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There were fourteen of us, four rafts and a ton of supplies. Our good friends Roger and Lani have a son-in-law whose family are avid rafters. They have done many tributaries and other rivers, but It took them ten years to get a permit to do the Colorado River once more. I was fortunate to be invited along for this exciting trip. 

Of course, there are commercial tour operators who will take lots of people in small and huge rafts down the same route. However, we were the only ones permitted to do it as a group on our own. The starting point is at Lee's Ferry, about fifteen miles downstream of the Glen Canyon Dam. One of our rafts still had to be inflated and all our gear had to be stored on the four rafts. Water-proof amunition canisters were used for almost everything that needed protection.

Then we had an inspection of our supplies, safety equipment and cooking gear. We had to watch an hour movie about what to expect, what we were allowed to do, etc. Test questions followed. It was a rigorous routine, but necessary, I'm sure. We were just a bit taken back when the ranger showed up with his six-shooter on his hip. Like, we were going to rob a stagecoach downstream? 

To do this river takes two weeks. Once you start you cannot stop until 226 miles further downstream at a place called Diamond Creek. You are allowed to pee in the river, but everything else has to be carried out, and I mean everything, including ashes from our barbeque pit. Plus it has to all be stored in water tight containers; hence the use of ammunition boxes and large rubber bags. Roger, I and three others would only go as far as the Phantom Ranch and then hike out. Our portion of the river was "only" 88 miles.  

The river starts out quite gently as we floated along the Navaho Indian Reservation to our left. The bear face growled in the direction we were going. Was he trying to tell us something?

It didn't take long before we entered Marble Canyon and passed under the Navajo Bridge. It was the last bit of "civilization" for seven days. Then we heard a rumble ahead of us; the smooth water looked black. The noise became louder, and then the smoothness disappeared. Our first rapid !!!! 

Actually, the picture above was not taken by me and it is not the first rapid. That is one thing about rafting: you cannot take decent shots of the action while you are there. You need someone else to see your predicaments.

Our journey continued until we came to House Rock Rapid. We stopped upstream and scouted this more challenging series of cascading torrents. Which way to go? 

It is difficult to look at a picture and realize just how big this river is. Try to imagine how much water flows through this canyon? We scouted another rapid and I took this picture trying to show the magnitude of it all. Note the tiny raft in the center. 

At "Boulder Narrows" we encountered a huge rock in the middle of the river. We could go left or right around it. The river must be very deep at this point because the passage was smooth and uneventful. In the calm sections we took turns rowing.

All that work makes you hungry. So let's stop for lunch.

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