May 19, 1996 - Grand Canyon - 6 Days
Colorado River, Bright Angel Trail
<Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge the pictures>
Our trip started at the Days Inn on
Route 66
in Flagstaff the evening before we launched
the rafts. Robby was the OARS trip leader, and gave us a 7PM briefing, some
safety tips, and passed out two waterproof bags each into which we needed to
stuff everything we would be taking for the 5 day trip and the hike out. Food
and tents were provided by OARS, and were packed separately in the rafts. In
retrospect, we took way too much clothing and other stuff we never
touched.
 Sunday
(day 1) - At 7AM the next morning, we boarded two vans for the trip to Lees
Ferry where the rafts were waiting. Lees Ferry is where all of the river trips
put in, and is the only place for more than 200 river
miles where you can drive down to the Colorado
River. Lees Ferry is river mile 0
where all river points through the canyon are measured from. After some
additional safety instructions and the issuance of life vests, we finally cast
off on our adventure at 11:10 AM. There were 15 passengers and 6 guides on this
trip, with four passengers and a guide in each of four rafts, and a fifth raft
loaded with supplies with two guides. The river is pretty flat in this area, and
we drifted down toward Navajo Bridge where we stopped for a lunch of roast beef
and turkey sandwiches.
 After
lunch, we started down the river again. Up ahead, we saw some riffles in the
water, and held on tight
as we went through them. By the end of the day, we would not even have noticed
those riffles. At mile 8 we hit our first significant rapids at Badger Creek.
The guides said that rapid would measure a 6 on the Colorado River rapid scale
of 1-10 (this is different from the normal rapids scale which goes only up to
6). We got a face full of 48 degree Colorado River water on that  one.
At 4PM, we pulled over at some ledges where we would camp for the night, and
where we would get our first real taste of the terrific meals our guides would
prepare for the rest of the week. Dinner that
evening was chicken cordon bleu with rice, cauliflower, salad, beer and wine.
Kathy and I had brought bivi sacks, so we passed on the tents and slept under
the stars.
Monday (day 2) - Up at 5AM, we had a breakfast of pancakes, bacon and
strawberries, and were back on  the
river by 8. We stopped after a short while and took a hike up a side canyon
where we found a pool of water and lots of frogs. Continuing the trip, we went
through some more rapids, had lunch along the way,
and pulled over for the night at 4PM on a sandy beach. Dinner that night was
salmon steaks, mixed veggies, potato, salad, beer and wine. After dinner, the
guides set up a horseshoe court, and we all enjoyed the warm and clear evening.
Tuesday (day 3) - This was a busy day, starting off with a breakfast of
bacon and eggs. We did a hike at South Canyon where we saw some Anasazi Indian
ruins, and found pottery shards and petroglyphs. Just  after
South Canyon, was a
stream pouring out of the cliff with an abundance of greenery around this oasis
called Vassey's Paradise. A bit further down river, we came to a huge cavern
carved in to the redwall, appropriately called Redwall Cavern. We all went into
the cavern, the guides set up flotation cushions in a diamond formation, and we
had a Whiffle ball game. Lunch was at a small sandy beach where we found some
fresh and rather large cat prints, which we  assumed
were mountain lion. Whatever made the tracks, we were certainly a bit more
cautious and aware of our surroundings while we
were there. We continued down river and stopped for the night at saddle Canyon.
We found a high sandy spot with magnificent views of the cliffs and the river.
We took a rather rugged hike to a mossy waterfall before dinner, and ended up
eating in the dark by headlamp light.
Wednesday (day 4) - After a breakfast of melon, bagels, cheese and eggs, we
headed out on our last full day on the river.  After
a long float, we reached the confluence of the Little Colorado River on the left
side at mile 61.5. In stark contrast to the cold, green water of the Colorado
River, the Little Colorado was a brilliant azure blue,
and more than 30 degrees warmer. It makes a stunning visual contrast as the
different colored waters merge together. We hiked 4/10 of a mile up the Little
Colorado to a swim area with a natural water slide where we spent a couple of
hours enjoying the first warm water we had felt since Sunday. Unfortunately, the
Little Colorado gets its blue color from the large amount of calcium chloride
dissolved in it, and it is necessary to wash off in the Colorado afterwards to
avoid getting all red and crinkly and feeling  like
sandpaper afterwards. It is something like getting out of a nice warm tub and
jumping into ice water.
After a lunch of fruit and salad, we continued down river and hit some
impressive rapids. The wind was picking up and blowing up river, so we pulled
over to a shady spot and rested. We camped for the night on a sandy delta, and
were sandblasted by the wind for most of the night. Kathy and I picked a camping
spot away from the river and high up in some bushes and rocks to try to get some
protection from the blowing sand.
Robby was cooking that evening and, despite the adverse conditions, made
some very excellent filet mignon wrapped in bacon that would rival those of any
first class restaurant. The guides also baked a birthday cake for one of the
passengers, and we celebrated with cake and champagne.
Thursday (day 5) - After a breakfast of pancakes and eggs, we headed out
into the largest  rapids
we had yet experienced on
the trip. The routine was something like get drenched, bail out the raft, get
drenched, bail out the raft, etc. This was the most exciting part of the trip,
and the best fun. The guide noticed a scorpion crawling up the arm of one of the
passengers and, trying not to alarm him, asked him to flip it off into the
river. Well, the passenger reacted as most of us would, and jumped up and
brushed the scorpion off of his arm, and right into the raft. The
scorpion
promptly high tailed it under the
seats and equipment.
After the stretch of rapids, we pulled over to a beach for lunch and some
farewell pictures. While we were there, the guide with the scorpion in his boat
kept searching and eventually found the little critter and  quickly
dispatched him. The guides sleep in their rafts at night, and this guide was not
about to share his bed with a scorpion. After lunch, we continued another 45
minutes to the beach at Phantom
Ranch, river mile 88, where Kathy and I and nine
other passengers were to disembark. A group
had hiked down the Bright Angel Trail that morning, and would take our places on
the rafts for the duration of the trip down to the Diamond Creek take out point
at river mile 226.
At the beach, we unloaded our waterproof bags and transferred our stuff into
trash bags for the 1/2 mile or  so
hike up to the Phantom Ranch where we were to share a 10 person bunk house for
the night. Phantom Ranch is the only place at the bottom of the grand canyon
where you can find a hot shower, and we could not wait to enjoy the warm water
and clean bodies. Dinner that evening at the ranch was a heavily seasoned beef
stew. We got to bed early to be up for the 5AM breakfast and the 9 mile hike out
of the canyon on the Bright Angel
trail.
Friday (day 6) - The morning was foggy and cool, but good weather for the
hike out. In May, the daytime temperatures in the inner canyon
can exceed 100 degrees, but we were lucky that this day was relatively cool.
After a breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes and peaches, we picked up a box lunch
and headed out for the rim. The Bright Angel trail is known as a corridor trail.
It is well maintained, wide and well worn. It is one of the two trails used by
the  mules
taking tourists and supplies in and out of the canyon. Personally, after seeing
how close the mules walk to the edges of the cliffs, I would rather walk.
We were at the mid point, Indian
Garden, for lunch and relaxed there for
quite a while. The hike out was slow but uneventful, and afforded lots of nice
views. Above Indian
Garden we started running into tourists day hiking
down from the rim. We reached the rim at 1:40 in the afternoon, and headed out
for the Yavapai Lodge where we had made reservations for the night.
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