In November-December 2008 I went on my first and previously only Grand Canyon river trip. 21 days on a 16ft raft. It was also my first overnight river trip and was a revelation in a number of ways. That I needed to spend more time on rivers. That I loved the challenge of rafting and paddling whitewater. That the Grand Canyon is a vast and incredible place of surprising beauty and intricacy.
But there were downsides to that first trip too. I went with a group of random people which led to weird group dynamics. We spent an exhausting amount of time cooking meals, cleaning, loading and unloading rafts to enjoy unnecessary creature comforts. We did not get to spend nearly enough time off the river exploring slot canyons, waterfalls, and verdant grottos. I did not have the capability to row or paddle my own way and instead was a raft passenger unchallenged by the rapids.
2008 was back when I actually put my time and effort into a trip write-up and so for a first impression and better reading I'd probably suggest checking out that blog post instead. But since that trip I've done a lot more technical canyoning and discovered packrafting. A canyoning guidebook came out for the Grand Canyon, which led to about a half dozen packraft and canyoning trips in the Grand Canyon hiking from the rim. I have gotten to know the people leading the continued exploration of the canyon and been entrusted with knowledge of the exceptionally wild and beautiful secret places that do not make it into guidebooks or national park must-sees. Armed with this accumulated knowledge I set out to hand curate 20 or so days of some of the very best grandeur and adventure the Grand Canyon has to offer.
And so this was the redeeming anti-river trip I've been wanting for a good long while. Rather than the typical raft trip where you spend literally half the day tearing down camp, setting up camp, cooking, and cleaning I wanted a no frills fast and light trip where we could spend that time exploring many of the lesser visited side canyons. For dinner we brought only food that could be cooked with a JetBoil, which meant no preparation, no coolers, no food waste, no dishes to clean and minimal fuel. In the group of five of us I don't think more than a dozen beers made it on the trip. All of our chairs and stools put together were the size and weight of one typical camp chair. We didn't even end up taking a firepan to have campfires. We'd go in winter which means we would not hear motors, we would see much fewer people, and we would have a better shot at securing the best campsites. We'd have a small and nimble group willing to sacrifice some comforts and to push until and beyond dark when occasionally demanded. We'd have only one support raft (plus three alpackas and a hard shell kayak). We'd hit all the classics river stops but then strategically plan around incorporating a few more from the secret list. We'd have several layover days to get us a full day away from the river. We'd have my version of fun.
We feared the winter temperatures but got remarkably lucky with the weather. Only the first and last nights were below freezing. We had only three instances of rain (one of hail) that for the most part were conveniently timed to be overnight. Though the days were short we were able to make good miles by getting on the river around 9am and getting off around 5p. We did as many as 35 river miles in a day (including running Lava!) and as few as zero or two miles other days to get in all the good excursions. It took many days but eventually I got used to the discomfort of drysuit neck gaskets and learned to appreciate wearing one both on the river and when swimming across frigid pools in canyons. Twenty days of modern freeze dried meals for dinner was actually a lot more tolerable than I thought.
The rapids were excellent fun in my Alpacka! I ran everything and only had one real flip of note in Sockdolager Rapid. Twice more I got caught by laterals and funky hydraulics when I was not careful. Hermit and Granite were probably the most stressful rapids and probably the two I ended up having the most fun in. Wave after wave bombarding me from all sides for several seconds of eternity. I took pretty conservative lines through Crystal and Lava and so missed out on some of the mayhem there. I gained a lot of good boating experience but still need to learn how to roll my Alpacka.
The side canyons were probably the highlight for me, including several that took us a full day's journey from the river, all the way up to the Esplanade, and required some intricate route finding and climbing to access. We traversed about a dozen different slot canyons requiring ropes or drysuits, slots cut through Vishnu Schist, Tapeats Sandstone and the limestone favorites, Muav, Temple Butte and Redwall.
What has changed since 2008? Plenty with me but thankfully not too much with the canyon. Many of the camps and beaches are smaller than I remembered, probably from dam-related loss of sediment replenishment over the last nine years and not my memory. Lower Deer Creek canyon and falls are now closed to canyoning. There was almost zero trash seen along the river corridor (no change). Mylar birthday balloons continue to be prevalent throughout the backcountry at a rate of one at least every ten linear miles. Pearce Ferry Rapid (which flipped our boat in 2008) is now more or less unrunnable such that now everybody ends their trip at Pearce Ferry (Mile 280) rather than South Cove (Mile 297) as we previously did. I saw more wildlife than I remember- bald eagles, beaver, otters, in addition to the more standard bighorn sheep, mule deer, ringtails, and roadrunners.
Rather than caption I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Thanks to the team, Sara, Keith, Jeff, Daniel. Thanks to Trip Leader Sara for letting me take free reign with our itinerary. Thanks to Rich for the secret places.
