We left OC’s camp in the morning after some solar powered battery charging to keep the camera batteries topped off. We hit Doris rapid and I swam, not quite awake yet. We paddled Kanab rapid, which is one of the longest on the river, and fortunately is not that hard. The river has many bends in this part of the canyon with several sections of rapid on each bend. It makes for a fun ride. At lunchtime we stopped to explore Matkatamiba Canyon. After securing the boats below the canyon entrance we climbed up a steep rock face and followed a trail around to get into the canyon. In the side canyon we found clear water flowing over flat rocks and down naturally formed steps into pools. It was a great hike and somewhere we could have spent the whole day.
Moving on downriver, we were unable to find a camp above Upset rapid and so scouted Upset and then ran the river-right side. It was a fun run. I overtook Tim as he navigated a rock near the top. I then got closer to the hole than I planned and felt its pull trying to suck me in. I had to dig in to stay on course. After my run I shot video of the other rafts hitting the big hole. Everyone made it through without incident. Although it was late in the day, spirits were high and we made camp in a narrow part of the canyon at a site known as Upset Hotel. There was just enough room to pitch a row of tents on the sand between a towering rock wall on one side and a steep bank down to the fast flowing river on the other. As darkness fell we ate dinner and looked up to admire the small strip of starlit sky visible between the darkness of the towering canyon walls. No GPS signals here.
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