew preparing our food, and by the guest when being served.  Else we were free to wear or not wear our masks as we saw fit.  You'll get a feel for our response as you view pictures going forward.  And after double digit days, the rigor of which masks were used slipped a bit.  In reality, having folks keep their faces covered during food prep and receiving food makes a lot of sense.  Unless you enjoy someone coughing or sneezing in your salad. 

Our trip on the river begins at Lees Ferry, and will end 225 or so river miles later at Diamond Creek.   

I believe we set off between 10:30 and 11am that Sunday morning.  The country was not exactly what I was expecting, but here we were, the Grand Canyon. I pictured higher walls around the river, but those were certainly to come.  

After an hour or so of paddling we got to our lunch spot.  This is a good place to note that paddling was our only means of moving at a different rate than the current of the river.  But, the river moves along at 3 or 4 mph on average, so tons of paddling is not necessarily required.   In general, paddling was never for more than a few minutes at a time, or perhaps longer but these times were "travel paddling".  In this mode, a pair of people would paddle for a set number of strokes, then the another pair would repeat, then finally the third pair, and then back to the first.  In this mode we could make our way down the river but not be paddling constantly.  A typical day was 3 - 6 or 7 hours on the river, but the time spent paddling was so much less than that.  Much of it was just looking around at the beauty of the creation around us.  

So, back to day 1 lunch.  This was another time for learning from Tommy, exactly what I don't recall.  After he finished, we had a bit of time before lunch was ready.  I had brought a disc on the trip (aka Frisbee) and Steve Pepper (aka Pepper or Pep) asked me if I wanted to play catch.   I noted Pepper could really throw well, better than most 50 something year olds for sure.  It was going to be good to have a friend who wanted to play catch during the trip.  Then Mike Jahn asked if he could join us.  While Pepper was good, Mike was definitely next level.  I could tell he had thrown much before this trip.  He was happy to share with me when he saw my disc (post trip picture of disc, story to come), that he had been a collegiate and club ultimate player for about 10 years, and as he put it, grown up watching I Bleed Black.  The beginning of another friendship.

This disc was to become my lunch plate, my middle of the night sarong soak basin, a shield for my head during night time showers, shade for others, a small sail when we had wind at our back, as well as a few other uses that slip my mind presently.  I recall asking Stefanie for permission to use my disc as my lunch plate on day 1.  She didn't giggle outwardly, but must have been thinking, "what a kook". 

I recall the rest of the day being rather uneventful, other than a decent amount of wind in the afternoon as we continued paddling toward camp.  That's one thing about wind, it definitely affects the boat's speed down the river.  So when faced with a wind, more paddling is called for.  We travelled about 14 miles down the river that day, I believe we stopped just above Sheer Wall Rapid.  The most notable rapid of the day was Badger Creek.  We saw a bighorn sheep, several herons, and also Peregrine falcons during the day.  We finally made it to our camp of ledges.  Tommy was pretty excited we would get to camp at this spot, as he said we wouldn't see another spot like this during our trip.  In this case, his enthusiasm didn't win me over.  Sleeping on hot rocks didn't seem all that great.  

I recall waking up hot in the middle of the night and thinking thus far the trip had been a bit underwhelming.  

Link to Day 2

Day 2, things start getting going

One of the things we learned the day before was coffee call was at 5:15, and breakfast call at 5:45.  Getting up early has its advantages.  Its the coolest part of the day, and there's a lot to be said for that.  Also, the more miles we could get before the afternoon winds came up, the easier our time in the boat would be.  I recall waking up way too early and super tired, as I didn't sleep well that night, or several nights previous.  But when I got up and looked around where I was, my late night thoughts of minor disappointment quickly vanished.   We were on our second day of 14 rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

I hope at some point to get some footage of rapids, but I didn't get much in the way of pictures of them.  Riding the rapids is a significant part of rafting the Grand Canyon, but if its the only reason you go you'll likely be disappointed.  There is so much more to see and do, and the really good rapids are spread out over 225 miles of river.  So don't hold your breath. 

We did another big rapid early in the day, House Rock.  Because it was early in the morning the river flow was still lower due to the weekend, and I'm thinking this rapid would have been more fun in higher water.  It was fun, none the less.  I realized later in the trip that the rapids were just another adventure, just don't expect something specific as it will likely be different than you expect. 

Our first destination of the day was North Canyon.  This was a short hike that everyone did to a small pool.  One could wade through the pool and go farther, but most of us avoided the somewhat stagnant water and just enjoyed hanging out in the shade.  

After this outing we went back to the boats and ate lunch.  The afternoon was rafting "the Twenties", a series of fun rapids between miles 21 and 27.  Our camp was at mile 32, South Canyon.  I recall the last miles of the day being against the wind and tiring.   When we got to camp, Tommy offered the group that we could swim our first rapid of the trip.   I was beat, the water was cold, so I passed.  I believe Mark, Pepper, Casey, young Naomi, Mike Jahn, and one Michael O'Hara (aka Michael, as opposed to Mike Jones, and Mike Jahn) were the only ones to do it.  Mark got out freezing cold, as it was a long swim and hence a long time in the water.  My excuse was I had a beer already, and I was glad I opted out that time.   

I noted during day 1 some of the wildlife we saw.  I didn't write notes from each day's wildlife viewings, but most days we saw herons. 
Link to Day 3

Day 3, this is getting to be REALLY fun

Every morning we woke up we pinched ourselves to see if it was real.  We were really in the Grand Canyon, and we would be here many more days.  The scenery was spectacular.  It was hot, and the paddling was demanding, but it was so worth it.  This day would be one of many spectacular days to come.

Redwall Cavern is the "small" hole in the center of the picture above.  The mouth is about 300' across, and it goes back about 500' from the water to where the ceiling meets the sand.  Mike Jahn, myself, and an assortment of others rotating in played catch in here for the whole time we were stopped.  I suppose we should have really examined the fossils, admired the walls and ceiling, and been more respectful of this place.  But it sure was fun to throw the disc 40 - 50 yards and not have anything in the way.  We wouldn't come across such a wide open space like this the rest of the trip.  While the picture doesn't do Redwall justice, here's one from our trip of Pepper getting ready to throw the disc to me.

After our stop at Redwall Cavern, we would continue on to our lunch spot. But before lunch, we had a hike on our agenda.  To the top of Martha's Crack.  A quick search reveals nothing about this spot.  All I know is it is across the river from the Bridge of Sighs at mile 36.  We hiked up maybe 500 feet or so above the river for a fantastic overlook of the river and canyon.  

After the hike down we were offered the opportunity to jump off a rock into the river.  I was first down the trail, and enjoyed getting cooled off in the river from a ~20' jump.  Life jackets required.   Except for Pepper, as he decided to just jump.   Oh, the trials of a trip leader trying to run a safe trip.  No other incidents that day, unless you can find one in the photo below of our lunch crew that day:

After a delicious lunch, we went 3 miles down the river to our next stop, Redbud Canyon.  Warm sun, full bellies, a strenuous morning hike, I think more than a few of us were likley ready for a nap.  This walk was very short, but stunning.  I was near the middle of the pack as I walked into this canyon.  What I noticed as we approached a large cavern was it seemed like a cathedral.  No pep talk was given before this walk, but none was required.  When i entered the relatively flat floor of the cathedral, no one was making a sound.  You could just sense the special nature of this place.  You'll have to check it out for yourself to see how your group reacts. 

the silence of Redbud Canyon was finally broken by the guides starting, then everyone joining in and singing, Happy Birthday to Mark.  July 14, 2020, was his 65th birthday.

We finally pried ourselves away from the canyon.

A few more miles down the river we stopped again to look at Bert Loper's boat. The link really doesn't do justice to Bert's story, there are many books about him you can find.  

We were winding down the last stretch of rowing for the day, and as I had been for the first 3 days I was in Tommy's boat.  He is a great story teller. At this time he began to tell us the story of Bill Beer and his friend John Daggett who swam the Grand Canyon in 1955.  And lived to tell about it.  This was pre Glen Canyon dam, and they started on Easter day (April 10).  I want to get the book to read it in depth.  (Edit - I got the book for my birthday, its a lot of fun to read!) During the story, Tommy looked up at the canyon walls and muttered something to himself.  When he had finished, he told us to imagine a boat oar.  Pretty easy to do when you have been holding one alot for the past 3 days.  He then told us to look about 150' up the canyon walls, and find a spot with a crack in it.  Not hard to do in the Grand Canyon.  We all had our spot, and he made sure that we really could see that oar up in the crack, spanning the gap of the crack.  He then told us that he had failed to point out an old Anasazi bridge up on the wall that we passed while he was telling the story.  He assured us that in our imagination we had basically seen what we would have seen from the boat, and went on to tell us more about the bridge we had "seen".  

That night we camped at the end of Point Hansbrough, mile 44.  The trip was 14 days long, we had 224 miles, so we should be going 16 miles (or more) a day.  Seemed like we were a bit short, but I figured trust the river guide with 30 years of experience.  I'm glad I did, as he had it all figured out. 

I think that night was our first time of guitar playing and singing.  It was a popular activity after that night.  We also celebrated Mark's birthday with some yummy cake and of course singing Happy Birthday to him.  

Link to Day 4

Day 4, nine more miles down the river

While the Grand Canyon has been called a "dead" river, because of the Glen Canyon Dam, I would argue otherwise.   One can not dispute the flow of the river is tightly regulated by the government, for power generation, as well as human uses.  But within the Grand Canyon, the river is very alive.  On day 1, we could see lots of fish in the water, as well as the sandy bottom.  But here by day 4 (and earlier also), the fish were gone, as side canyons continue to pour water and sediment into the Colorado River.  There are 100s, if not thousands, of side canyons that empty into the river.  And this morning we got to hike up another one of them, Saddle Canyon.

During our return to the boat, one of the guides Curtis turned to me and handed me a small plant to examine.  I wish I could remember the name of it.  I crushed it and it smelled of lemon.  This was the first of many times Curtis would take time to share with me or someone else some nugget of canyon flora or fauna.  After completing this short hike, we travelled a short way down the river and stopped for lunch.  

After lunch, we reached Nanokoweap canyon in the early afternoon.  I believe Tommy had planned for us to go farther this day.  But upon seeing both camps empty, he stopped and said we were going to camp here that day.  It was only around 2:30, and we had only gone 9 miles.  No one argued.  We set up camp, and set off to the Nankoweap granaries. The natives farmed the mouth of the Nankoweap canyon's fertile soil.  They would store grain for the next year's crops high up on the hills in sealed caves.  They would seal them by covering them with rock and river mud, and before finishing the process light a small fire inside.  The smoke from the fire would show them where to seal better, and when all sealed the fire would use up the oxygen in the cave, helping to preserve their grain.    The hike up to the granaries offers some of the most photographed views in the canyon.   

Upon returning to camp we settled in for another nice night.  Great scenery, 

Fun music, 

and pretty sunset

Day 4 in the books.  10 more days to go still!!!  53 miles down, 171 to go.

Link to Day 5