Rafting the Grand Canyon - Part Four

Geddy Lee once sang, "The point of the journey is not to arrive."  Well, we certainly won't be seeing the end of it in this entry.  At right, Teresa is engaging in the typical float-time activities of relaxing and taking in the scenery.  And check out those nails!  Seven days on the river and she didn't break one of them...largely due to the attentive efforts of her husband on the more rugged aspects of life as a river rat.  Very nice couple.

Water fight!!  The big rigs were a favorite foe.

With summer heat and cold water, everyone comes out "The winner!!"

A group of kayakers overtake us.  The big rig above is their support boat.

Elves Chasm

This is one of the most beautiful spots we stopped on the trip...but access was not without effort, having to negotiate a steep boulder-choked chasm.  Howie, Kat and Dennis went above and beyond in helping Kirsteen make it to the reward of a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole.

Explorers Monument is huge block of redwall limestone across from Elves Chasm.

A 20-minute moonlit exposure captures the ghostly bedding down activities at our camp on Stephen Aisle.

Day 8 is a deliberate half day of floating so that we may explore Stone Canyon all afternoon.  While it did not turn out to be my most successful day photographically, my liesurely pace left me far behind the pack of hardier hikers.  I spent several hours entirely alone...the Grand Canyon to myself.  Can't really capture that feeling in a picture.

The creek didn't provide many waterfalls to picture though waterpockets here and there provided relief from the heat.

Two takes on yucca.

An exposed outcrop of Hakatai shale...usually it is a slope-forming layer.

Dave, our brave and intrepid leader, high on the trail above.

Two exposures on Deer Creek Falls; stop action and the silky effect.

The mouth of "Matkat"

(Matkatamiba Canyon)

Hikers set off.

Working the slot...Bill is ready to lend a hand.

Relaxing in this beautiful amphitheater is the reward.

Creek pebbles in shallow water.

A twisted view of our ninth camp.

A mineral spring above camp has created a large travertine deposit.  Howie told the story of one stormy evening whereupon he warned some folks not to camp to near the otherwise serene location.  Warning not heeded...flooding ensued.

The ominous up-river view.

Down-river is the mouth of Havasu Canyon.

Rafting the Grand Canyon - Part Three

Day Six is the official halfway point of the journey, though we're a day and 20 miles short on real time and distance...but today we reach Phantom Ranch and the only civilization in the canyon.  The kitchy thing to do is to mail a postcard carried out of the canyon by mule.  Directly below is a photo of Black Bridge, one of two crossing the river to Phantom Ranch.  We'll also be exchanging half our passengers today, as they only paid for half the journey.  Another ten folks are hiking down from the South Rim to join us.  As it turns out, one of them is a fair elderly lady that suffers a bout of heat exhaustion just short of the river, though the guides are able to attend to her and no emergency arises.  Ironically, the only beverages she has brought are wine and Diet Coke.  She's with her granddaughter that her talked into coming...not a real happy camper those first couple of days.

Paddle salute!

Phantom Ranch gauging station.

Bright Angel Creek

Black Bridge

Phantom Ranch raft beach.

This beach at Pipe Springs Rapid is the closest river-access from the South Rim; a seven mile hike. (It's another two miles over to Phantom Ranch.)

Time for Hermit Rapid!
Photographers get ready!!

That would be Dennis' oar emerging from the wave washing over his boat.

Kathryn looks like she is having fun.

The paddle boat makes its run...

...and takes a big hit!

And Renee is still holding onto the bow!

Dan is leaning on the front of Howie's boat to "punch" the waves...

...and he performs a flawless demonstration.  Well done!

That's a lot of water.

Quieter waters in view of Pima Point.

Camp this evening is between the two halves of Crystal Rapid...Kathryn pulls hard to stay right.

Howie avoids the big boat-eating wave.

Dennis makes a relaxed entry.

View of our beach to the upper half of Crystal Rapid.

The lower half of Crystal rapid; rocks at left make it one of the more dangerous.

Jon shows us an Anasazi ruin.

Foggy water effects.

A ghostly rendition of the big boat-eating wave.

Diana Temple