Travelogue

Setting off down the riverAs of yesterday, we had left the sedimentary limestone sandstone of Marble Canyon behind and entered the Upper Granite Gorge of the Grand Canyon, an area of igneous and metamorphic rocks that had been twisted and thrust upwards during mountain building events over millions of years.

Along this section of the river, you can see exposed 1.7 billion year old Zoroaster Granite and Vishnu Schist.

Because the rock in the gorge does not easily erode, the river becomes swifter and the rapids grow larger, so today was going to be a very big rapids day - Hance (a 10), Sockdolager (an 8) and Grapevine (another 8), all within 5 miles, so sort of boom, boom, boom.

Big rapids day todayIt’s hard to capture the feeling of what it’s like going through a major rapid with a photo, so today Herb used his GoPro for the first time on the trip so that we could record what it actually felt like while running it.

The best way I can describe it is that it’s like sitting in a rocking chair while having a friend use all their might to knock you off of it, while another friend is simultaneously throwing buckets of water in your face.

Scouting Hance RapidBefore any really major rapid, the guides scout it out by hiking up to a point from which they can look down on it to see if it’s what they expect (the features in the rapid change a lot based on water levels) and to plan their “line” to run it.

Hance was the most concerning one of the day, so we pulled the rafts over on a small beach before it and hiked along a path to an overlook. I’m sure the guides didn’t need our input, but it was nice of them to invite us along, so that we could learn their plan and know what to expect.

Hance RapidThis particular rapid has lots of large rocks constricting the channel, forming powerful hydraulics (or “holes” as they are known. This causes the water on the surface to be pulled back towards the obstacle, creating a recirculating vortex-like zone, which can flip a boat or flip one of us out of the boat in what they refer to as an "unintentional swim."

I have to admit that my heart was pumping pretty fast as we got back in the rafts. We were in Robin (our trip leader’s) boat today, so I felt we were in good hands. She has run this river more than 40 times, and I am convinced she could run it with her eyes closed - she has every rapid and its features etched in her mind.

Running Hance RapidSince Robin is the trip leader, we were the first to go. She definitely didn’t sugar coat what running this rapid was going to be like. As we approached the start of it, she said “Ok, this is going to be violent,” which is a term I didn’t want to hear, and “get ready for a big hit!”

The kicker though (no pun intended) was when she said there is a potential “donkey kick,” which meant that people sitting in the back of the raft (which happened to be me and Herb) could potentially be catapulted up and over the raft. She laughingly said, “if it happens, try not to land on me.”

Between the rapidsShe then instructed us how to avoid that. We should stay down low behind the bags, spread our legs apart, and hold onto straps fairly far apart.

I probably assumed the “donkey kick” position much earlier than necessary, but better to err on the side of caution I always say.

Running Hance was actually very exciting (and perhaps a little terrifying), but Robin executed it perfectly.

Lunch stop at Clear CreekBeing in the lead boat allowed us to watch all the other rafts in our group come through - one at a time leaving lots of space in between. There was lots of whooping and hollering as our fellow boats safely made their way through Hance.

One down, two to go.

We had a brief breather before running Sockdolager Rapid (a Grand Canyon 8). The key to running this one was to start in the center and hit everything straight, because there are large holes and waves that flank the sides of the rapid, both on river right and left.

My shin colliding with some metamorphic schistThis rapid was actually named by John Wesley Powell’s crew on their second expedition down the river. Sockdolager is an old boxing term meaning a heavy, decisive blow that can knock someone down. Glad I didn’t know that before we ran it.

However, once again, Robin safely brought us through, running her line exactly as planned.

Last up for the day was Grapevine Rapid (another Grand Canyon 8), a bit less powerful than Sockdolager, but much rockier. The plan for this one was to enter it center-right, just to the left of the rocks on the right and avoiding the hole at the top, and then work our way back towards center, avoiding another hole at the bottom of the rapid at center-right.
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My river guide docNot to be redundant, but another perfect run by Robin

Okay, I was pretty ready to get to camp and get a river cocktail hour going, but we had one more stop to make before getting to camp - a hike up to Clear Creek Waterfall.

As I mentioned above, the geology had been changing as we drifted downriver, and we were now in the Upper Granite Gorge, an area of metamorphic schist and igneous granite, much harder and sharper than the limestone of Marble Canyon.

No kidding! I hadn’t gotten more than 100 feet into the hike to Clear Creek Waterfall before I had an encounter with a metamorphic schist and it won, cutting my shin down to the bone.

My Boo Boo during a sandstormI hardly felt it happen and was actually quite surprised when I looked down at my leg, which looked pretty bloody with skin flaps exposing stuff, that probably shouldn't be visible, underneath.

Leonard, one of our trusty river guides, was in charge of first aid, so he stayed behind with Herb and me and cleaned my wound, put some antibiotic cream on it, and bandaged it. It was really hot out, so he set up a beach umbrella for me so I could have some shade.

My river spouseUnfortunately, the wind picked up as it often does in the afternoon, practically blowing the umbrella down the river. I really needed the shade, so I held onto it for dear life, with sand blowing in my face, for the hour or so it took the gang to get back from their hike to Clear Creek Falls.

Ok, between Hance, Sockdolager, Grapevine rapids, and metamorphic schist, I think I had enough fun for today.

I was pretty ready for camp. I was dreaming of a nice river cocktail hour, and then I remembered Leonard told me not to get my wound wet. When we beached the boat, Van, a wonderful 17-year-old with us, offered to carry me ashore like a baby. Very sweet. I only wish I had a photo of that.

Afterwards, I did manage to have a nice warm beer at the edge of the river.