It is Friday morning, the third day of our eight day trip, and our group is up, ready and had the rafts packed a half hour earlier than usual. The big event on today's calendar is the Little Colorado River. The Little Colorado River is a tributary of the Colorado River. Approximately 315 miles long, it provides the principal drainage for the Painted Desert.



During the rainy season it is usually the color of a thick milkshake. But during periods of drought the entire flow comes from a travertine spring with an abundance of minerals which deposit on the bottom of the river. This layer of minerals bleaches the bottom of the river white and gives the river a distinctive turquoise color, much like a swimming pool. The water is also much warmer than the Colorado River.



It was a little cool at first but eventually most of the rafters joined in a group float down the river. Some went down in a train. Some went down solo. Some went down over and over again.



The guides had us wear the life vests like diapers instead of as vests. This gave us more buoyancy and protected our butt and backs from any underwater boulders we might encounter on the ride down.



The Little Colorado is mile 61.25 on our 225 mile journey down the Colorado River. That evening we stopped at a cliffside beach right before Phantom Ranch. Phantom Ranch is the drop off and pick up point for rafters who are doing a partial trip. The next day we will drop off three and pick up two and do some of the most challenging rapids on the river. But until then ... we bask in the sun and enjoy the turquoise blue waters of the Little Colorado.



-Susanita

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

Lees Ferry is the launch site for all of the upper and full Grand Canyon raft trips. It is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River in over 700 miles of Canyon Country, right up to the first rapid in the Grand Canyon. The photo above shows some of the rafts which were launching that day as well as the drybags for all the rafters on our trip.

The launch site is no longer a ferry but it was historically a ferry crossing during the 1800's. The Mormons were settling in that area and there were frequent clashes between the Mormon settlers and the native peoples. John D. Lee was sent by the Mormon Church to establish a ferry across the Colorado River to expand settlements. The Mormon Church provided the lumber and the manpower to build the first ferry boat at Lees Ferry, the Colorado, in 1873. Soon after wagonloads of colonists began arriving to be ferried across the river to begin new Mormon settlements in Arizona.

Although Lees Ferry no longer serves as the gateway to the Mormon world it is the gateway to anyone who wants to raft or kayak the Grand Canyon. While technically Lees Ferry is not in the Grand Canyon proper (It's in Marble Canyon), most river maps show Lees Ferry as mile 0 for the 226 mile trip to Diamond Creek, where most rafters take-out.



Although experienced rafters and kayakers can do their own trip down the Grand Canyon (with permits), the easiest way to get on a trip is to go with an established outfitter. Dad did a little internet search and came up with two options: a trip with Elderhostel (although I'm not exactly elderly, he's 76 and figured they would let me on as his guest) and a trip with Diamond River Adventures. Diamond River isn't the only outfitter licensed to do trips down the Grand Canyon, but I think it's the most affordable. Otherwise I'm sure we would have gone with someone else!



This wasn't my first raft trip. I've been on a few other class III's and class IV's. And of course I've kayaked whitewater for many years. But this was Dad's first taste of whitewater. I'm not sure he knew what to expect. I'm sure the adrenaline was pumping in the beginning but by the end of the trip the little rapids we had on that first day would probably just lull him to sleep.



I have the full photo album finished but I'm not going to post the link until the final Grand Canyon post ... otherwise people won't read all my blog posts! More posts to come.

-Susanita