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Published: June 13th 2005
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads
Thoreau
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Great web site needs lots of computer power to enjoy don’t give up on it Morning begins with a wake-up call “Coffeeeee” at about 6 AM. By 6:30 the call is “Breakkkfffffast!”. Breakfast is prepared by the crew, and they are quite efficient. Breakfast is a hot meal -bacon, eggs, French toast, oatmeal, bagels, each day different.
After breakfast we “break-up” camp, pack up clothes, tent, sleeping bags, mats, etc. Then it is last call for coffee and last call for the “pooper”. Off we go down the river 7:30ish. We are warned to dress with rain gear for early morning rapids. The rapids were called the “Roaring Twenties” it was just one after another. This is the land of extremes. The morning is finally cool, but being drenched with river water can seem cold, especially if we are in the shade of the canyon (later in the day we will pray for shade). Around mid-morning we stop for a hike up into the canyon. The canyon hikes can be tricky since the rocks are slippery with red sand layered on top, and all hikes involve a climb. It is necessary to watch one’s footing. This morning we went to the Indian Grainary. This was a storage area for the Indians.
We spot lizards everywhere. As the sun rises in the sky the temps go up quickly. By the time we reach the waterfall we are ready for a shower. The wet clothing helps, for a while, on the return hike. It is amazing how fast things dry, but this is the desert.
Lunch each day is at a beach. The raft pulls over and the crew has a system of putting together sandwich fixins’, fruit, beverages, cookies, etc. all prepared at “warp speed”.
Back on the raft and we are headed for more rapids. It seems to be a cycle of:
1) Get drenched from the rapid,
2) Feel chilled, then
3) Bake in the sun, and pray for another rapid to cool off.
In the afternoon we did a longer hike up a wash of an old streambed. It was kind of awesome - lot of flowers, columbine. We even found some little orchids. No matter how harsh it is here, there are still things of beauty that just boggle my mind.
We stopped for the night and had a great Irish stew dinner and early to bed after a rum and coke.
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anonymous
non-member comment
Beautiful Pictures
Kelly and Bob, Your pictures are spectacular and the story so interesting! Our trip on Westwater Canyon way up stream in Utah was a Mini-Grand Canyon trip of just 2 days. We "froze" because the weather turned cold and rainy. Otherwise our experiences were similar. Looking forward to your next blog! - Joan Roolf