Deep in the Big Ditch Day 4 – Floating down river & ascending 150-Mile Canyon

A different sort of day this one. For starters, it begins by water not land with a nearly five mile float down the Colorado River. After spending three days battling immense and uneven terrain slowly and tediously by foot, heavy loads on back, this portion of the trip represents the sweet reward for our toils. The mighty Colorado does the work as we sit back and seamlessly watch the world from 5000 feet below, sail by. So excited, I inflated my packraft the night before. Besides what would make a better pillow. In the morning I wake to discover my “pillow” is a third deflated. I am unable to locate the slow leak in the nearby pool at the bottom of the trickle waterfall at Olo Canyon. I can only hope the leak is so slow it will not too greatly effect the seaworthiness of my vessel. We walk across the beach, backpacks around one shoulder and packrafts and paddles held in the other hand. Life vests are strapped down and packrafts tempered to the 46 degree temperature of the water for maximum inflation. I clumsily board my little boat, my backpack on my lap, my lanky legs hanging out of the sides. I dig my “spatulas” into the water and sand and away we go.

Being so low in the water you feel every undulation, riffle, current and eddy. Its power remarkable. We keep the boats straight and true through the first set of riffles and the water calms. We can relax as the river takes us like a tracking shot on a camera mounted dolly through this magnificent scenery. A herd of maybe 10 big horn sheep run on the rocky slopes above the banks of the river along with us for nearly a mile.

It is not entirely a free ride even on the calm water. Currents can come out of nowhere and it would not take much to eject us from our tiny and flimsy boats. Taking a swim in the 45 degree water would be very serious. As we hear the approaching Matkatamiba rapid we move closer to the north shore. Just before the rapid (we decided earlier in the trip not to run it after scouting it) we dock in individual pockets between shoreline boulders. We exit our boats and portage around the rapid, reentering the river in the riffles just below. We float by a rafting party breaking camp at the Matkat Hotel. I want to say they look at us with perplexity, but they are too far away and I can’t see beyond their waves. Four and a half miles is over very quickly and we leave the marine world behind to return to that of feet on rock and dirt.

150-Mile Canyon, 3BVI
Grand Canyon National Park
05/04/13

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A break in the cliffs allows us a layer several hundred feet above the shoreline. At times we use existing bighorn trails, at others we negotiate exposed, chossy and off-camber terrain as we negotiate down river to get into 150- Mile Canyon via a ledge above the Muav Narrows. The ledge is also somewhat precarious forcing us to our bellies in one place to negotiate the narrow ledge maybe a 100- feet above the canyon bottom. Once on solid ground in the bottom of 150- Mile Canyon we begin heading up-canyon for our ticket out of here. The drops that we rappelled on the way down will either be bypassed using shelves above the narrows or we will have to ascend using the rope we left behind.

After a long a bypass hundreds of feet above the narrows below we drop back down to the canyon bottom. At the next dryfall we reach the first set of cord left behind. Instead of leaving a rope at each of the drops, lighter parachute cord was left behind. We attach our rope to the cord and pull the rope into place so we can ascend the drops. To save weight we brought only two sets of ascending gear between the five of us. After the first jug we break into teams to tackle the next three ascents, all of them featuring awkward boulder chokestones at the top that are challenging to get above and around. The jugs are separated by beautiful narrows in shifting light that because of our direction of travel look entirely different than on the way down. The final obstacle out of the Redwall narrows features an exposed but not too difficult 100- foot climb. Shortly after topping out on the rim of the Redwall, I hear Mark who is ahead shout something. I can not make out the words. I then immediately see a Bighorn Sheep sprint right past me right on the edge of the cliff into the narrows.

The Bighorn close encounter was one last treat before the three hour, 2000 plus foot slog to the rim above, much of it in the full force of the afternoon sun. The accumulation of the last four days is being felt now. Nothing to do but put one foot in front of the other until you are there. Upon reaching our vehicles Brian, Cody and Mark make preparations to hit the road and try to make it to Kanab before all of the restaurants stop serving  dinner. Eric and I, on the other hand came prepared, having brought food and beer that remarkably is still ice cold in our coolers left behind. Our plans include eating mass quantities of food, washed down with a few brews and then sleeping. Driving can wait until tomorrow. With hugs goodbye, the team separates. Eric and I mosey over to a massive vista of the Grand Canyon landscape below. We marvel at its size. Though we just explored a considerable chunk of this wilderness it is a a mere drop in this truly grand bucket.

-David

Eric carries his packraft to the river.

Mark floats down the Colorao River.

David takes on some riffles.

Cody and Eric use a bighorn trail above the Colorado River.

Eric ascends a drop.

David ascends a drop.

Mark ascends a drop

Brian walks through the Redwall narrows.

Cody jugs as Mark looks on from above.

Brian bridges to stay dry.

Eric in beautiful narrows and beautiful light.

Brian and Eric climbing up narrows.

Cody ascends another drop.

David free climbs out of the Redwall.

A bighorn sheep runs right past us on the rim of the Redwall.

The upper reaches of 150-Mile Canyon.

Diversity of the desert in Aravaipa Canyon

Aravaipa Canyon
approximately 23 miles
Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Area
10/5/08 – 10/6/08

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The desert is not a uniform world. Mountains and canyons break the desert up into pockets of diversity that are entirely different from adjacent areas. On the northern end of the Galiuro Mountains, the perennial Aravaipa Creek has carved a canyon of staggering beauty that pushes ones preconceived idea of the desert. My co-worker and friend, Pat Shannahan and I explored Aravaipa Canyon and some of its side canyons on a two-day backpacking trip. Along the way we observed big horn sheep and coatimundis, we rested under giant Cottonwood trees, drank fresh spring water coming right out of the dark red porphyry rock, gazed at the stars and the surreal geologic formations and sloshed our feet through the cool waters of the creek. I will close and let our images speak for this place and our time in it.

-David

Pat bends down to pass by a fallen log across Aravaipa Creek.

An arch in the side canyon, Hells Hole Canyon.

David hikes through Aravaipa Creek.

Aravaipa Creek.

Cliff walls are lit orange from a small campfire as stars swirl in the sky over Aravaipa Canyon. The photo was made during a 20 minunte exposure, allowing the rotation of the Earth to show the stars as moving streaks of light.

Our campsite near Hells Hole Canyon.

David leaps over the creek.

Pat exploring Aravaipa Canyon.

Pat hikes in Hells Hole Canyon.

A spring in Hells Hole Canyon.

Pat hikes in Hells Hole Canyon.

Pat bathes in Aravaipa Creek.