Grand Canyon Raft Trip

Kinexxions Blog by Rebeckah R. Wiseman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

On September 17, 2014 my journey through the Grand Canyon began. I was traveling with friends, Sue and Fred Elliott, and 20 complete strangers. It was the culmination of a year's worth of planning (and waiting) as well as the fulfillment of a dream that began 50 years ago when I first heard about it. We were traveling with a small outfitter, Outdoors Unlimited, with five oar boats and one paddle raft. Sue, Fred, and I had signed on for the full 15-day trip. It was absolutely, positively, the most awesome experience ever!

Lee's Ferry, September 16th, the night before departure.

September 17th through October 1st, 2014

• Prelude to The Grand Adventure
• The Grand Adventure Begins
• It was an Incredible and Amazing Adventure!
• Upper Canyon :: 1st Day Impressions
• The Cast of Characters
• Settling in to the Daily Routine and Adjusting to Life on the River
• Day 2 - Part 1 :: Hot Na Na Wash to Boulder Narrows
• Day 2 - Part 2 :: North Canyon to Mile 26.5 
• Day 3 - On the Colorado River - Mile 26.5 to Mile 44.5 
• Day 4 - Eminence Break to Kwagunt Creek  
• Day 5 - Kwagunt Creek to Unkar Rapid  
• Day 6 - Part 1 :: Unkar Rapid to Rattlesnake Canyon  
• Day 6 - Part 2 :: Rattlesnake Canyon to Cremation Fault  
• Day 7 - Cremation Fault to Schist Camp :: Exchange Day  
• Day 8 - Part 1 :: Schist Camp to Crystal Rapid 
• Day 8 - Part 2 :: Crystal Rapid to Mile 119 Creek
• Day 9 - Mile 119 Creek to Bonita Creek Rapid
• Day 10 - Bonita Creek Rapid to Mile 145
• Day 11 - Part 1 :: Mile 145 to Matkatamiba Canyon
• Day 11 - Part 2 :: Matkatamiba Canyon  to Tuckup Canyon
• Day 12 - Part 1 :: Tuckup Canyon to Vulcan's Anvil
• Day 12 - Part 2 :: Lava Falls Rapid
• Day 13 - Hell's Hollow to Pumpkin Springs
• Day 14 - Pumpkin Springs to Mile 241
• Day 15 - The Jet Boat arrived, the gear was loaded, and by 8:15 we were flying down the river toward Pearce Ferry. The 40 mile ride didn't take long. Gear was unloaded from the Jet Boat into a waiting truck. Goodbyes were said. Hugs were given all around. And by 9:30 it was time to leave. It was a bittersweet moment - thrilled that we had completed an amazing journey through the Grand Canyon yet sad and wistful that we had to say goodbye to the Canyon, the River, and a wonderful group of people with whom it had all been shared.

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It's always nice to have another perspective... posts by Sue Elliott. Her approach was to discuss each of the various aspects of the journey while I chose to do more of a "narrative" of each day. Sue and Fred also went on the longer hikes, which I didn't, and those posts are also listed below.

• A “Grand” Adventure–Getting Ready
• Lees Ferry–The Beginning of a Journey
• Camp Life–Learning the Routine
• Life’s Little Discomforts–or How we are more adaptable than we thought
• On The River……Rafts, Guests and Guides
• The Rapids
• Points of Interest Along the Way
• Rider Canyon Hike–Day 2
• Eminence Break
• Left Behind……
• Hilltop Overlook and Ruins–Day 5
• Tabernacle Butte Hike–Day 6–About River Mile 75
• Transition - Half Way Through - Day 7
• Elves Chasm Hike–Day 8
• Day 9 Hiking Black Tail Canyon and Stone Creek Canyon
• Day 10–Hiking Deer Creek Falls to the ‘Patio’
• Day 11–Matkatamiba Canyon and a Threat of Rain
• Day 12 - National Canyon Hike