July 8-16 Grand Canyon Tour - Post #10 (Saturday, July 14, morning & afternoon)

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’m in the middle of blogging through the amazing week from my hand-written personal journal.  Bite-sized chunks ... I hope you enjoy them. 

Saturday, July 14, 2018        6:35 A.M. (Big Dune camp, Mile 119.5)

Well, today I feel pretty thoroughly lousy.  I’m still really grateful to be here, and am enjoying this opportunity.  But I really can’t believe that I am missing my love’s birthday.  Had a terrible sleep – it was a warm night, and I was both lonely and guilty, missing my family terribly.  I wish I could talk or Skype with Vanessa and the kids.  I worry about anything bad that could have happened while I’ve been gone.  There’s a sharp headache this morning – lack of sleep, I believe.

The only physical issue I’ve had is canker sores.  I bit my lower left lip twice at our first meal on Sunday night, and that has led to a massive canker sore which is making eating (and smiling) difficult and painful.  But if that’s the worst I encounter, I will be thankful. 

Most of yesterday’s float, and most of today’s, is in the “Inner (or Upper) Gorge.”  That’s where the “basement” rocks rise up starkly from the River, and there are very few riverbanks.  Because of that, you can’t really avoid the rapids (in the old days) – they had to run them.  Often,

l to r: Bill Barrick, me, Andrew Snelling,
Terry Mortenson, John Whitmore
@ The Great Unconformity, Blacktail Canyon

the view is entirely just that Inner Gorge – you cannot see the rest of the Canyon (up to the rims) from the River surface.

After yesterday’s long river day, I anticipate a shorter ride with more and lengthier stops today.  I’ll be praying for the birthday day, and thinking of my family, constantly throughout today.

July 14, 5:15 P.M. (Football Field, mi 137.5)

Been praying for Vanessa all day long – wishing her a happy birthday from a distance.  Missing everyone terribly, and yet it has been an amazing day here on the river.  We only did 20 miles today, but had three incredible stops along the way.  We packed our lunches before launching, so that we’d have more flexibility.

Our first stop was less than a mile downstream, at Blacktail Canyon (mile 121).  Andrew and John gave a great lecture on the Great Unconformity, the “ledge” in the geological formation that has been swept entirely clean – with the Tapeats Sandstone usually sitting on top.  Walking further up the Canyon, the Tapeats is beautifully carved, and the Canyon ends at a pure, clean pool of water with a trickling waterfall cascading into it.  Waterfalls will be the theme of the day!  The time in Blacktail was fairly meditative – John and Bill also shared their testimonies with the group, particularly how they came to embrace YEC.  

After Blacktail, we went through a series of minor rapids in beautiful weather.  We stopped at Stone Creek (mile 132) for a hike and lunch.  There were clear thunderstorms in the three valleys around us, so the leaders were a bit concerned about weather and flash floods.  Nonetheless, they let us do the ½ mile hike (easy) up Stone Creek to the “cascade” (waterfall) at the top.  We were able to take a quick shower in the waterfall before heading back down to the boats.  We broke out our lunch bag and ate our sandwiches. 

Just as we were finishing eating, the storms caught up with us, and the skies opened up.  It had been very warm and steamy at Stone Creek, so the rain was a relief.  But the skies REALLY opened up!  The wind came blistering from down-river, so we were rafting into driving rain.  It really whipped the face and legs, and for the first time all day I wasn’t too hot!  Almost everyone else was bundled up in their rain gear; but the heavy rain was actually quite refreshing. 

The rain continued for about half an hour, and we made very slow progress downstream.  Rapids aren’t quite as much fun in the driving rain! 

Rain-caused Waterfall

About mile 135, the rain lightened up considerably, and we entered “Granite Narrows” – the beginning of the “Middle Gorge.”  Granite Narrows is the narrowest point of the Colorado River – only 76 feet across.  The boaters cut the motors through Granite Narrows, and Tom Drion (London Tom) read Genesis 1 in full silence, with rain and occasional thunder punctuating his reading.  It was, again, quite moving. 

The heavy rainfull – not just on us, but in the valleys around us (I spotted at least four major storm systems) – resulted in several run-off waterfalls in the Canyon.  Most, unfortunately, were seen but not photographed, because of the driving rain.  When the rain finally stopped, I was able to capture one on film, which looked like it tumbled about 500 feet directly down the Redwall Limestone – again, just amazing.