Back from “the great unknown”

I’ve made if back from my rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and I wanted to take a moment to update my Live Journal amidst all the other things I’m trying to catch up on.

Back in high school I went on a raft trip through the Canyon with my dad and sister. It’s hard not to be awestruck by the beauty of the Canyon and it ranked, without question, as my favorite vacation. A few years ago, my dad brought up the idea of another canyon trip, and I don’t think he even got the words out of his mouth before I told him to count me in. We both agreed that one of the better parts about the last trip was the hiking, so we found a “hiker’s special” trip and booked the 10 day trip over a year in advance.

Unlike the last trip, I kept a journal this time so that I’d have a more lasting record than my fading memory and eventually I’ll transcribe the whole journal onto LJ. (Mostly for my own edification, because I doubt anyone will spend the time reading it). I also have a ton of pictures, which I will most likely intersperse with the journal entries. For now, I’ll go with the executive summary.

In short: best. trip. ever. By pure luck, we ended up with the most amazing guide, Rob Elliot, who’s been guiding the Colorado River since the 60’s. Oh, and he also *owns* the raft company (Arizona Raft Adventures – and I HIGHLY recommend them for trips down the Colorado).

We went on several hikes, some long and some short, but all of them beautiful. I’ll detail them all when I transcribe my journal, but a couple of the highlights have to be Thunder River Falls and Beaver Falls at Havasu Creek. Havasu is amazing and I’m going to have to talk some people into hiking down from the rim some day (soon – hint, hint).

The weather was a bit warm for this time of year but the rain was sparse enough that we were able to sleep outside under the stars every night. I couldn’t believe that most of the people slept in tents every night. Aside from it being a small oven, they were robbing themselves of the opportunity to see the stars without ANY interference from lights. I lost track of how many shooting stars I saw.

I can’t say enough good things about our guide, Rob. After guiding for 40 years, Rob knows the canyon extremely well, respects it, and clearly has a passion for its geology and preservation. From the way he kept track of the location of other trips on the river, to the way he could read the water like he was reading a children’s book, I can not imagine having a better guide than this. His stories and onboard book collection have given me a geological, historical, and environmental reading list that’s sure to keep me busy for a while.

The biggest thanks of all for this trip goes to my dad. Without you, I wouldn’t have gone on this trip. Thank you for giving me a really good reason to take a vacation. Thank you for putting up with my automotive anal-retentiveness. Thank you for pushing your hiking limits and, even more impressive, leading us up the last mile of the very steep Thunder River Falls hike.