grand canyon rafting journal

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Updated July 2019

I keep a small journal (like this one) on all of my outdoors trips to help with small details and to put myself back in the campsite and remember what I was feeling. These are my entries from 17 days along the Colorado River in April 2017, with some photos of daily life on the river sprinkled in.

Click the links below for more information on this trip:

Day 0 – Lee’s Ferry (mile 0)

(We actually went about 100ft today!)

Last night after work we drove from LA to Flagstaff, AZ and arrived to snow around 2AM. We got a room at the Travelodge and woke up at 9AM to meet the rest of the group and begin our adventure!

We got a ride from PRO rafting to Lee’s Ferry 2.5hr away on the Colorado River east of the Grand Canyon. They helped us setup and rig the 4 boats. It was a long and complicated process – gear and food for 15 people for more than 15 days! All neatly organized and packed. I brought just 1 dry bag, 1 pelican case of camera gear, and some canyoneering equipment.

We are going to raft this whole river, nearly to Lake Mead!

It’s currently raining but we have our normal tent and rain fly plus everything in waterproof bags for rafting. Tomorrow the ranger will talk us through all the rules, we’ll go through more gear with PRO over breakfast, then we’re on our own!

Day 1 – Sheer Wall Camp (mile 14)

First true day on the river and I am TIRED! Although I didn’t do a whole lot except sit in the raft and get nervous about upcoming rapids.

We took it slow this morning because we had an hour long ranger talk starting at 9AM. Then it took a while to pack up the boats. We got in the water late morning and started off with a nice class 1 “riffle” to get warmed up. I was mildly alarmed! Jason and I are on a boat with Darrin from Colorado and he is a great captain. Especially since Jason and I are such beginners.

We had lunch around mile 4 just before the Navajo Bridges – a spectacular view. The meals PRO packed are super fancy and elaborate – sandwiches with every possible condiment, cheese and crackers, cookies, etc.

We had 2 (!!) class 5 rapids today. They were exhilarating. It was scary entering the rapids from above – they look like shear drop-offs with huge “holes” and wave crests. But Darrin was great handling the boat!

We pulled over at mile 14, Sheer Wall. We are in a deep and narrow section of the canyon. Our tents are underneath an epic overhanging cliff next to the water. Our boat has the day off of chores and the dinner crew made a fantastic steak, salad, and potato dinner (chicken for me). We even had hors d'oeuvres of cheese and crackers.

Tomorrow we might go slightly farther with an early wakeup call of 6:30AM. I will see my first ever class 7 rapid. I am a little nervous. By the way: the Grand Canyon is on a different rapid scale of 1-10 instead of the usual 1-5 so everything is just twice the normal scale. Looking forward to another sunny day on the river tomorrow!

Day 2 – Shinumo Wash Camp (mile 29.5)

We made it through our first class 7 today! Our breakfast was bagels and LOX and Luke and Darrin gave a safety talk before we started. We warmed up with a class 2, then pulled to the left to scout House Rock – our first class 7! I was pretty scared because it sucked the water around a tight bend and straight into two massive holes. But Darrin had no trouble and we just grazed the holes to get a view.

After lunch on a Hawaiian-looking turquoise beach we had an eventful afternoon – two class 5 rapids then three class 6 rapids. The 6s were only about a ½ mile apart each. They were exhilarating.

Our camp is just next to Silver Grotto which is a slot canyon that is quite steep right off the bat (can’t really hike it). The guys are planning to take a boat 1 mile downstream to canyoneer back to camp in the morning. We practiced with them (or more like they taught us and realized we were not ready!). It was a nice lesson though. Maybe there will be some easier ones. Plus the one tomorrow has very deep pools of frigid water – no thanks!

So we’ll sleep in and wait here on this gorgeous beach. Tonight we had dish duty. So much work… I think I’ll go to sleep now. Tomorrow shouldn’t have any crazy rapids.

Day 3 – Nautiloid Camp (mile 35)

We got to sleep in a little this morning since a few of the guys were canyoneering in Silver Grotto. They took one boat about a mile down river super early and popped back out at camp around lunch. So we had a leisurely pancake breakfast. Jason and I washed dishes, then had some time to relax and explore. We made lunch when the guys returned (they were very very cold and wet) then continued down river to get our 4th boat again.

The next stretch was one of my favorites so far. Although the rapids have grown on me I enjoyed the calm float through caves and waterfalls. We stopped to explore the giant Redwall Cavern which swallowed up the whole group and made for a nice frisbee beach.

We decided to stop at Nautiloid quite early because it was raining and cold plus the next camp was 3 miles away. Good thing we did because a thunderstorm started! Greg taught us how to rig a large tarp roof over the kitchen and we spent the afternoon in the storm having beers, playing games, and prepping for dinner.

Our boat had cook duties. We made spinach-artichoke dip, rice pilaf, fish tacos, and carrot cake in a dutch oven with the help of a few others. It was actually kind of a nice activity in the rain and everyone was very appreciative. Melissa even took the dip appetizer out to the tents as everyone took cover in the rain! And it was really nice not being on dish duty.

Before cake Jason, Jen, and I explored a nearby slot canyon. It was really cool and ended up at a 100+ft sheer wall. We were looking for the nautilus fossils but had no luck, maybe because it was getting dark. We will try again tomorrow but we have to leave early to get in the extra miles. And we are on breakfast/lunch duty tomorrow. We are making omelets!

I really hope this rain is done tonight. Although it does give the canyon a whole new feel.

Day 4 – Upper Nankoweap Camp (mile 53)

Luckily the rain stopped overnight! We woke up early at 5:30AM to a soggy camp to start breakfast – omelets, sausage, and fruit. It went well and we got all packed up with time left for me to see the nautilus fossils, or what we thought were fossils – small white things embedded in the rock resembling bugs or mollusks (note: now that I’m back home with google I do not think we saw the actual nautilus!).

The river was cold today although we had sunny blue skies. With all the bends and turns we had a decent amount of time in the shade. There were very few rapids but a lot of interesting cave and rock features. Today we got down to the Bright Angel shale layer of rock.

Our boat was responsible for lunch – bean salad wraps that ended up being a lot better than they sound.

We came across two new groups – a motor group doing a fish survey and an 8-person group similar to ours. We had to be careful about campsite choices with the other groups but we got a great spot with sunny sandy beaches surrounded by epic canyon walls. There are also granaries behind us that we’ll hike to in the morning. We got a peak at the North Rim today and there was tons of snow!

At camp I managed to wash my hair thankfully. We are on groover duty which basically means that I have the day off – Jason and Darrin took great pride in setting up an epic spot on the water! Tomorrow we pass the Little Colorado River.

Day 5 – Upper Unkar Camp (mile 72.5)

We woke early to a quick breakfast of granola and packed our gear so that we could hike up to the granaries. It ended up being a pretty solid hike up the hill. You can’t touch the granaries but you can stand next to the walls and windows, and the views of the river are incredible.

We were a little late getting on the river due to the hike but it was a really nice side trip. The rafting today wasn’t bad – I think only one easier class 6 rapid and a couple smaller ones. We had lunch at the Little Colorado River which sadly was muddy instead of turquoise blue as it often is.

In the afternoon every campsite we wanted was already taken but we snagged Upper Unkar just before another class 6. I really like it here although it was already in the late afternoon shade when we arrived.

It was our day off so we hiked up the adjacent canyon. The rocks were mostly Bright Angel shale – tiny delicate layers of red striped with aqua. There were tons of yellow flowers in bloom. It was a short hike to the top but I loved it.

We played games and put on costumes for a contest! And then had a delicious pasta dinner. Once again I’m exhausted. And tomorrow is dish duty – boo!

Day 6 – grapevine camp (mile 82)

I’m writing before dinner today because we’re on dish duty and that takes forever! We also got to camp at lunch so we’ve had a ton of time to bathe, play games, and enjoy the sun. Grapevine is a nice big sandy beach under a huge shady rock.

Today was an exciting one though, starting right off with the class 6 Unkar rapid which was pretty reasonable, long, and drenched us at least once. After a couple miles we hit class 6 Nevills rapid which had some huge waves.

And then! Our first class 8 of the trip, Hance. We got out on river right to scout and got to watch the group in front of us pass through. They had a nice line missing the top pourover although we noticed one boat hitting the largest hole head on which looked terrifying.

When it was our turn Luke’s boat immediately got stuck in the pourover but dislodged after some time. Kelvin had a pretty clean line. We did as well until we hit a massive hole head on which spun us 180 degrees so that our stern was lined up with the next hole. Darrin powered into it so we were able to make it through but I nearly flew out of the boat and a huge wave poured over us. It was pretty scary! But we made it and Darrin did an excellent job.

That wasn’t the end of it though – we had one more class 7, Sockdolager. We did not scout it and followed the guide book, hitting the huge hydraulics head on and got drenched once again!

Another 3 or so miles later we made it to camp and I was exhausted (can’t imagine how the rowers must have felt!). It was only noon so we had tons of time to relax on the beach. It was a great day except my contact lenses are really bugging me.

Tomorrow we exchange 2 people near Phantom Ranch, then have a few class 8s on the horizon.

Day 7 – Trinity Creek Camp (mile 92)

Wow, what a day. We had a big class 7 and our first big class 8 out of four that are in this stretch between mile 90-100.

We had a nice blueberry pancake breakfast and packed up quick although we were on dish duty. Right off the bat we had Grapevine (class 7) in which we took a couple large holes dead on and flipped 180 degrees again but it was at the tail end. We were lead boat today which added a new element of anxiety for me! It was because Luke’s mom really hurt her knee in Hance yesterday so he asked Darrin to go first to give Luke more time to react.

We stopped at Phantom Ranch to drop off Zach and Jen. We had a beer and mailed some postcards. Just down the river we picked up 2 new exchanges, Eddie and Grace, and stopped for lunch.

After a class 3 it was time for Horn rapid (class 8)! We scouted it from river right and we were assigned to lead again. Darrin nailed a great line through two large waves. The two horns were just nubs, mostly under water.

Our camp was right after the rapid and it was so windy when we arrived, sand blowing everywhere. We sat on the boats and had beers then explored the deep slot canyon of Trinity Creek. We got so far in that we had to turn back for dinner.

We were on dinner duty tonight and were very careful to keep sand out of the food – chicken fajitas, beans, and (premade) guacamole with chips. It turned out pretty good.

We have a 5AM wakeup call and an expedited breakfast tomorrow to have an early start for our next 3 class 8 rapids. I am very nervous but I’m sure we will scout and take them one at a time.

Day 8 – Bass Camp (mile 109)

I was so anxious about this day but we did it!! It was even more intense than I expected – in addition to the 3 class 8s we had 5s, 6s, and even a 7. But I had to focus on packing early and helping to get a quick breakfast ready – cereal and English muffins grilled on the griddle.

Then very quickly we were off. We had a class 3 warmup then suddenly we were pulling left to scout Granite, the first 8 of the morning. It’s a tricky one because there’s a pile of rocks on the left and a huge wall on the right that creates angled lateral boat-flipping waves. Our boat was designated lead all day, so Darrin ran the first line which seemed perfect to me. But it turns out he dropped an oar at one point! We got rocked by some large waves and came out soaked but happy!

Less than 2 miles away we were pulling over to scout the next class 8, Hermit! We almost didn’t scout it because the route is right down the middle over 10+ standing waves. It went as expected and we got pretty soaked once again.

Luckily we had a little break before our final class 8 including a few miles, some campsites, and a class 4. But holy shit when we scouted Crystal I could not see a single line that looked good. There were massive holes and pourovers everywhere. I was more afraid of Crystal than any other rapid I’d seen. The guys came up with a plan to hug the left wall and touch the first pourover to setup a line to dodge the massive holes. Darrin executed the first line well but we celebrated a little too early and bumped into the wall! It spun us and we were able to get back in line for the next set of waves. By that point we were basically out and just had a couple more waves to avoid the rock garden on the right. I was SO relieved!

We stopped on the right eddy because a group of boats was pulled to the side looking distressed. It turned out they took the right line and one boat hit the big hole and flipped! They lost lots of gear and an oar block so we gave them our spare. They gave us some beers and dibs on Bass Camp in return. They were very grateful!

We planned to stop for lunch at the next opportunity but needed to go through back to back class 6, 4, and 3 rapids before we started “the gems” – Agate (3), Sapphire (6), Turquoise (3), Emerald (5), Ruby (5), and Serpentine (7). We stopped before Emerald. Man was I ready to be done but we needed to haul ass to get to Bass before the group we started with!

We were on lunch duty and made hummus pitas with snacks. The rest of the rapids were pretty wet and more extreme than I expected but we made it here to Bass. Kelvin, Melody, Chen, and Elsa are making dinner and the sun is setting. This is a beautiful camp. We had time to bathe and get everything setup. Tomorrow should be easier with respect to the rapids at least!

Day 9 – Randy’s Rock Camp (mile 127)

We got a normal start today and immediately pulled up to Shinumo Creek to try and hike up. We got across the creek and up to a point where you could see the bottom of the falls but the current was too powerful to continue. Looked cool though!

We had a few small rapids through the morning and Jason took most of them because they were class 4 or less. He did a really good job!

We stopped for lunch and a quick hike at Elves Chasm, a narrow canyon with green misty waterfalls. The guys jumped form the falls into a very cold deep pool. I was way too cold but Jason used my GoPro and got a great video! Lunch was cold cut sandwiches.

After lunch Jason and Darrin decided to race the blue boats next to us. They hauled ass and Jason took his first 2 class 4 rapids! We made it to Above Fossil Camp and waited for the group. They didn’t really believe me that it was the camp, and we wanted Fossil so we continued on but they missed it. The AZRA group had Below Fossil so our only reasonable option for the night was Randy’s Rock, otherwise we would have to continue more than 4 miles through lots of rapids before the next one. Unfortunately the blue group had it! They said we could share though since it’s a large camp, thankfully. We gave them some food in exchange, their company left out the potatoes and rice by accident!

The view here is incredible, looking up and down the canyon. We have burritos coming up for dinner. Side note: my hands are getting demolished on this trip between the sun, water, hand soap, and bleach on dish duty. Very dry and scaly with lots of blood!

Tomorrow I’m not really sure what we have. Hope it’s more of a relaxing day though!

Day 10 – Pancho’s Kitchen (mile 138)

I woke with the sun this morning before 6AM since we didn’t have our rainfly on. We were all pretty quick at getting ready although we had a big huevos rancheros breakfast!

We had a couple class 3s then Specter (class 6) with a small schist island in the middle to pass. I started getting a little nervous because we had back to back class 7s – Bedrock and Deubendorff. We scouted both.

Bedrock was somewhat straightforward – a large island with passes on the left or right. At right was a large debris fan with lots of rocks in the water. The guidebook and prior experience said definitely not to go left – an insanely strong eddy would likely spin any boat continuously until flipping or high siding down a narrow run. Darrin was lead boat again and hugged the rocks at right and pulled hard right – a solid clean line. But when we turned around we saw Kelvin’s boat fly straight down to the left. The other 2 boats were on our heels down right and screamed for us to pullover onto the island. We made it and Darrin ran over the top of the island to try and aid Kelvin’s boat spinning in the eddy. Jason and I held the boat to the island. Luke landed downstream and he and Ben hiked up the shore to the eddy. I was very worried this whole time and couldn’t really see what was going on except for random views of the boat bobbing in the eddy. Luke and Ben helped Kelvin’s parents and Melody off the boat and onto shore. Luke got on and helped Kelvin power out of the eddy. I had a full view of them shooting out along the left side of the island, nearly highsiding the boat against the rocks. I thought the boat was going to flip but they made it out, WHAT A RELIEF!

The next class 7 had some large strong waves but nothing else out of the ordinary. We stopped for lunch at Tapeats, below the rapid. Chicken salad wraps with pretzels and Nutella!

Then we had an amazing stop at Deer Creek Waterfall. It was enormous and powerful! So tall! We hiked quickly to the base. The guys tried to stand underneath but the force was way too strong. Then we did a long hot hike to the top where you can walk along narrows carved above the river to a terraced stream area. It was one of my favorite spots so far.

Our camp was just downstream and we could see it from the awesome views on the hike. Pancho’s Kitchen is a large beach under a teapeats overhang. Although the beach was shady I got a small bath in. Tonight we have dish duty. Tomorrow we are planning to stop at two more cool side trips and maybe get a class 8 rapid in (Upset).

Day 11 – Below Matkat Camp (mile 149)

My feet are unbearably itchy right now… seems to be a combination of sun, dry sand, and a lot of wetness. Melissa gave me some really good lotion to put under my socks along with some Benadryl. I can’t believe how bad they feel. I am also sad because I might not be able to do our Havasupai side trip tomorrow. I’m not sure if they are going to hike all the way up to Mooney/Havasu falls because that’s something like 15 miles round trip.

Anyway, today started off with an oatmeal and bagel breakfast and we were on dish duty. I loved our wide open campsite! We only had small rapids all day (yay) and we stopped at Kanab Canyon for lunch. We took an hour long hike up the creek/canyon which kind of resembled the Zion Narrows. There were tons of sucker fish spawning (we think). I enjoyed the deep turquoise pools and ledges of shale with greenery.

Our next stop was Matkatamiba and it had one tiny tricky pull-in eddy just above a rapid. We all made it but had to clip boats together. Turns out we took the adventuresome route to get to the rock amphitheater. Instead of the dry trail we hiked up the creek in a narrow slot canyon with lots of obstacles. I loved that part! Even more so than the destination. It was really fun and I didn’t mind getting wet to wade through the deep pools.

We made our way downstream to Below Matkat for camp. It’s an amazing beachy ledge above the water with a nice kitchen area. I didn’t enjoy it as much due to my feet. Now that I’m in bed they hurt but don’t itch so that’s better. I lathered on more lotion so I hope to feel better in the morning. We have Upset rapid (class 8) and then Havasupai.

Day 12 – 158.7 Mile Camp

I feel a lot better today! My feet still look like blistery swollen things but I kept socks on all day and I think that helped protect from the sun at least. They don’t feel great though.

Early morning today – Jason and Darrin started breakfast at 4:30! We got out of camp by 8AM and were immediately scouting Upset Rapid. I was so nervous because it has a massive hole that would easily flip our boats near the bottom. The guys chose a nice line hugging the rocks from shore. Darrin dropped his oar and missed a stroke so we hit the side of the hole head on but bounced around and out, pulling a 180 move.

We got pretty wet but were fine and I got a great video of the eye of the hole! That was our last rapid above 6 besides Lava (class 9). I am so scared of Lava I might walk around it but Jason and Darrin probably won’t let me.

After that we explored up Havasu Canyon and luckily my feet were feeling OK. We only had a few hours so Jason and I didn’t make it up to Beaver Falls but the rest of the hike and creek were gorgeous. The water is a light turquoise blue and the creek is filled with cascades and pools. The trail is sometimes hard to find but I loved it! So glad I could hike part of it.

Tonight we are sleeping without a tent!

Day 13 – Honga Springs Camp (mile 177.5)

Today was an easy day – only 4 rapids and I rowed all of them! 3 class 2s and 1 class 3. We got another early start but with the easy day Jason and Darrin insisted on drinking as much beer as possible. Which meant I rowed a lot! And Jason accidentally slid off the bow head first into the water just above my first class 2 rapid! Darrin was already off the oars, a successful strategy to get me to row the class 2. My rapids were Hundred and Sixty Four Mile (2), National (2), Fern Glen (2), and Gateway (3).

We had lunch at Upper Cove but it got SO hot we were out of there quick. Our camp was only a couple miles away at Honga Springs. Darrin and Jason got out and rode Paco pads through riffles on our way down!

We made it to camp by 2PM and had tons of time to swim and play around on the beach. Today is Deb’s birthday! Jason and I hiked up to an adjacent canyon to a neat little pool and hanging garden. Dinner was Thanksgiving style – turkey, stuffing, and potatoes.

Jason, Darrin, and I are sleeping on our boat tonight. Because tomorrow is Lava and we are hoping for good luck!

Day 14 – Parashant Camp (mile 199)

WE DID IT!! We all made it through Lava Falls successfully, class 9!

We slept on the boat and it was surprisingly comfortable under the stars. The water was very still and it probably helped that all 4 boats were strapped together. I was a little restless thinking about Lava and the moon (just past full) was really bright in the early morning hours so it was hard to sleep.

We spent the morning re-rigging the boat in case it flipped and everything was super secure. It kind of felt quiet and focused like we were gearing up for a battle. I was extra nervous but was able to eat some breakfast and focus on packing.

Suddenly we were there and scouting the largest most complicated rapid yet. The enormous ledge hole took up the top middle of the rapid, rocks at left, and massive holes and waves at right. After a long discussion the guys chose their line, riding the holes in the middle right.

Darrin was first as usual so I was ultra scared. They refused to let me walk around though. But I’m so glad I stayed on the boat – Darrin had the PERFECT LINE! It was a wild ride but I thought Granite and Crystal were worse actually. But I can see how the consequences of Lava are so much higher.

After that we had a pretty relaxing day of small rapids and low flowing water. We took our time and stopped for a quick lunch. We logged a ton of miles. At one point Darrin and Luke tried to throw me in the water off the boats but I managed to resist! Darrin said he would do it again if I didn’t let myself in. So I slowly slid off the stern onto a Paco pad. It was pretty nice as long as I didn’t get too far into the water!

We got to our camp pretty early, a wide open canyon with cool walls and the Book of Worms, a rock covered with 550 million year old worm burrows! Unfortunately tomorrow is our last full day.

Day 15 – 214 Mile Camp

(I’m writing this in the car on the way back to LA on day 16)

We had another nice night of sleeping on the boat and left camp early for another big mileage day. We didn’t have any rapids until Kolb Rapid, which Jason made his first ever class 6 run! He followed the guidebook pretty well but took one huge wave at a 45 degree on our right side, causing me to do some highsiding. It was one of the closest times we’ve come to flipping on the trip! But I’m proud of how he handled it.

After a class 5 rapid we stopped for lunch at Pumpkin Spring. We hiked to the Pumpkin, a weird and kind of gross looking bubbling vat of stagnant water. Then we hiked up to the top of the Tapeats shelves and found the “manhole” down to a lower ledge.

A short ways down the river we arrived at the diving board rock that Luke knew about. It was a quick climb to a slab sticking out about 25’ above the water. The guys jumped it but I was too scared of the height!

We saw several groups go past at this point so we opted to take the first open camp. It ended up being the next camp with a huge perfect beach. The only drawback was that the kitchen and camp were tucked back far away from the beach.

We got in fairly early and spent hours swimming, floating, and playing horseshoes. Luke and Darrin successfully dunked me in the water! But then Luke let me use their solar shower which was glorious and hot.

Our boat was on dinner duty and we made a corn chowder with a bean side salad. It was just alright! After dinner we played dice for a while before going to bed on our boat. Thank God we’d been sleeping on the boat because there were SO many spiders on land. As I walked to the boat they were everywhere I turned! I was getting sad about our final full day…

Day 16 – take out at Diamond Creek (mile 226)

Today was a sad day for me. I really enjoyed our trip and it was hard to disassemble the boats and say goodbye to everyone going their separate ways.

We got up at 5AM (snoozed from 4:30AM) with the goal of beating the other groups to the ramp since there’s limited pull out space and the Hualapai Indians regulate the order. Our boat put out coffee and cold cereal for a quick breakfast. We packed up super fast and got on the water right around 7AM!

We had a few rapids to get through: 2, 5, 2, 2, and 3. Darrin took the final 5 and he and Jason split up the rowing so we could haul ass and be first at the boat landing. We ended up passing every group (except the guided Azra group of course) as they were all packing. We arrived around 9:30AM and got in line behind Azra on a side beach. We had to wait till 10 before we could begin unloading because the Hualapai send out boat tours and need to use the ramp.

When it was our turn the process went fast, probably only took 45 minutes to unpack, derig, layout/separate the gear, and roll up the boats. PRO showed up as we bartered over remaining food. They loaded everything within 30 minutes and we were off! The dirt road up Diamond Spring was very bumpy.

The 2 people from PRO setup a sandwich spread in a park at Peach Springs once we got off the dirt road. Then we had another 1hr 45min drive to Flagstaff and back to our cars.

Now we are driving back to LA. I’m so happy to have all of these new memories and friendships but very sad that it went by so quick. Now I understand why people do this trip over and over!

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