I meant to write this post long ago, but didn't. So I'm writing it now. Over the summer Colby and I had the opportunity to raft the Colorado river through the grand canyon! Now flashback to my teen years. I had no idea that when I got older I would marry a super crazy family that are whitewater river rafters! But I love it! Or at least most of it-the outside toilet, organizing the food, bathing in FREEZING water I could do without-but I had no idea how much I would love multi-day river rafting. It is so much fun! However, family may speculate as to whether or not I love it because while on the river I tend to stress out. Yes, I stress out because I don't want to fall in the freezing water, get stuck in a hole, and drown. So yes, I love the river trips, but I still get super nervous for class IV and V rapids.
So now fast forward to 2012. Colby and I moved into a new neighborhood and as a "get to know you game" someone asked me what was on my bucket list. I didn't hesitate and I told them that I wanted to raft the Grand Canyon. People were surprised by my answer and to be honest I was a little surprised myself! By this time I had already been on several multi-day rafting trips and Colby's family still talked about the Grand Canyon rafting trip they took back in 1997. They always said they wanted to do it again, but you were put on a waiting list to get a private river permit. However, when they finally reached the top of the waiting list several years ago the system was changed to a lottery, which put them back to waiting for several more years. Initially when I had said I wanted to raft the Grand Canyon as part of my bucket list I was giving myself another several years to prepare for it because I knew I would stress out about this one probably more so than any other river. Then of course 2013 rolls around and we find out that my father-in-law drew out for a private river permit for the Grand Canyon for the summer of 2014. Then I knew I was going. However, I didn't know if Colby could go with me, but in the end everything turned out. Colby and my dad and I were able to go on this trip of a lifetime! It took Colby's family 17 years to get this permit and I am so grateful I was able to get the chance to go!
Sorry for the long introduction, but it was necessary for you understand that I absolutely loved this trip even if my face looks like I am about to die in the videos!
Since we could not do the entire 16 day river trip we had to cut it in half, but it also allowed more people to go on the trip. The permit was only good for 16 people, so at the halfway point of Phantom's Ranch 7 people, including me, Colby and my dad, hiked into the Grand Canyon, while 7 people hiked out. It was about 7.5 miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon where we met up with the rest of our group. Since Colby's dad was in charge of the permit it was mostly Colby's family and family friends on the trip. For our half of the trip we traveled 187.8 miles on the river in nine days. We stopped at several waterfalls and side canyons along the way.
Scroll down to the bottom to see some short clips of the intense rapids we had to go through!!!
Day 1: Hiking the South Kaibab trail down to boat beach/phantom's ranch - 7.5 miles.
Woke up at 4am to hike down and miss the heat
It was quite cool and a little chilly in the morning, but as the day went on it got very hot quick!
We had our own excellent geologist for the trip!
Exhausted, we finally made it to boat beach/Phantom's Ranch. Trying to rest in the little shade that was offered.
The entire crew before the switch out!
Day 2-7: Intense rapids, canyoneering, hiking, great camping and very hot weather with freezing water. Unfortunately, the water was so cold that even if it was hot outside you did not want to stay in for very long. It was two very extreme temperatures and there was no happy medium. I tried putting the pictures in order of when we did certain activities/rapids. Going through each individual day would take too long.
Screen shot of Horncreek rapid. The very first rapid Colby and I did after hiking in on day 1. I didn't realize how big these rapids were going to be until I did this one and then I started to get even more nervous for the rest of the trip! Scroll down to the bottom to see the video!
The first of many beautiful camps along the Colorado river. Not to mention the first night a black-tail cat got in my father- and brother-in-law's tent!! If you have not heard that story you need to hear it from them.
Shinumo Creek falls! Creek water was always warmer and more refreshing than the river.
The river turned brown after heavy rainfall the night before we hiked in. The first half group got to experience the turquoise green of the put-in.
My dad and I chillin in the sun!
Troy and Colby scouting Crystal Rapid!
Really tired and sore. I was sore for about 3 days after hiking in!
Colby pointing at the Great Unconformity! If you don't know what that is click here.
Elves Chasm. Colby and some other guys did a canyoneering trip down this canyon, and we were waiting for them forever!
The boys at Deer Creek Falls
Matkatamiba Canyon
Dad and Colby drinking the spring water of Matkatamiba Canyon
One of our favorites! Havasu Canyon
Lava Falls Rapid. It does not look like much in this picture, but scroll down to see the videos! This is the largest rapid in the Grand Canyon. I was too nervous to go down this rapid in our tiny oar boats compared to the big rig hatch boats! I walked around it on the right. This is the only rapid I walked around!
Ancient lava flow which is how lava falls got its name.
The one downside of a river trip...enough said.
Found this little guy under our tent!
Caveman Olympics!
There were times it was peaceful and quiet.....
But it didn't last long!
Towards the very end we got some serious thunderstorms....
It may not look like much, but the wind was so strong that the rain felt like someone was throwing marbles at us as hard as they could. Not to mention our oar boat started being pushed up the river! We had to "pullover" and wait it out for a bit.
In all it was such a great trip! Here are some videos of the more intense rapids. I wanted to put some of them all together; however, most of the videos were in a weird format and I could not edit them in a movie maker. I had to upload them separately. But there are more quick videos of the rapids if you want to go to my YouTube page and see them. There are some of my brother-in-laws going down lava falls in a hard shell kayak.
The first video clip is of Colby and I going down Horncreek Rapid. There was really no line to follow going through this rapid. The waves went everywhere and we just got pounded like cheesecake.
This second video is of the paddle boat going down hermit rapid. Hermit rapid had some really big waves and this video was able to capture that. My dad is front right and our friend skyler is front left. My brother-in-law Taylor took this video with his gro-pro.
This third clip is footage of Lava Falls rapid. This clip is of my brother-in-law Troy and his friend going down in an inflatable kayak. Check it out! I still can't believe how they made it through.
This last clip is of Colby oaring the orange boat through Lava Falls. Colby's boat was heavier and harder to maneuver because it is not a self-bailing boat, but they still made it through, even if they lost a couple of passengers at the very end!
If you want to see more awesome videos you can go to my youtube channel and see them! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do this trip. It took Colby's family 17 years to draw out for a permit. I am hoping one day we can go again, but it definitely will take sometime. Thanks Hazard family for the great adventure! And thank you to my brother-in-law, Tyson, for filming most of all great footage we have on the trip.
