Black Canyon of the Colorado July 26-27

Sara and I loaded up the kayaks and drove across the Mojave desert and through the vast sprawl of Las Vegas to Boulder City, Nevada for a classic 2 day 11 mile kayak trip down a mild, but scenic, stretch of the Colorado River. With a high of 103°F (39°C) and a low of 84°F (29°C), I was definitely not in New Zealand anymore (where it was currently snowing at sea level)! The crystal-clear dam-released river water was a brisk 54°F (12°C), but in the heat felt very refreshing.

We put-in our kayaks at 9am (by which time the temperature was already well into the 90s) immediately below Hoover Dam. As we launched, the flow from the dam was increased and we cruised downriver with hardly any effort. So fast in fact that by the time I noticed where we were, we had already passed several things I wanted to check out. We did check out a few of the large alcoves on the Nevada side of the river and watched several hot springs pouring out of the valley walls.

We tied up the kayaks at Boy Scout Canyon where I set up a hammock for Sara to nap in and then I wandered up the canyon. Almost immediately I came across a stream of hot water sinking into the streambed. Upstream the canyon narrowed considerably, with several waterfalls of hot water that could be climbed with fixed ropes. 2 unclimbable waterfalls with fixed ropes brought me to a dramatic wide-walled amphitheater where the canyon poured over an enormous dry fall from above. Here I saw the first of many Bighorn sheep. Back at the river I attempted to help some stranded (but well-stocked) house-boaters who had beached themselves by the falling river level.

We next stopped at Moonscape Canyon, another canyon with flowing hot water a short distance upstream from its confluence with the Colorado. We past several hot pools before arriving at a really nice pool someone had made at the base of a waterfall where we stopped for a few minutes, about all we could take in the heat. Just downstream on the Colorado I spotted a cliff jump of about 30ft, which we both jumped off of. I enjoyed it more than Sara did...

Photo by Sara




Sara about to jump

This stretch of river historically had several rapids before the river was dammed above and below. We set up camp a short distance up the canyon below Arizona Hot Springs where I found a flat spot out of the river bed and a suitable location to set up the hammock (a key ingredient). It was a nice camp, but we ultimately had to retreat back down to the water's edge for the night where it was appreciably several degrees cooler. It was still the hottest night I had had since Borneo. Fortunately the 20% chance of thunderstorms did not seem to materialize.

In the morning we checked out Arizona Hot Springs, the main pool of which is accessed via a bolted metal ladder up a hot waterfall. Above, the water has been dammed wall-to-wall with sandbags in the narrow slot canyon to present a unique soaking experience. If it was not 100°F I would have been all over it!




Pretty girl, hot spring and slot canyon. If it was not 100°F, this might have been heaven.

We re-packed the kayaks and headed downstream. This day there was a strong headwind, which forced us to paddle strongly and steadily to make progress. As soon as we stopped we would immediately start drifting upstream. We passed through the narrowest part of the Black Canyon where both walls dropped straight down into a deep and green Colorado River. We made several swim stops to cool down and checked out a couple of the alcoves and the old gauger's house site which provided a nice view back to the end of the Black Canyon. The last mile and a half to Willow Beach the canyon widens considerably as it escapes the rhyolitic tuff and cuts through metamorphic basement. By this point the wind had died down to only the occasional gust, which made for more pleasant traveling.

Looking back at the end of the Black Canyon

In all it was a very worthwhile trip, as much for the easy overnight river trip as for the interesting side canyons and hot springs along the way. I would probably do it again, although closer to winter to be able to enjoy the hot springs and on a Sunday and Monday when motorized watercraft are not allowed. Thanks to Sara.

Rubio Canyon July 21

Few people know there are canyons in the San Gabriel Mountains minutes from downtown Los Angeles with perennial waterfalls offering refreshing canyoning trips in the heat of summer. While a pretty tame and straightforward canyon, Rubio Canyon would make a great warm-up for some of the more committing canyons I hoped to check out in the Southwest in a couple weeks. It was certainly a different breed to the canyons I have become accustomed to in New Zealand and probably the first canyon I have done that started and ended in a residential neighborhood!

We switchbacked up the Sam Merrill Trail to Echo Mountain, making good time as much of the trail was still in the morning shade. Along the way we gathering several odd glances from walkers and hikers who
were a bit baffled by our large packs and clearly had no idea what we were about to do. At the top we had expansive views of the city fading into its own grimy filth in all direction ("marine layer" they call it here). Echo Mountain itself was an interesting spot. In the late 1800s, keen entrepreneurs decided to build a dramatic cable railway up the steep hillside to Echo Mountain where they built an elaborate resort in the pines, which they called the White City. Inevitably they bankrupted. The resort was abandoned in the 1930s and ruins are now all that remain of the ambitious scheme.

We found a rough trail down into the valley easily enough and continued downstream though the oak forest, carefully avoiding the prevalent poison oak (which was probably the most challenging part of the trip!). There was a nice babbling stream pretty much the whole way, which was a welcome temperature for the heat of the day. Before too long we arrived at the first obstacle and out came the rope and rappelling gear.



A short distance downstream the canyon makes a turn and then drops dramatically 80' in a narrow defile known as Thalehaha Falls. The view from the top was more impressive than I could have anticipated- although short, this was actually a canyon! I went down first, slowly to avoid slipping on the smooth algae-covered rocks, and enjoying the cooling spray of the waterfall. My pull rope ended up being a bit short so I had to stop mid-rappel to attach another length of webbing to the bottom of the rope.







Immediately below in rapid succession was another waterfall rappel, a downclimb and two more waterfalls. We stopped at a pool between waterfalls to enjoy a peaceful lunch, the coolness of the water, and the warmth of the sun on our bare skin. Two more refreshing rappels and we were back on a good trail, and then strolling through a neighborhood with helmets and rappelling gear back the car.





Thanks to Devon for the car shuttle.

Christchurch Red Zone July 10

A 2pm bus arrival in Christchurch found me with a free afternoon before my flight the following morning. Outfitted with a bike, it was recommended I bike towards the city centre to see the fenced off wasteland that has become known as the Red Zone. I am very glad I did.

On September 4th, 2010 a M7.1 earthquake struck a rural area 40km west of Christchurch causing significant damage to residential and commercial buildings. Brick buildings (including many historic buildings) and suburbs built on sediments prone to liquefaction were hit particularly hard. A state of emergency was declared, a curfew was enforced and the New Zealand Army moved into some of the worst affected areas. Tens of thousands evacuated the city.

Six months later, when Cantabrians thought the worst was behind them and every day had been progress since the mainshock, a M6.3 earthquake struck 10km southeast of the city and instantly set everything back ten times worst than the first quake. Despite the lower magnitude, the shaking was more intense and the epicenter closer causing 181 deaths and far more damage to an already demoralized city.

Many portions of the city have been evacuated and cordoned off, but the most extensive and costly damage is right in the center of the city, now surrounded by a fence. Access to the "red zone" is only for demolition teams, firefighters and law enforcement. From what I hear they have as many demolition teams working as they can without getting in each other's ways.


Map modified from Rebuild Christchurch website

As I biked towards the Red Zone, damage to buildings and the streets became increasingly obvious. Once I reached the fence, I was surprised to see that many families were walking or biking around the Red Zone, cameras in hand like me. I was at least relieved that I did not have to worry about offending people by taking photos. It was a strange Sunday activity, but it was a pretty nice day and I guess curiosity is universal.

I was dumbstruck with awe at the damage. I had heard so much on the news and from friends and in photos, but it really needed to be seen to be believed. My first guess would have been that I was starring into a war zone. Businesses and houses were evacuated immediately after the earthquake and no one was allowed to return. All personal belongings that could not be quickly carried were left, which gave the scene a particularly eerie apocalyptic feel. It had been almost 5 months, but there was still no end to the clean-up in sight.









The fence itself had a weird juxtaposition of flowers, words of comfort, "Danger/Keep Out" signs and advertisements. A large advertisement saying that the Christchurch Casino was open seemed particularly insensitive. Some of the buildings had graffiti attempting to lighten the mood.










Grand Chancellor (soon to be demolished old hotel through arch at left) and the Bridge of Remembrance

Thanks to the Boultons.