Grand Canyon - Day 7

Friday 1st October 2010 by Dan -

After 6 days of paddling and covering 75 river miles, and with a day of big rapids ahead, we decided to take a break from kayaking today. We secured our kayaks to the rafts and rode as passengers: Erin with Sam and Martie, and myself with Larry. It was a different perspective on the river and it was good to give the arms a rest. We entered the inner gorge where sheer rock faces line the river. We got to see some big whitewater with some massive waves. I tried rowing the raft for a bit on some flat water, and it is hard work! It gave me a new appreciation for how hard the oarsmen have been working.

At camp tonight there was quite a bit of wildlife activity. It was almost dark and Erin didn’t have her headlamp, so she was going back to the tent to get it. As she was walking across the sand in the dim light, she noticed something move across and down the slope towards her, not more than a couple of feet away. It turned out to be a young rattle snake! When they are young, they are most dangerous as they are more likely to bite and release their venom. It was a close call! The snake was chased off into a nearby bush, and Jim wisely shifted his camp bed that was close by in the opposite direction. As this was happening, a rather large spider was spotted in the darkness crawling past the kitchen area. “Wow, that’s a large spider!” someone said, and on closer inspection it turned out to be a tarantula! So the tarantula had to be chased off as well. Not long after that, and there was another commotion as Erin spotted a scorpion on the trail to the facilities. Then, as I was heading to bed, I hear a rumor of a ring-tailed cat being seen in the shadows. It seemed everyone was on edge – however I was glad to be sleeping in a tent tonight and not out on the ground like some of our group!

Our camp is at Zoroaster, which is where we are carefully positioned a couple of miles upriver from Phantom ranch. Tomorrow morning we will paddle down to the ranch where we will stop and exchange 2 of our existing group members for 3 new ones. Scott and Marshall will leave, and we will be joined by Brad, John, and Alison.  It’s been a week since we have seen anything resembling a building, let alone a ranch, so I’m excited to see what a ranch at the bottom of the canyon is like.

After Phantom the river holds more big water which is worrying after what we saw today. Hopefully the day off will have been for the best and we will be feeling good in out boats tomorrow. My apprehension and nerves for the big water are mounting.

This place is like nothing else. The scenery is amazing. I can’t quite believe it is real.