In July my family joined some old rafting buddies to float the Grand Canyon. It was a great trip for all involved, and for me particularly because I rowed my own boat and survived to tell the tale. Although I've been rafting for years and rowed the majority of other rivers, the Grand Canyon is an entirely different beast. I couldn't have done it without the advice and tutelage of the more experienced oarsmen (more on this later).
My big camera didn't see much use, but my small Canon took some amazing snapshots. I've been hording them for too long, so here they are. E-mail me directly if you'd like full-size originals.
One of the fun parts of rafting is the unpredictability of the river. Fluctuations in water flow can pacify or precipitate a rapid, which means the same arrangement of rocks can be a thriller or a yawner at different times. It's not uncommon to raft the same river in April and August and not recognize the same rapids. Most rivers rise and fall seasonally, although some damned rivers change more often. In the case of the Grand Canyon, the damn at Lake Powell fluctuates throughput at a period of 24 hours. This becomes immediately apparent when one wakes up in the morning to find their raft beached 5 feet from the water, a rookie mistake that often requires unloading the entire boat to rectify.
But even given a constant flow of water, rapids remain mercurial. Two boats separated by 30 seconds can experience vastly different runs, even when both are oared by seasoned experts. A million things will change, whether it's variations in wave crest height, momentary water velocity, or boat weight. John Dunlap, pictured left, is a retired tugboat captain who understands this all too well. Despite being the strongest, tallest and most experienced oarsman on our trip, "Big John" was forced from his boat no less than three times on our trip. Dr. Bill had the unfortunate opportunity to catch the last of these on camera.
John's setup and execution was perfect (even the group watching from shore thought he was golden), but the river had other plans. Lava Falls is the biggest and scariest rapid on the Grand Canyon, so we're all happy that nobody got hurt. It all goes to show how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
My big camera didn't see much use, but my small Canon took some amazing snapshots. I've been hording them for too long, so here they are. E-mail me directly if you'd like full-size originals.
One of the fun parts of rafting is the unpredictability of the river. Fluctuations in water flow can pacify or precipitate a rapid, which means the same arrangement of rocks can be a thriller or a yawner at different times. It's not uncommon to raft the same river in April and August and not recognize the same rapids. Most rivers rise and fall seasonally, although some damned rivers change more often. In the case of the Grand Canyon, the damn at Lake Powell fluctuates throughput at a period of 24 hours. This becomes immediately apparent when one wakes up in the morning to find their raft beached 5 feet from the water, a rookie mistake that often requires unloading the entire boat to rectify.But even given a constant flow of water, rapids remain mercurial. Two boats separated by 30 seconds can experience vastly different runs, even when both are oared by seasoned experts. A million things will change, whether it's variations in wave crest height, momentary water velocity, or boat weight. John Dunlap, pictured left, is a retired tugboat captain who understands this all too well. Despite being the strongest, tallest and most experienced oarsman on our trip, "Big John" was forced from his boat no less than three times on our trip. Dr. Bill had the unfortunate opportunity to catch the last of these on camera.
John's setup and execution was perfect (even the group watching from shore thought he was golden), but the river had other plans. Lava Falls is the biggest and scariest rapid on the Grand Canyon, so we're all happy that nobody got hurt. It all goes to show how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Leave a comment