Rafting Through the Grand Canyon

May 19-June 2, 2024

This blog is the third of a 7-part series describing our 8-week, 7,368 mile epic journey through the middle of the United States, in which we visited 10 national parks and many other state parks. 

May 19:  Today we packed up and left Zion for Flagstaff, AZ where we had orientation at the Little America Hotel for our rafting trip run by Arizona Raft Adventures (AZRA). Went out to dinner at Ewas Thai restaurant which was very tasty. 

May 20 - Grand Canyon Day 1

We arrived around 6AM at Little America Hotel and met the rest of the group. We loaded the bus and then drove about 3.5 hours to the Lees Ferry put in (river right). On the way, we stopped at the Navajo Bridge where we saw four California Condors flying over the Colorado River. A great start to an amazing adventure! 

We paddled in the morning with Kyle and then rode in the dory with Michelle through Badger Rapids in the afternoon. We stopped right before Navajo Bridges between miles 4-5 for lunch (river left?). We made it to about mile 10 or 11 and amped before Soap Rapids in Soap Canyon (river right). 

May 21 - Grand Canyon Day 2

This was a really fun day of rapids, starting right away with Soap Creek Rapid which we paddled through with Kyle (“White Water, Whoo!”), as well as Sheer Wall Rapid, House Rock Rapid, North Canyon Rapid, 21 Mile Rapid, 23 Mile Rapid, 23 ½ Mile Rapid, Georgie Rapid, and 24 ½ Mile Rapid, stopping for lunch right before Hansbrough-Richard’s Rapid at mile 25 (river left). After lunch we rode in the oar boat with Miles, going through Hansbrough-Richard’s Rapid, Caves Spring Rapid, Tiger Wash Rapid, MNA Rapid, and 29 Mile Rapid. We stopped at South Canyon to camp (river right) and took a hike to see petroglyphs and ancient ruins. 

May 22 - Grand Canyon Day 3

This was a quiet rafting day with only a few rapids. We paddled in the morning and stopped at Redwall Canyon (river left) which is an amazing huge open cave where our group played music and we walked around for a while. We also stopped at Nautiloid Canyon for a hike, and then paddled through 36 Mile Rapid, stopping at Martha’s Kitchen (river left) between miles 38-39 for lunch. After lunch, we rode with Colter, going through President Harding Rapid, stopping around Mile 50 at Dinosaur Camp (river right) for the night. 

May 23 - Grand Canyon Day 4

We woke up at 4AM to hike Dinosaur Point/50 mile/Diving Board hike. The hike rose up 900 feet in ¾ mile. It was a tough hike with loose rocks and steep cliff walks. One of the guides saw a scorpion along the rocks. While the hike was a bit terrifying, the view from the top was amazing! 

After coming back down, we paddled with Eleanor, were slowed down by the headwind, and got stuck in a lot of eddies. At one point we were so behind the others that Thomas, the kayak guide, came to pull us with his kayak. But we passed by the Nankoweap Granaries which were really amazing to see from the river. We made it through Nankoweap Rapid (which might be the longest rapid?), Kwagunt Rapid, stopping for lunch at 60 Mile Canyon/Rapid (river right). 

After lunch we rode Tom’s boat to the Little Colorado River (river left). The river was an amazing aqua blue color and beautiful. This is an important site for the Navajo and Hopi. We floated on our backs down the river a bit which was super fun. Then we headed down river to camp around mile 64 (river right), across the river from the Sacred Hopi Salt Mines. 

May 24 - Grand Canyon Day 5

We had a normal wake up time and a short travel to hike Chaur Lava Hill and Canyon. We hiked over the top and down near a creek where the boats met us. We paddled in the morning, going through the Lava Canyon (Chuar) Rapid, and stopping for lunch just before mile 69 (river right). At lunch we hiked to petroglyphs and then moved to the dory in the afternoon, going through Tanner Rapid, Basalt Canyon Rapid, Unkar Rapid, and Escalante Rapid. We stopped to camp around 75 Mile Creek, just before Nevill’s Rapid (river left). 

For alcohol, we brought really sweet white wine (not realizing it) and White Claw, which turned out to be awful, but we thought would be refreshing. The guides had ice and extra fresh pineapple, so we took fruit from lunch and made Sangria, which was a good way to hide bad liquor! Then we hiked up the beautiful canyon with Tom. There was a rattlesnake in one of the groovers, so we didn’t use that one, and a lot of bats flying at night, so we only used our red head lamps. 

May 25 - Grand Canyon Day 6

We rode in the dory in the morning. It was a big day of rapids, going through Nevills Rapid, Hanse Rapids, Sockdolager Rapid, and Grapevine Rapid. We stopped for lunch near Clear Creek (river right) and hiked to a waterfall, just before mile 85. We paddled in the afternoon through Bright Angel Rapid, Pipe Springs Rapid, and Horn Creek Rapid which has the biggest drop in the shortest time. Lot’s of fun! We stopped for the night at mile 92, just near Trinity Creek (river right). 

May 26 - Grand Canyon Day 7

We did the Gem rapids today, starting with Salt Creek Rapid and then moving through Granite Rapid, Hermit, Boucher, Crystal, Tuna Creek, Lower Tuna, 100-Mile Rock (Nixon Rock), Agate, Sapphire, and Turquoise Rapids. We started in the dory, switching between riding in the front and back. We stopped at Shady Grove for lunch (river right). After lunch we switched to the paddle boat, going through 104 Mile Rapid, Ruby Rapid, Serpentine, Bass, and Shinumo Rapids. We stopped at Shinumo Creek to walk to a waterfall (river right). Then we boated to mile 115 and camped at Garnet Canyon (river right). Garnet Canyon was spectacular with red granite walls surrounding the campsite. 

May 27 - Grand Canyon Day 8

We slept in a bit with coffee call at 5:45 AM instead of 5:15 AM. We rode the dory in the morning with Miles and then paddled in the afternoon with Eleanor. In the morning we stopped at the waterfall in Elves Chasm (river left) which was really magical looking. Getting all the boats into a small stopping area was a fun challenge. There were no major rapids during the morning, just smaller ones at 119 Mile and Blacktail Rapids. We stopped at Black Tail Canyon (river right) where we saw the missing timeline, listened to music, and had lunch. Then we boated to Fossil Campground for the night (river left), paddling through 122 Mile, Forster, and Fossil Rapids. 

May 28 - Grand Canyon Day 9

We paddled in the morning through Randy’s Rock, 127 Mile, 128 Mile, Specter, and Bedrock Rapids. Right before Deubendorff Rapid we switched into Tom’s boat for the rest of the afternoon. After going through Deubendorff Rapid, we also went through Bonita Creek, Tapeats, 135 Mile “Helicopter Eddy”, Doris, 139, Fishtail, 141, Kanab, and 145 ½ rapids, along with some small riffles. On calmer water, Tom let me row a bit which was fun and hard. And we rode rodeo style for a bit as well. We stopped for a hike starting around mile 136.5 and hiking over a hill to Deer Creek Falls ending around mile 137 (river right). The hike was nice with good views but it was super hot! We packed lunches with us and ate at the creek and falls. We camped right before mile 146 just upstream from Olo Canyon (river left). 

May 29 - Grand Canyon Day 10

We paddled all day. We stopped for a hike through Matkatamiba Canyon (river left), which is a slot canyon, needing to stem to get up. We ate lunch under a shady ledge which was very relaxing. Then we paddled through Upset Rapid and then after that in a smaller rapid, taking another bull ride on the front of the boat. We stopped near Havasu Rapid and hiked up Havasu Creek (river left). Then we floated down the creek back out to the boats. We stopped for the night on river right, just after mile 159 at the Bloody Ledges campground (river right). The campsite that night was on ledges and well shaded, which was really nice. This was one of my favorite campsites. 

May 30 - Grand Canyon Day 11

We paddled in the morning with an intentionally quiet start. This meant that no one spoke for 30 minutes as we floated down the river. This was a really wonderful way to focus on the scenery and river around us. Just after 164 Mile Rapid, we hiked Tuckup Canyon (river right) also in silence with a reading at the end by Kyle. We then paddled through National Rapid to National Canyon for a hike and lunch (river left). After lunch we switched to Colter’s boat, going through Fern Glen and Gateway Rapids. Toward the end of the day,  Thomas offered us a kayak ride to the camp. We saw a bald eagle in a tree, lots of bighorn sheep, and mergansers with babies. Our camp was on river left, just past mile 176. At camp, we bathed and were buck naked when two motor boats passed by. Hopefully no one took photos! 

May 31 - Grand Canyon Day 12

We paddled Lava Falls Rapid and Lower Lava Rapid in the morning which was super fun! Then we paddled through a few small rapids: 185 Mile, 187 Mile, and Whitmore. We saw sheep and two great blue herons. We hiked into 190 Canyon and had lunch (river left). In the afternoon, we rode in the dory on very quiet water. I also took a kayak ride on the back of Thomas’ kayak. We camped at Parashant Wash just before mile 199 (river right). At night, we listened to live music and then before going to bed saw an exploding satellite in the sky which was really extraordinary. 

June 1 - Grand Canyon Day 13

We rode Tom’s boat in the morning stopping to take an archeological walk around mile 204 where we saw holes in the ground made by ancient peoples, and bighorn sheep horns. We rode through 205 Mile (Kolb) Rapid, before stopping for lunch around mile 211 ½ (river left), just before Fall Canyon. We paddled with Eleanor in the afternoon, again often eddying out. We paddled through 212 Mile (“Little Bastard”) Rapid. Then we stopped at mile 216 (river left) where we jumped from Three Springs and swam Three Spring Rapids. I almost didn’t go, then decided to go, and then didn’t think I could jump. But Michele pulled me with her - very glad she did! One of us fell out of the boat at the very end coming into camp as we had no warning of Trail Canyon Rapid. Not having feet locked in, the rapid bounced the person out of the boat. Sadly, our sarong now remains somewhere in the river. We stopped at Trail Canyon (river right) where we saw several great blue herons and a rattlesnake at the camp. 

June 2 - Grand Canyon Day 14

We woke up as usual, had breakfast, and then had some free time so we walked into the canyon behind camp. As we were walking, we spotted a Gila Monster, which we learned later is a very rare sighting. Gila’s are the only venomous lizards in the world. Then we paddled through 224 Mile Rapid, to our take out at Diamond Creek (river left) which is on Hualapai Reservation. We rode a very bumpy bus ride along an old river bed, emerging on historic Route 66. We stopped at a lodge that had WiFi and I logged on to let family and friends know we were off the river and to find out how everyone was doing. We definitely found it challenging not to have contact with family and friends for the two weeks we were on the river. We then stopped for ice cream and continued on to Flagstaff. After VERY LONG showers and cleaning up, we met at Dark Sky Brew and Pizza on Beaver Street for one last dinner together. Then we returned to the hotel. It was great to have a hot shower and to put the van back together.  Excellent trip!!!