After 5 good days in Sedona, I headed up to Page, AZ to start my whitewater rafting trip of the
Grand Canyon last Thursday. I hadn't anticipated the coldness of the Arizona weather this time of the year and didn't bring much warm clothes with me. After all, I had been in the desert of Palm Springs and Phoenix for about 3 weeks until this point. On my way up, I stopped by Flagstaff to get the extra equipment that I needed for the 4 day trip, including rain gear, extra electrolytes, and warmer clothes.
The company that I went with was
Wilderness River Adventures and the crew gave us an orientation the night before we left on our adventure. There was a total of 12 people that came on this trip with 1/2 of the group doing a 4 day trip instead of the entire 8 day trip. This was a pretty small group since the rafts usually fit between 10-14 people each and we had 2 rafts for the 12 of us. There were 4 crew members that guided us and made sure we didn't die in the canyon. Nate was the trip leader along with Dan, Sean, and Will on the trip. These guys were all very experienced and really knew how to take care of us.
We set out from Page, AZ to our starting point at
Lee's Ferry on Friday morning. We loaded up the 2 large dry bags (one for our clothes, the other for the sleeping bag, the small dry bag, and our ammo can on the raft and away we went. What happened in the next 4 days was definitely an experience of a lifetime.
After we left Lee's Ferry we hit rapids about 2 mile into the trip. Since the
Colorado River in the canyon stays at a consistent 42 degrees, we were told to put on our rain gear so we wouldn't get wet. Yeah...that didn't work so well. I had bought the crappy Coleman's rain gear and it didn't do much good in keeping water out, but it did do the reverse and kept water in. Having had water travel up my pants leg the first time, I resorted to the classic "tight roll" from my high school years. I looked ridiculous but I didn't care. It helped kept the water out...well, almost.
We stopped at our first camp site at around 5pm and I picked out a flat area for the night. The group help unload all the dry bags, sleeping cots, chairs, table, cooking equipment, and "Oscar" off the boat. Who or what is "Oscar" you ask? Being out in the wilderness for a few days, people naturally need to "relieve" themselves from time to time. Oscar is the port-a-potty that went with us on the trip. The company had so affectionately named the toilet "Oscar" after a jack-ass passenger from a while back.
While we were setting up our cots and sleeping area, the crew was busy making dinner. I am still amazed by the quality of food they were able to produce on the makeshift kitchen they set up. During the trip we had grilled pork chops, steaks, chicken breasts, corn bread, au gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, saluted veggies, dutch oven brownies, and cheesecake for dinner. Breakfast was just as impressive with homemade biscuits and cream gravy, sausages, and made to order eggs, breakfast burritos, and bagels. We definitely didn't go hungry on this trip.
After dinner, the group would sits around and listen to stories about the canyon with beers, wine, and spirits in their cups. Once the sun goes down, people usually head to bed by around 9pm since there isn't too much else to do afterward dinner. Sleeping took some adjusting to since I hadn't camped in about 6 years. The nights got down to around 45 degrees in the canyon and I was so glad I had bought that extra pair of sweats. Waking up in the middle of the night was an adventure on its own. The place is completely dark with the sound of the rapids rushing in the background. I would looked up in the sky and see millions of stars shining back at me. I was just awe struck. It brought a sense of happiness over me to experience such untainted part of nature. I drift slowly back to sleep huddled up in my sleeping bag only to be awaken by the yelling of "Hot Coffee!" in the morning.
The group got along really well and we all helped take care of each other during the trip. There were Jim, Kathy, and Mary-Anne from Houston that went on the trip last year and returned to do the trip again. Roxy and Kim, an awesome couple from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jim & Jim, doing a father/son trip from Chicago. Peter, Peter, and Oogly from Germany doing their annual guys' trip. And Linda doing a long road trip out of Florida. I am so glad I had the chance to meet all these wonderful people that made this experience all the more enjoyable.
On the second day of the trip I didn't something stupid. After about 3 beers, I was walking on some rocks by the shore when I slipped and tore a huge gash on the heel of my left foot. Maybe I should have bought better sandals instead of the flip flops I brought on trip. I immediately went and got the first aid kit out, cleaned the wound, and bandaged the hell out of the foot. My only concern was the 10 mile hike out of the canyon on day 4 and how I was gonna survive with me limping around the camp ground. The crew was great and provided me with extra stuff to really wrap my foot for the hike and I could barely feel the pain.
After rafting down 88 mile of the Colorado River, we arrived at
Phantom Ranch on day 3, the starting point of our hike out of the canyon. We set up camp for the night and the hikers (Kim, Roxy, Peter x 2, Oogly, and I) got our hiking gears ready with extra bottles of water, our clothes, electrolytes, and whatever else we wanted to take back with us. There was a pile for extra clothing that we wanted to leave behind and the rafting company would donate them for us. Knowing it was gonna be a hard climb, I started hydrating during the day and didn't drink alcohol the day before. Also ate a hearty dinner for that extra energy the next morning. Our wake up call was at 5:15am and after eating breakfast and packed our lunch, we were on our way by 6:50am.
I have never been a good hiker and this was definitely a hard one to start with. We hiked the
Bright Angel Trail out to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The trail itself is 9.3 miles long with a 4380 feet or 0.83 miles ascend in elevation. We started the hike at a pretty good pace and hit the first rest area, Indian Gardens at the 4.4 mile mark in about 2 hours. I was feeling pretty good at this point. My wounded foot was feeling okay and my energy level was pretty good. I had drank about 3 liters of gatorade by this point. I kept thinking gotta keep hydrated or else I'd end up in the hospital like I did in Singapore. After the first rest area, there were 2 more rest areas, one at 3 mile mark and the other at 1.5 mile mark. Now I know why they put these rest areas at 1.5 miles apart. The climb was straight up! The hike to the 3 mile rest house was okay. Drank lots of fluids and stopped for lunch to get that extra energy boost. Starting to feel fatigued I was stopping a little bit more to rest and take pictures of the awesome view. The hike to the 1.5 mile rest house was getting harder and harder and the rest of the way I had to stop every 200 yards just to catch my breath from the exhausti
on and elevation change. My legs felt dead and my neck was sore from carrying a 20 LB bag on my back the entire hike. To get some extra motivation, I got my headphones out and started listening to music on my iPhone. Once I was 1/4 mile from the end I could see the Bright Angel Lodge, the top of the canyon. My adrenaline kicked in and my legs were no longer tired and I was no longer out of breath. A flood of emotion came over me as I looked out over the canyon I just conquered. Tears of happiness. With a huge smile on my face and tears running down my cheeks I felt a sense of accomplishment and peace. I did it. I was able to do something I didn't think I could just a few hours before. The memories of this trip, the friendships I made definitely made this a trip I will never forget.
Here are some of my favorite pictures. Hope you enjoy these!
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| This one is my favorite |
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| One of the hikes during the trip |
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| Peter, Peter, and Oogly |
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| Roxy amd Kim |
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| Beginning of the hike out |
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| 6 Mile Mark |
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| 8.5 mile mark |
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| Finished!! |
