Rafting the Grand Canyon – Spectacular Views and a Train?!

We started off Day 4 (Friday, 9/25) with a scramble uphill from Eminence camp for a fantastic view of Point Hansbrough.  An entrenched meander (that just sounds so cool), Point Hansbrough rivals the more accessible and very popular Horseshoe Bend near Page, AZ. Even better we had it all to ourselves!

 

View down river. 

View up river.

Sharing Andy's panorama. Wow!

Ashley and Cole. 
Brother and sister, what a fun adventure to share 

Rick and Mark goofing off. 

After our hike, we had a short day on the water in Nancy’s oar boat. We floated mostly flat water to our next stop at Saddle Canyon. Not all fun on the water involves rapids. 😊 

An easy paddle downriver.

A little sibling rivalry.
Claudia and Chris play tug-of-war on the paddle boat.
(Chris lost this round!)

Andy goes for casual on Matt's oar boat. 

We did another short hike, this one to a waterfall in Saddle Canyon (river mile 47.5). Jesse decided to make camp here since we had a huge sandy beach for bocce ball, horseshoes and double-dutch jump rope! We had some talented folks along!

Yay me!

Double Dutch Champs!

Day 5 (Saturday, 9/26) was one of the best on the trip. We were in the paddle boat again. The day started with water so calm you could see near perfect reflections of the canyon walls. About five miles downriver we pulled in near Nankoweap Canyon for one of the most iconic shots of the Grand Canyon. A relatively short hike up from the river allows you to explore the Nankoweap granaries. Early tribes would store corn and beans in the granaries then light a small fire inside and seal them up. The fire consumed the oxygen inside preserving the food – what ingenuity!

Today's paddle crew - Ashley, Teddi, Mandela in charge, Rog and Gwen (L-R)

The paddle boat "B-Team". Lol
(Thanks Susie for both the paddle boat pics!)

Reflections.

Barb and Bode try out the kayaks. 

At the Nankoweap Granaries.

An iconic shot of the canyon.

Our next stop was at the confluence of the Little Colorado River. What an absolutely beautiful place. The Little Colorado River and the confluence area are sacred to many of the indigenous peoples of the region. We were so lucky because monsoons can turn the water a muddy brown and bring trash and debris from upcanyon. During our visit the waters were a pristine mind-boggling cerulean blue. The color comes from calcium carbonate dissolved in the water. Just a little ways up from the confluence, we put our life jackets on like adult diapers and rode the waves. We managed a train with about 18 of us hanging on to each other for dear life. Way too much fun!

Cerulean blue meets emerald green at the confluence.

Doesn't get much prettier than this.

A short hike along The Little Colorado.

Not a fashion statement, but a whole lot of fun!

Train!! 

Evening camp was at Crash Canyon (river mile 63), the place where two commercial planes out of Los Angeles collided in 1956 an incident that contributed to the creation of the FAA in 1958. Due to the remote location, parts of the airplanes can still be found in the canyon.

Leaving the Little Colorado.

Camp at Crash Canyon.

Last light....

...and then moonrise.

Sunday, 9/27, (Day 6 on the river) was a long hike day. Due to the topography, most hikes are out and back. Ok, really they are UP and back. When you start at the lowest point, there’s nowhere to go but up!  Today’s hike was a one-way jaunt from Carbon Creek to Chuar Lava Canyon, with some of the guides hiking with us and the others ferrying the boats from the drop off point to the pick up spot.

Did I mention we hike UP?

The terrain can be challenging. Susie enjoys a break in the shade.

It was fun to do a longer hike and see more of the terrain. The colors and formations of the rocks were different from what you can see from the river. I found the salt crystals on the rocks especially fascinating!

Rolling hills are a change of pace.

The colors are so cool!

Miniature salt castles encrusted the boulders.

We had some fun white water today too and rode again with Nancy. We saw the 70-ft Desert View Watchtower in the distance on the South Rim. We did about ten miles on the river after the hike, with a brief stop near Tanner’s Rapid to see petroglyphs.

 

That tiny dot on the rim is Desert Watchtower.

Petroglyphs.

Back on the river.

The dory plows through the waves.

Rog is still smiling!

We had another delightful evening in camp below Nevills Rapid (river mile 76). Andy brought out his guitar and his harmonica.

Learning new skills in camp. Lol.

Andy plays the guitar and the harmonica. Sweeeeet!

A relaxing evening and then off to bed, we have lots more to look forward to tomorrow.