Grand Canyon - Day 1

Saturday 25th September 2010 –

We rose at about 6:30am after a cold night in the tent. We’d woken up every hour or so during the night to add clothing in an effort to stay warm. By morning we were wearing every warm item we had, and we were cursing the recommendation that we wouldn’t need sleeping bags. The night had also been interrupted by a rustling in the bushes next to our tent. It had been unnerving to wake in the dark and hear a scraping sound at the side of the tent. The unknown creature (suspected to be a beaver) came and went several times during the night.

A cold cereal and fruit breakfast was prepared at our camp by the outfitter. That was followed by packing up our gear and making the short walk back to the covered area near the boat ramp for the ranger briefing to start at 9am (which was delayed by a missing person from the other group).

Following the briefing David gave us a talk on his diabetic procedures, should he become unconscious and unable to administer his own insulin. Back at camp with almost everything ready to go, Andy gave us a final safety briefing in the shade of the now hot day where breakfast had been served several hours earlier. Then, after making sure water bottles were topped off, we got into our boats, pushed off from the beach, and headed down stream – leaving the comforts of the only restroom we will see behind us. We were now on our way!

A few small rapids preceded our lunch stop. Before getting out of our kayaks we tried a few practice rolls (and non-rolls). The water was COLD! I’m not kidding. The river is fed from the very bottom of Glen Canyon Dam where is doesn’t get any sunlight and therefore is about 48 degrees Fahrenheit (or 9 degrees Celsius). I have never been submerged in such cold water. Within 10s of being immersed your muscles responses start to slow, your head starts to freeze and throb until you come out of the water shell-shocked from the cold, or worse.

Lunch was performed on a sandy outcrop on river left where we pitched two sun umbrellas and made pita bread sandwiches. After eating we did some throw bag practice, first on land and then with a brave practice swimmer or two in need of rescue. After lunch we passed under the Navajo Bridge which was now almost 500 feet above us. We could see the specks of the tourists looking down at us as we had yesterday.

Erin and I had our first encounters with the big swirly water in the river. These large areas of water initially look flat and calm, as if they are safe places to be, however it is much the opposite. They usually contain strong boils and whirlpools created by large volumes of water flowing over submerged terrain on the river bed. They are strong enough to easily flip an unsuspecting kayaker, especially one not paying attention. These hazards are unlike anything Erin and I have seen before. I am realizing this is a BIG river with big features!

The afternoon cumulated at Badger Rapid, approximately 10 miles downstream from where we put-in. After scouting the falls from the safety of the riverbank and watching another group descend the middle line in their rafts, it was our turn. Andy and Tim went first, followed by Erin and I. The moments at the top were a little nervous, but it didn’t look that bad. Follow the “V” down the middle. Erin looked like she made it down. My turn was next. I lined up and approached the top edge of the rapid. The waves looked bigger now, but no time to stop and admire them. The mighty force of the Colorado River was in control now and I was just there for the ride. The waves were BIG! The top section passed. All I could think was BIG! The waves seemed to be coming from all angles. I didn’t know which way to look. All I could do was try to anticipate them and set my boat up. I was past the top section now, through most of the middle, but I remember thinking from the scout that the bottom section could be the worst. Left wave, right wave, and then one caught me by surprise. Over I went. Four attempts at rolling back upright in the frothing whitewater followed. The fourth attempt was more of a punch though, and then I bailed from my upside down boat. I didn’t want to, but I had no choice, I had to exit into the water. My lack of roll was killing me. I wasn’t confident in it and it was letting me down. I yanked on the rip-cord to release my spray skirt and I kicked out of the upside down boat. I surfaced and I grabbed my overturned boat with one hand, my paddle in the other. Swim aggressively to shore were my first thoughts, the training kicking in. Help arrived. Tim lined up his kayak and I grabbed the handle on the back of his boat. In a joint effort he paddled and I kicked (while holding his boat, my paddle, and my boat), towards shore. The water didn’t seem as cold now, but I knew that was due to the adrenaline pumping and the aggressive swimming to get to safety. We made it to some rocks at the edge of the river. Tim verified that I had all my gear with me. They he left with Andy to make their way back to the top of the rapid so they could paddle down the inflatable boats. I was left with a feeling of isolation, perched on the rocks at the edge of the big river, alone. I set about bailing out my water logged boat and pulling myself back together.

After my boat was empty and I’d got my breath back, I got back in my boat and paddled upstream a short distance to where Jim was positioned in an eddy on river right. An eddy is an area of relatively slow moving water usually formed below an obstruction. We watched the inflatable’s descend before we had to ferry across the river at the lower end of the rapid to rejoin the rest of the group. It was the end of the day now. I was not loose anymore and I was tired. I flipped again in the current. My first roll attempt failed me. I setup again underwater and my second attempt was successful. Finally! Tim’s words had been in my head about leaning back. It must have helped.

Today I had first swim in the Colorado, and my first combat-roll in the Colorado. What a day! The ranger briefing we had this morning seems like a long time ago now.

As the day ends I have an appreciation of how the explorer John Wesley Powell must have felt on the first ever passage through the Grand Canyon. Not knowing what challenges the river holds ahead.