In
July, I had the unique opportunity to spend 9 days in Arizona, 7 of which were
floating down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I am grateful
to Canyon Ministries for the invitation, and to the trip leaders (including
Arizona River Runners!) for the absolutely outstanding experience. I'd
like to take the next little while to blog through the adventure.
Bite-sized chunks ... I hope you enjoy them. All of the posts are
transcribed from my hand-written journal that I kept while on the trip. I
tried to take time during lunch breaks, evening camps, and various other times
to record thoughts and impressions - I'm presenting them here in unaltered and
unvarnished fashion.
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Dr. John Whitmore -
Coconino Sandstone Expert |
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| Marble Canyon Lodge - last night's motel |
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| The Lodge & Trading Post |
Tuesday, July 10, 2018 12:15
PM – Lunch Stop
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| Our guys on the boat! |
Rough sleep last night,
even though it was in a real bed! We’ll
see how I do under the stars.
Accidentally set my alarm an hour early.
Got back to sleep.
Breakfast orientation at
7. River crew orientation at 8; then we
headed down to the river. Lee’s Ferry is
the boat launch, also mile 0 on the US Geological Survey measurements. Loaded the boats and got strapped in. Cool Zodiak-style boats – very large. 14 people plus crew (1 or 2) on each boat.
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| River Overview - clear water! |
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| Arizona River Runner zodiak |
Almost immediately we
stopped on the far (left) side of the Colorado for a short (1/2 mile?) hike up
the canyon to a nice viewpoint. Saw some
fossilized trees, along with an old Mormon wagon trail. Lee’s Ferry was their crossing point – John Lee
was the Mormon ferry-master who built and maintained the crossing. [Turns out he was a bit of an outlaw –
implicated in one of the Mormon massacres of other pioneers, he was eventually
turned in and executed.] Witnessing the
depth and power of the river flow, it’s easy to imagine the danger and
difficulty of river crossings before permanent bridges. And of course the height and width of the
Canyon poses challenges for bridge construction.
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| River Overview by Lee's Ferry |
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| Coconino Sandstone emerging |
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| Canyon Bluffs |
At mile 4.5, we
stopped. That’s the first emergence of
Coconino Sandstone, a significant formation, and John Whitmore’s research
expertise. We were about directly under
the Navajo Bridges at Marble Canyon, where we stayed last night. Learned that the Canyon Rim is 477 feet above
river level! Crazy. And the Canyon will get deeper still.
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| View up to Navajo Bridges |
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| View up to Navajo Bridges |
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| Approaching Navajo Bridge |
Just before stopping for
lunch, we passed our first sizeable rapid – Badger Creek Rapid, about a 5 on
the 10-point rapids scale. [Named after
an early explorer’s battle with a Badger at that rapid when he pulled off the
river.] I’m sitting 4th-back,
which is a relatively dry spot. Still
got fairly damp! Clothing is perfect,
though – the shorts and shirt both dry very quickly in this dry heat.
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| Shale Formation |
So far (from breakfast to
lunch), I’ve had 4 water bottles and applied sunscreen 3 times. Trying to stay hydrated and un-sunburnt. Loving the time on the River! Lord, your Creation is indeed majestic and
awe-inspiring.
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