Day 5 - Kwagunt Creek to Unkar Rapid

Sunday, September 21st.
16.5 miles ~ Mile 56.5 to Mile 73.

Heading in to 60 Mile Rapid, the first one of the day. 

It was a nice easy ride through.

Here we are approaching the area where the Little Colorado joins the Colorado River. Known as "the Confluence," it is considered a sacred site by the people of the Navajo Nation. While driving to Lee's Ferry on September 16th we saw numerous signs stating "Save the Confluence" along highway 89 before and after the turn-off to the east side of the Grand Canyon. We later learned that there is a very controversial proposal to build a  resort and aerial tramway in this area, though not directly at the confluence.

We watched the river change color. The blue-green water is the Colorado River while the brownish water along the edge is coming in from the Little Colorado.  It isn't always like this but recent storms had created runoff from the canyons which stirred up the silt. Oftentimes the Little Colorado will be a turquoise color due to its mineral content. As we traveled further into the Grand Canyon the water would gradually change to a light chocolate color, and then even darker, mostly from the numerous creeks and streams flowing in from the side canyons.

There was a bit of "splashy stuff" at Mile 63.

Between mile 64 and 65 we went by the campsite of some scientists who were studying the Humpback Chub, one of the fishes native to the river in the Grand Canyon. They had traps set out in quite a few spots and were attempting to get a count of how many were in the river. A little further downstream, one of the scientists in his motor boat stopped to chat with KJ about the project.

We passed through another little riffle.

At mile 65 we stopped at Carbon Creek for a hike. The Desert View Tower,  nearly invisible due to the distance, is on that ridge in the center of the picture. Really! There was the threat of rain but the group started out on the hike knowing it would be aborted if it started raining. It did. But the rain didn't last long.

Within about 10 minutes the sun had come out.

An impressive landmark, starting at mile 68, is Comanche Point. Its peak rises about 4,000 feet above the river! Impressive indeed.

Another view of Comanche Point after having gone around a bend in the river.

At mile 69 we went through Tanner Rapid, which is only rated a 4 on the Grand Canyon scale but drops about 20 feet from beginning to end. And yeah, it was a fun one!

At mile 71.5 we stopped  at Cardenas Creek for a hike up to Hilltop Ruin.

I was assured by Matt that this was a hike that I could do, but I just couldn't keep up with the pace and after about 20 minutes gave up. The view was fantastic. A portion of the rafts can be seen in the lower left corner. In the lower right corner, Justin and Chelly are coming up the hill. And, Comanche Point is that high peak to the right of center.

Another wonderful day on The River comes to a close at our campsite at Unkar Creek.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Note: The page Grand Canyon Raft Trip lists all of my posts published about this Grand Adventure!

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "Day 5 - Kwagunt Creek to Unkar Rapid," Kinexxions, posted October 31, 2014 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2014/10/day-5-kwagunt-creek-to-unkar-rapid.html : accessed [access date])

Day 4 - Eminence Break to Kwagunt Creek

Monday, September 20th was a short day on the river - just 12 miles (from mile 44.5 to mile 56.5) and two small rapids.

The day started at Eminence Break. As usual, after breakfast the rafts were loaded with all of our gear. But Matt had a "little" hike planned for this morning.

The group heads out on their trek that begins on the sandy beach at the Eminence Break campsite.

And they go up there. See the little stick-figures way up there? Sure you do - there in the center of the photo where the ridge starts to flatten out.

How about now? Yeah, they went up there. Those weird-looking, shadowy, stick-like figures are them.

I'm sure the view was fantastic but I don't know. You guessed it - I didn't go. But I wasn't the only one. There was Deanna with her sprained ankle, Priscilla, Sue Elliott, and me that opted to stay on the beach. We had a couple of hours to read, gather our thoughts, get caught up on note-taking, and just plain relax or take a stroll along the beach.

No pictures were taken while on the river today 'cause I was in the paddle raft!

Deanna, shown above riding with KJ, had fallen off of the paddle board the day before and sprained her ankle. Her misfortune was my good fortune. I eagerly volunteered to fill her spot. Of course, I was aware that we weren't going to do too many miles and there were only a few small rapids to get through.

Still, it gave me a feel for what it was like to paddle a raft. The company was great, and it was fun! It would definitely be challenging for a 15-day trip. This and the photo above were taken by Dawn.

This photo was taken later in the afternoon by Sue Elliott.

We arrived at Kwagunt Creek, our campsite for the night, with the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds.

The shadows of the clouds and the light from the sun simply danced around the canyon walls. It was absolutely beautiful!

But a heavy layer of clouds was moving in our direction.

We were still in what was called the Monsoon Season for the Grand Canyon and it looked and felt like it was going to rain. The guides recommended that tents be put up, just in case. And so we did. As night fell, I noticed that the stars weren't as bright as usual. It was like they were covered in a sheath of thin mesh cloth, you could just barely see them through the layer of clouds.

Photo courtesy of Sue Elliott - their site at Kwagunt Creek.

The heat of the day did not dissipate after the sun went down and it was still rather warm when I laid down for the night. I decided to stay outside, with a view of the night sky. The air was still, no breeze was stirring.

Shortly after laying down, I thought I felt a few sprinkles, then nothing. A short time later great big raindrops started falling and the wind started blowing. I jumped up, grabbed my sleeping gear and rushed into the tent just in time! The rain came down... and the thunder rolled. Oh, did it ever!

It was like nothing I had ever heard before. It bounced off the canyon walls.  It rolled and rolled, grumbling its way through the canyon.  It wasn't frightening, at least not to me. It was awesome and, quite simply, enhanced the overall incredible experiences of this journey.

The thunder eventually passed but the rain stayed, stopping and starting throughout the night. When morning came, the sun-filled blue sky was once again dappled with white clouds. What would this new day bring, I wondered.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Note: The page Grand Canyon Raft Trip lists all of my posts published about this Grand Adventure!

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "Day 4 - Eminence Break to Kwagunt Creek," Kinexxions, posted October 14, 2014 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2014/10/day-4-eminence-break-to-kwagunt-creek.html : accessed [access date])