Day 12, Lava, and Sandnado

Having a layover day was great, but I think everyone was ready to get back on the river.  We knew what lay ahead of us, Lava Falls.  But we would not rush there this morning, as Tommy had intel that there was significant water in National Canyon, just a couple miles down river.  But before we set off Tommy had a thing or two to say to us about our time at Lava later this morning.

Tommy was very good at keeping us in the moment, so as we got to National Canyon the focus was there.  Yet another fun pool to explore, it would have been great to spend even more time there.  But after 15 minutes of splashing in the pool, off we were to meet our next challenge.  As usual, the trip there was stunning.  

And eventually, just before noon, we were at the top of Lava.  As we approached, the clouds overhead got very dark, and there was thunder heard in the not so far distance.  Definitely a bit ominous.  We all got out of the boats and walked above the falls to look.  Below is from 30 - 50 feet above the falls.  Its hard to tell the waves down there are maybe 6 - 10 feet.  As Tommy described, the line through the rapid is to the right of the drop off in the center of the rapid.  Shoot the v line on the right side, and hope that the last wave just before the last big rock is not doubling over to smack you.  You won't know until you get there, it happens every 20 - 30 seconds.  You can't worry about it, you just have to go.  As we got on the river, it started to rain a bit.  Oh man, hearts were pumping.

When all was said and done, everyone made it through Lava, plenty wet but no real problems.  The guides don't think Lava is fun, you just need to get through it.  I thought it was fun.  After making it through Lava, then Son of Lava, we stopped for lunch just below the rapids.  One boat celebrated with shots of Scotch or Brandy.  Have to remember that for next time.  Back to Bocce Ball and sandwiches for now.  Below is the view looking back toward Lava.  The clouds cleared for now, but they would be back.  

The afternoon was fairly uneventful.  But I did get some other pictures of the scenery that afternoon, with the obligatory columnar basaltic lava formation picture.  

We made it camp and that's when the celebrating really began.  The guides brought Tequila for celebration after Lava.  Katie had brought a handle of nice vodka on the trip and still had plenty to share.  So it was time for shots of Tequila, or vodka, or maybe both?  I won't say what I had, but the picture shows me with just a can of Simpler Times beer, cheers Zac!

Sometime after we were settled in camp the wind started coming up.  The guides managed to make dinner without extra helpings of sand and dust, which made for a nice meal.  Some folks set up tents early in the day, as it had been threatening rain all day off and on.  We had managed to miss it so far. By the time dinner was over Mark and Maren's tent was already full of sand that had blown in.  When we went to bed later the wind had picked up again.  I set up our tent near the rocks for protection.  The spot was well sheltered from down stream wind, but not from upstream wind.  Shortly after we got in the tent, the wind really started.  The tent was flattened by the wind on top of us multiple times.  I had left the tops of the doors open for some ventilation.  The sand was just blowing in through the mesh.  Oh well, we got sandy, and when it rained later we got wet a bit.  But eventually the wind stopped, and we sort of slept until morning.  

Here is a quote from Brian Jahn's journal regarding "Sandnado" (credit Brian Jahn for the term).

  I, for one was not expecting ‘Sandnado!’. I wrapped up in my burrito tarp as tight as I could to try (unsuccessfully) to keep sand out of every crevice. For the longest time I heard nothing but the howling wind and the flapping of tent fabric. Strong winds from seemingly every direction. 

Occasionally, there would be only enough rain so that the sand would stick to you as it blew. At one point, there were shouts of “I’m going to the moon!” (Chris), and “Maren, get back in the tent!” (Mark). Only in the exhaustion of morning light did I realize that both Chris and Mark/Maren had their tents roll over while they were still inside. Other than a lot of sleep-deprived and sand-filled eyes, and some seriously bent tent poles, I believe that all survived Sandnado!, not too much worse off for the experience, and with a good tale to tell.

I wish I had taken a picture of Pepper's tent, the poles were just mangled.  Some folks had just rolled up in tarps, which wasn't a bad strategy.  But there was no really good strategy, just deal with it for the night.
Link to Day 13