GC Rafting
May 2004
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Day 16 - 5/28/04
Trip dinner
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Day 4: Sunday, May 16 2004
Saddle Canyon, Nankoweap
Click on pictures to see larger images
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Morning light on canyon walls
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I slept heavily and almost didn't wake up at the call of the conch shell in the morning.
The guides had mentioned that most people on their trips were very slow to pack up
on the first morning of the trip, and then each day they got more and more efficient.
Sadly, this was not the case for Robert and me! We were packed and ready very
quickly on the first day; but then each day after that we were more and more tired
in the morning, slower to wake up and slower to pack. (I need about 9 full hours of
sleep a night to be happy in the morning, and on this trip there was just too much
to see and do for me to be getting that! I think I averaged more like 6-7 hours of sleep
a night, enough to function but not enough to make waking up at 5:30am at all pleasant.)
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Tunnel at site for Marble Dam
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Breakfast was french toast and sausages (yum!). After eating breakfast, Robert and
I had to finish packing up our gear (for the first time - on previous mornings, we were
usually packed and ready before the breakfast call). We chose to ride with Kristin.
It was a beautiful morning on the river, with some long stretches of calm water and
awesome scenery. Soon after starting out, we passed the Marble Canyon dam site,
where the government once intended to put a dam. As we floated by, Pat had us
all group up into a clump, and talked about the history of the fight against the dam
and water politics. I was certainly thankful that no dam had been placed there!
I thought Marble Canyon was really beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the
canyon to float through.
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Taking a turn at the oars
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Kristin offered me the chance to try rowing again, and thanks
to her patient instructions and suggestions, I managed to at least figure out how to
keep the boat going straight this time without needing so much effort. She let me
row through a little riffle (making Robert somewhat nervous!) - it's a good thing that
the rafts are really very stable in the water! I was enjoying the experience a lot
but had to stop when I started getting blisters on my palms. Next time I think I should
try wearing some gloves!
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Kristin rows through a small rapid
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Approaching Saddle Canyon
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Hiking into Saddle Canyon
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We stopped at Saddle Canyon for a hike, pulling into a fairly spacious beach at the
canyon's mouth. The hike started off with switchbacks leading up a sunny slope,
then traversed along the side into the shady gorge of the canyon. There was lots
of greenery, vegetation, and flowers, which contrasted nicely against the high
rock walls. Eventually the canyon narrowed up and after a brief scramble over
a boulder, we reached a lovely waterfall. Robert and I were among the first to
arrive, so we got to have a nice long break enjoying the beauty of the spot as
the rest of the group showed up. We took a group photo once everyone had
arrived, at which point I found that my camera battery was low. Fortunately there
was still enough charge to take the pictures I wanted, and I changed it for one of
our spares once we got back to the boats. (Camera battery life was a real problem
for us in the canyon, since my camera uses a special expensive Canon proprietary
battery. We brought several batteries and almost managed to last out the whole
trip. I suspect that on a trip like this it would be more useful to have a camera that
took standard AA batteries! Then you could either bring a ton of batteries or else
a solar powered battery charger.)
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Coming into the narrow section
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Robert and me at the waterfall
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Matt taking a break from being paddle captain
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Once back at the beach, we had taco salad and cookies for lunch. The wind had
really picked up and with the sand blowing around on the beach, I had a tough
time with my contacts even while wearing sunglasses! I put some side shields on
the sunglasses and that helped a little. When we got back on the river, the guides
all had to work pretty hard, since the wind was blowing steadily upstream. Paul
rowed our raft in the afternoon. We passed through more of the Redwall and
Muav Limestone, with lots more cool little grottoes and rock formations. Robert and I turned
our backs to the wind and enjoyed the constantly spectacular scenery.
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Robert getting ready to hike
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We arrived at Nankoweap at around 4pm. What a great spot! The Anasazi really knew
how to choose some scenic locations. I had read about the granaries high up on
the canyon wall overlooking the broad delta, and I was delighted that we'd get a
chance to hike to them. Jeanne had to stay behind since she had come down with
a nasty cold after her spills into the freezing river; her voice was almost completely
gone. Jason, Jim, Robert and I organized our gear and joined the group that Pat led off.
On the way we passed through the camp of a motor trip - we'd seen their passengers high
up at the granaries when we were pulling into camp, but they had finished their
hike as we were unloading and so we'd have the granaries to ourselves.
The view from the ledges below the granaries was every bit as spectacular
as I'd been told. The great aisle of the canyon leads on downriver, with
the water sparkling in its meanders far below; while directly across the delta, the
opposite canyon wall seems unbelievably immense and sheer. Since it was
late, the river in the view downstream was already in shadow; not the best
lighting for a picture, but of course it was nice to hike up the steep trail in
the cool of the evening rather than the heat of the day! Once all of our group
had arrived, Pat gave a talk on the Anasazi (he says they are more properly
called ancient puebloans) and their history.
After the talk, people left at their own pace; Robert, Jason, and I stayed for
a while longer, enjoying the view and talking to Pat. Pat wanted to get our
input on the trip so far and what we most wanted to do in the days ahead; as
trip leader, he tried really hard to make sure everyone was having a good time and being
challenged!
Eventually, hunger tore us away from the view, and we headed back to camp
just in time for hors d'oeuvres of crackers, cheese, and smoked salmon. The
Nankoweap camp was very large with plenty of foliage, offering a sense of
privacy which was a nice change from some of the smaller camps. The
guides barbequed steak and chicken for dinner, with mashed potatoes and
corn, followed by pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Another excellent
meal! After cleaning up, Sam consented to give a reading of "pig poetry" (from
"The Porcine Canticles" by a Utah poet named David Lee). The poems were
very funny and Sam did a great job reading them (his rendition of a rural
accent was great). The question "Whar?", spoken in a drawl, quickly became
a new addition to our vocabulary.
Between the pig poetry and other socializing, we stayed up relatively late and
I was very tired by the time we got back to the tent! That's one nice thing about
the lack of sleep on the trip - often on backpacking trips I have trouble falling
asleep, but not on this trip! I pretty much fell asleep as soon as I lay down.
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