Best. Trip. Ever......

The Grand Canyon

....oh, Grand Canyon, especially after working down there for a couple years, it's got a very special place in my heart, but after this trip, my life will never be the same. I'm ruined, truly.

I was super lucky to get an invite for an 18 day private trip with 16 people, and it was AWESOME. I'd heard about the trip but thought it was just for the "good old guys" but I went on a trip earlier in the year with Fat Newty, who had the permit, and I got the invite and I was STOKED!

Almost all of us work for Western or have worked there and we all are pros at rigging a huge J-rig but we were a little bit of a disaster trying to figure out how to get tons of super deluxe food and all the gear we could possibly bring into 7 rafts and 5 kayaks.

We finally managed to get everything all packed in and spent the night at the ferry and headed off. I knew it was going to be an unreal trip while we were eating left over ribs as we floated under the Navajo bridge. To just be hanging on my own boat with my birthday bestie, Lindsay Hale and not have to be talking geology (even though I do love it) was the first realization of how absolutely spectacular this trip was going to be!

We were able to do tons of side hikes and other things that we never get to do and I relished in every minute of it! Here's the above and beyond of Elves Chasm. Finchie and L-Hay with the trickle in the background.

People think that we really get in shape but they don't realize we are lazy boatmen and we don't row and in actuality all I do is sit at the back of the boat and work out my wrist while motoring as I eat tons of Sour Patch Kids and Hot Tamales and then take an hour to do a mile hike. So, it was awesome to get to hike at "guide speed" up to Salomon's Temple. (I used this picture from Shannon's blog. She's a way better collager than I am) Here's the whole group up top with celebratory blow pops.

 

Pretty awesome to get off the river and perfect temp for a hike! 

 

 We did the Carbon - Lava Chuar loop, and I may or may not have gotten us a little lost,

but I just really wanted some extra time in the Lava Chuar drainage....

Lindsay is showing off her beehive braid I did for her. 

I've always wanted to do the Thunder River-Surprise Valley-Deer Creek loop, but I have also not wanted to die, which I think just might happen if you do it in July. The hike is up to a spring that is coming straight out of the limestone then up over a couple miles out in the open (that some of the idiots - Hanel, Jos and Newty ran and Shad and I jogged at my slow pace) then down to another 125 ft waterfall. It was alright I guess. 

Luckily, on the way up to Thunder River we had the legend, Mark Pearce on the trip and he showed us some amazing graineries. Despite / because of some awesome bouldering to get to it, it was one of the coolest graineries I've ever seen. Here's Hanel and Jos doing the worm.

We did tons of hikes that we usually don't get to do, but it was also great to not do hikes that we do every week. I sure do love Havasu but pulling in the mouth, watching Jos freeze her ass off going for a swim, having a beer then pulling out was pretty unreal. Then floating through the "Havasu face melt" without dying of heat just blew my mind with awesomeness.






































But really, the best part that I will remember forever is Thanksgiving dinner. Newty and his wife, Tiff did so much to get ready for the trip and all the meals were amazing but Thanksgiving way above and beyond! They had cooked 2 turkeys and tore them all up and froze them with the juices. We brought a million potatoes that Shad and Newty made short work of, and made stuffing and Jos brought Moab on the trip with Turn and Burns and Newty even made Grandma Newty's gravy from scratch. Shad really upped the ante with his holiday sweater.






We camped at Stone Creek and it was the perfect night. We heated up water for baths and were all fresh and clean for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really great. For the rest of my life when I'm having Thanksgiving dinner with my family in a church gym (which is great and I do love being with my fam....) I'll remember eating turkey cooked in a dutch oven over a fire with Dubendorff raging in the background.

All the food on the trip was amazing! Newty and Tiff did a great job planing and getting all the food ready! It was a bummer Tiff didn't to come on the trip and partake of all the great food she organized and put together. We had great camps that we never get to see or stay at. Here we are having a fire (that we also don't do during the summer just because it's so hot!) waking up in the puppy pile at Schist camp, Lindsay flipping hot cakes and Newty cooking bacon for the best BLTAs I've ever had, especially after a cold morning in the shade, the Ledges was a great camp!

It was Fat Newty's birthday on the trip and we had a pretty bitchin dance party that Jason Tea was the star of. (photo cred to Shan!)

For working, a J-rig is the best ... they're great people movers, but I gotta admit that I LOVED taking a raft through the canyon! Rowing was scary since the water was running at 20,000 CFS (higher than it's been in years!) I was a little bit of a stress case about some rapids and didn't even really think about Hermit, until I saw it looking at all of us like it wanted us for lunch. Little Newty and Jos hiked in at Phantom and he took some awesome photos. Here's Evan and Nash punching Hermit in the face and coming out clean in their cataraft.

 

Jos broke an oar on the first wave and amazingly pulled it off and didn't flip. It was probably because Lindsay put her whole heart into punching tubes.

 

I was on my way out of the boat when I hit the meat but luckily the oar lock kept me in.  

 
Lava rapid was the one I was worried about because during the summer we were the first ones to come upon a private trip that had had someone die in Lava. The NPS was there but it really got me pretty scared. We all were. Here's the kayakers all deciding to go big and hit the right side in style.

 We all made it through unscathed! Most of us had never run the left side and it looked super scary, but we made it and were all so excited to have made it through the last big rapid of the canyon!
Kelly McGittigan couldn't come on the trip but she'd sent a package for us to open at Tequila Beach, and she put in Tequila for those that like that type of punishment, sour worms and hot tamales for those that don't. And MP brought the world's largest cigars that we shared.

 

I'd only smoked a cigar a little before but it was such a celebratory moment I just couldn't resist.

Jos is a party and brings a party wherever she goes, and we brought some dress up clothes to celebrate





















 I love the skittle brigade.... and Jason Tea looking pretty content. Too bad 

he had to hike out and ditch us for his real job.

Just our boats lined up at Redwall

 

We had awesome weather the whole trip. We were so lucky. I was really nervous it was going to be freezing and I pretty much bought out NRS of all boots and gloves and anything possible I would need to keep me warm, but we must all be living right .... or maybe at least one of us, or probably just Shannon and Johnnie, because we lucked out. It was nice enough that a lot of us slept out most of the nights in the "puppy pile". A couple nights we had to take refuge into tents to get away from some wind, but the days were pretty perfect. 

 

The last day was kinda cold and overcast and rainy and windy but it was awesome. Usually that stretch is blazing hot and we're racing to get out of camp before the sun comes up too much and we're just biding our time waiting for the jet boat to come get our passengers. We just didn't fight the wind and took our time, and it turned out to be a great afternoon. Next summer when I'm floating past the bat caves, consolidating coolers I'll remember to look around and enjoy that section of the canyon.

We spent the last night close to Pearce Ferry and we followed Western's usual policy of "hog the ramp, steal you camp" and we did that quite well.



We are spoiled rotten because we work for Western and were able to rig and derig at the warehouse and use their boats and trailers and ice and we could even dump our shitters there. It poured rain while we were derigging and it would have sucked to have to do that all at someone's house.

 I now finally get it when our passengers talk about readjusting when they get home. It was pretty rough to come home. I think all of us would have started right over the day we got off if we could have. I've seen some private groups that even just passing them on the river you can feel the tension and you know that it's not going well. But Newty did a great job picking out a great crew. Every factor of the trip, the people, the food, the weather, the rapids, everything was perfect. I've been down the canyon when it's pouring, freezing, boiling hot and also, pretty perfect but I was always working. I really do love my job and love being able to show this amazing place to people and help it work it's way into their hearts, but it's still working and I'm always thinking of interp, working on names and making meals. This trip....to just be able to just BE in the canyon. Float by myself, or with Lindsay on my boat, or having another boat or two or a kayaker holding on for a chat. I really did love not listening to the motor and that all we had to worry about was what fun things we were going to do that day. It was just so simple and so so great. I can't even explain just what a spectacular trip it was. We all said there's really no way to ever top this. I'm officially ruined!
 
I got too sick of doing collages so here's just some extra photos to check out....

Some really cool pottery we found at I took all these home... jk, I only take rocks not pottery.


 

Lindsay and me talking about boys and geology probably....

 



Jos and Lindsay and I had to stay back and have dance party and hang with the girls.

Gilly?



LOVE




 
Campfire



 Salomon's temple



Thanks for reading!