This is our first full day on the river. In retrospect, the first campsite was probably my least favorite. The sandbar on which we camped was very high and steep and it didn't help that we had a sandstorm that evening.

Much of the Grand Canyon has remained unchanged since Major John Powell did his famous exploration in the mid 1800's. But one thing has changed ... the sandbars and the composition of the rapids. During Powell's day the flow of the water through the Grand Canyon was dictated by the spring snow melt and the caprices of Mother Nature. Now the flow of the water through the Grand Canyon is controlled by the Glen Canyon Dam and the caprices of electricity demands.

Most of the sand which creates the sandbars used for camping used to be delivered yearly to the Grand Canyon by the Colorado River. The sand now gets trapped behind Glen Canyon Dam. This drop in sand input, combined with erosive daily flow variations used to meet power demands, caused a net loss of sand from sandbars used as campsites along the river.

In 1996, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Glen Canyon Dam, released an unusually high flow of water to see if it could rebuild the camping beaches and restore habitats that had deteriorated since the dam's completion. Another experimental flow was released in 2004.

The large sandbars that we camped on for this trip were a result of those special water releases. The result was a fine soft sand not unlike talcum powder. It was soft to the touch and easy on the feet but got into everything with the slightest breeze.



On our trip down the Grand Canyon we passed by a group of scientists from the USGS and academic institutions who were studying the effects of the test flow. See photo above. The scientists are measuring sand deposits by time.



After a sandy morning the highlight of the days paddle was a stop at Redwall Cavern. Redwall Cavern is an erosive river cave, meaning it was formed by the water.



It was first seen by John Wesley Powell, who remarked that he thought the cave could hold 50,000 men. Redwall Cavern is one of those ooh aawh caves.



Back on the river Karen took time to read to the group a little more about the geology of the canyon and some of the historic rafting attempts. Early rafters didn't have the luxury of 30 ft inflatable rafts and outboard motors.



The early rafters used common wood boats and generally paddled backwards. Many of the early adventurers perished in the rapids and some of the remains of their boats can be seen in the canyon. The guides told us that a general rule was anything left in the canyon over 50 years is historical. Anything less than 50 years old is graffiti.



-Susanita