Well, everyone, it's summer ... maybe not so much in Salt Lake quite yet, but it's for sure hot in Grand Canyon. I've done two trips so far and it was already over 100 several days each trip. But, like my granddaddy always said, "if yer hot and yer by a river, then yer dumb!"
They've been great trips to start the season. I never know if it's good to have the best trips at the beginning because then it's just all down hill from there. The first trip there was a group of 18 people that were all from SL and Park City and they were so much fun. It really didn't feel like work at all because they were so great and they were all friends so that helps a ton. There was one guy on there that was a biologist and I was pretty frustrated by him. He knew a ton and admittedly, I really did learn a lot but he would correct me on these little tiny facts right in front of everyone and it kinda drove me nuts. Here's a picture of him telling us some random, little-known fact about lizards and you can tell I'm pretty stoked about what I'm learning.
The guides were cool too. I'd never really worked with any of them so it was cool to get to know them better. Here's a picture of us on dress up night. This is Evan, me, Joey, and Gonzo. I'm not quite sure how I feel about Joey in my dress!
Joey is in a band and we do a cool stop in this canyon called Blacktail which according to the "earth keepers" is the center of the womb of Mother Earth and it does have a really cool feeling in there, and it's always a good stop.
(That hat is supposed to be a little floppy, but let's be honest, that's a little much) This is Alice Webber, you may have heard her on KUER, yea, she's famous.
There's a few stretches of flat water on a couple days and I bring tons of nail polish and these guys went nuts. It was great.
I also bring a bunch of embroidery floss and feel like I'm in Jr. High again, and I teach everyone how to make bracelets or anklets to help them not realize that their faces are melting off in the afternoon sun after Havasu.
Here's a couple more pictures from the trip. There was a guy there that had a really nice camera and he was taking tons of great pictures, so I can't choose which ones to put, so you get to see them all.
For the break in between trips, I met me roommate Erika down in Zion and we did a couple slot canyons and I slept in the park while she recerted her WFR. I love being in Zion when it's not so hot, it was great. I didn't have my camera so she has all the pictures and as soon as I get them from her I'll put some more on here. It was a really good break though.
The next trip was really fun. I was swamping for Brain Lugers (aka Luge) who was the boatman on my first trip ever and it was really fun. He's a great Trip Leader and he runs a really fun trip. Justin Olsen and Jason Tea (aka The Bag) were on the other boat. And besides the fact that they have really pervy mustaches, they're pretty cool too. Here they are doing a great job of holding up the cook kit.
We camped at a couple different camps that I'd never camped before and that was a treat. This trip was a little more May- ish on the weather front. It was perfect, a lot of clouds and perfect temps, until the third night when this moved in. Luckily it was after we'd run most of the biggest rapids of the canyon when the people are freezing and soaked by the cold water.
That night though, right before bed I gave the usual speech about rain in the desert. It goes a little something like this "hello everyone, you all look pretty cozy, and I just want you to know that it may rain a little bit but this is the desert, and it usually rains for like 5 - 10 minutes, then stops. So you all have tarps in your bags and they work great to make a bed burrito and just wait it out, and it'll be done soon. But if you decide you want a tent, I put some in the kitchen. Ok, everyone, have a good night!" and off I go to the boats. The problem with that night was that I believed myself too and I LIED! It started raining and pretty much rained the whole night! Brian let me get back in his kingdom (the back part of the boat with big boxes on the sides that are perfect for setting up a shelter) and we threw up the tarp. But since we did a really half - ass job of it and since it wasn't the 10 minute shower I'd promised, the tarp was soon laying right on us and we could feel the rain and any time either of us moved it poured a puddle right down onto our pillows which in turn leaked all down our bags. If I was a good guide, I wouldn't have been so lazy and I'd have helped the peeps set up their tents and refurbished our little fort, but apperantly I'm not, so we all (4 guides + all the soaking wet passengers up on shore) were a little groggy in the morning. Luckily no one was too mad at me for my obvious misjudgment of the weather. The next night we were smart and all the guests had tents set up in the first 5 minutes in camp. (Side note: I love the desert becasue we got all our bags and clothes out at camp and they were dry by the time dinner was done. Everything dries so fast! I love not having to wake up with tons of condensation on my bag and all over my stuff!) And the guides delayed it as long as possible, but eventually took some time and actually set up some good shelters.
The Bag is a little too homo-phobe to sleep back with Justin, so he'd set up a tent on the boat and bungeed it down, and I helped Brain get his all sussed out and we all slept so much better! It's amazing how when you're not in bed, 5 minutes of a little work is no problem, but thinking about getting out of bed and getting more wet to make your life 100% better is way too much to do.
We had some really cool clouds in the morning and I actually really like rain in the canyon.
It's pretty funny because I'm pretty sure without a watch or something to tell us, I don't think any of us would ever know the date, let alone the day of the week or anything of significance. So, when someone mentioned that it was Memorial Day, none of was prepared. No flags, sparklers, nothing. So, Brian and Justin taught me how to make a grease bomb, while Jason was throwing up off the back of the boats (poor guy had a rough evening on the last night of the trip and Luge and Justin both got it afterward, but luckily it must have been a boy-only Noro virus!)
It's not a great picture of the final outcome, but I though it was pretty cool. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY everyone!
Here's Luge contemplating life and getting lost in the overpowering effects of the canyon.
So, now here I am, back in Fredonia, getting ready for another trip tomorrow. I'll be doing 8 more tips, so about 4 more months down here and if they could all be like the last couple I'd love it and the summer will be a great one, so let's hope for that! Clouds, some rainy nights, good guides, rapids, and peeps ... and being in the canyon away from the rest of the worries of life .... what a dream!
No comments:
Post a Comment