Roger's Web Site | Grand Canyon Raft Trip

Grand Canyon River Trip

May 16-24, 1998

(Keith Scoular’s Very Edited Version)

Saturday, May 16, 1998

I missed most of the pre-trip activities today that included hikes and geology talks in and around the Lee’s Ferry area including Lonely Dell. I did get over to Marble Canyon Bridge and boy was it windy.

Dinner was on your own and then the orientation, safety talk, etc. at the Hatch warehouse where everybody was assigned a number for accountability purposes. Some people camped tonight and others stayed at the motel.

Sunday, May 17, 1998, River Day 1

Breakfast was at the Cliff Dwellers Lodge restaurant (Canyon Dreamers). After breakfast, the gear was loaded on to Hatch vans and trailers for the drive to Lee’s Ferry. Arrived at Lee’s Ferry, got fitted with life vests, selected a boat, then it was time to go.

Launch at approx. 0845 from Lee’s Ferry, Mile 0

Crew is John Paul (J.P.) Running, Lead Boatman, Boat #2; Jack Weir, Boat #12; Jimmie Grissom, Boat #15; and Meg Viera, Swamper (J.P.’s fiancee)

Early troubles around Marble Canyon Bridge with Jimmie’s motor but quickly fixed.

Soap Creek Rapids was much more a ride this year than last, apparently due to low flow conditions.

Lunch is a sandwich bar just upstream from Sheer Wall Rapid, approx. Mile 13-14. Everybody looking at pot hole formations in the rocks made by the water.

Hike up Rider Canyon at House Rock Rapid, approx. Mile 17. In Supai Formation which is mostly sandstone. Geology talk regarding alternating layers of limestone (gray or dark in color), shale, sandstone, and joints and fractures in the rocks.

Saw lots of Big Horn Sheep along the river.

Camp just upstream of North Canyon Rapids at approx. Mile 20.5. Hike up North Canyon to the end point (Supai Formation?). This year the pool is very slimy and murky, not at all like last year when it was clear with a great reflection. On the way up the canyon heard this strange noise echoing off the canyon walls. At first I thought it might be a Big Horn Sheep but it turns out that the noise is from lots of frogs mating in the area.

A Big Horn Sheep ewe walked real close to the camp.

Dinner is steak, salad, mashed potatoes, a tomato/vegetable concoction, macaroni salad, and tapioca pudding (Ugh!).

Monday, May 18, 1998, River Day 2

Breakfast is eggs to order, potatoes, english muffins, cranberry juice, cold cereal, fruit, etc. It’s a little cloudy this morning.

Stop at place that is first appearance of Redwall Limestone at approx. Mile 23. The Redwall is a cliff former that was initially a cream color but has been stained by the overlying formations hence the name "Redwall." The Redwall was formed in an environment of clear water similar to the Bahamas today. Northern Arizona was subsiding at the time of the formation of the Redwall, and after the Redwall was formed, the seas retreated. Oceans have some clay in them that filters down through the water and you can see evidence of this in parts of the Redwall. During the retreat of the sea was the time of formation of the Supai.

Stop at cavern in Redwall at approx. Mile 26. Solution caverns in the area.

Went past Stanton’s Cave. This is where the split twig figurines were found.

Next place is Vasey’s Paradise at approx. Mile 32 where the water is groundwater coming out of the Redwall. Apparently, there is lots of poison ivy at Vasey’s Paradise.

Lunch is the sandwich bar at the Redwall Cavern at approx. Mile 33. Powell’s estimate of how many people could fit in here (50,000) is off a bit. Lots of Frisbee tossing before lunch.

Continuing down river the things to see include the "inside out" waterfall just upstream of Nautaloid Canyon where the travertine from the water is forming a shell over the waterfall, and large calcite crystals in small caves just downstream from Nautaloid Canyon. Natural bridge in Redwall at approx. Mile 35 and lots of caverns on either side of the river.

Short hike (1/4 mile) to a large amphitheater area at approx. Mile 38 for a geology lecture (we weren’t here last year). Stop is at a contact between the Redwall Limestone and the Temple Butte Limestone (approx. 425 Ma, close to the first appearance in the canyon). There are other areas in the world within same time frame when first vertebrate fossils (fish), but this formation has gone through lots of changes and is pretty chewed up. Difficult to distinguish between Redwall and Temple Butte further down river. Also in general area is contact between Temple Butte and Muav Limestone (approx. 500-510 Ma). Discussion regarding extension events and the associations between sea level retreats and subsequent flooding of the area much later. Discussion that oxygenated conditions in oceans today as a result of ice caps that melt and the cold water sinks and takes the oxygen with it to the lower depths. Ocean changes being driven by expansion and contraction of the earth related to the convection currents within the mantle. Latest theory on area uplift is that all of North America is being pushed west to the Pacific and over an old subterranean mountain range (kind of like an old mid-ocean ridge).

Rafted past proposed site of Marble Canyon Dam at approx. Mile 40 and saw test holes, etc.

Camp at Saddle Canyon at approx. Mile 47 (we weren’t here last year). Hike up Saddle Canyon to an area with a waterfall and ferns. Hawk Watch International volunteers from Albuquerque in the canyon for several weeks looking for Peregrine Falcons for the Park Service. A nesting pair of Peregrines is in the canyon walls near the camp site.

Dinner is chicken, vegetarian chili, creamed corn, potato salad, salad, and strawberry shortcake (yes!). John gave the alumni from last years trip "Butt Pygmies" T-shirts.

Tuesday, May 19, 1998, River Day 3

Breakfast was wheat and honey banana pancakes, eggs to order, grape juice, fruit, meat, cold cereal, etc.

Visited the Hawk Watch people this morning but the Peregrines were not visible (the male was hunting and the female was watching the kids). Heard about prey exchange and the damage DDT had done to the Peregrines, especially in the East.

Saw a beaver, two coyotes and a deer along the river as we went by.

Passed the grainery at Nankoweap Rapids at approx. Mile 52 where we had hiked and camped last year.

Hiked up Kwagunt Creek at approx. Mile 56 (about a 1/4 mile) for a geology talk. Lots of cactus along the way. Area presents a view of the beginning of the North Rim with a view of essentially the Kaibab Uplift (monocline). Sitting on the Bright Angel Shale which is an off-shore mud deposit (approx. 525-530 Ma). Lots of signs of burrows, etc. (bioturbation structures) resulting from the "great explosion of life" approx. 545 Ma.

Continued down river past the confluence of the Little Colorado at approx. Mile 61.5 which is running very muddy so we didn’t stop to play like we did last year.

Passed salt deposits along the river that the Indians used to mine.

Lunch is the sandwich bar at Carbon Canyon at approx. Mile 64.5 which is probably in the Dox Sandstone (general opinion). There is a large boulder here with stromatolite fossil.

Rafting down river includes a view of Desert View Watchtower (Fred Harvey) on the South Rim, the Cardenas Basalt, and Angels’ Window on the North Rim, which is visible from the Unkar Rapids area.

Camp at 75 Mile Canyon (we camped here last year), also called Nevills’ Camp because we are right at Nevills’ Rapids. Short hike up the canyon but some people hike all the way to the top where they can look down on the camp. This is the canyon with the slickensides, water escape structures, and examples of the cemented conglomerate on the canyon walls.

Dinner is pork chops, stuffing, coleslaw, salad, baked beans, apple sauce and chocolate pudding.

Wednesday, May 20, 1998, River Day 4

This log is useless!!! I didn’t write down what we had for breakfast this morning!!!

Short hike (1/4 mile) after breakfast into 75 Mile Canyon for geology talk. Oldest rocks in Arizona are approx. 1.7-1.8 Ga. We are in the Shinumo Quartzite which is where the "water escape structures" are. The Shinumo Quartzite was formed in a delta-type environment not a Sahara dune-type environment. Water escape structures formed in very wet sand (like a "quick sand"). The water most likely escaped after each sequence was deposited not all at once like the guidebooks say. Also discussion of slickensides, displacement faults, and quartz veins that are all over the place.

Rafted down river through Hance Rapids where you can see a feeder dike right at the rapids and the Hance Asbestos Mine on the canyon walls (the showpiece asbestos specimen in the Gem and Mineral section of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum is from the Hance Asbestos Mine) and Sockdolager Rapids (named for a line in the play "My American Cousin" that Lincoln was watching when he was shot).

Next stop is Clear Creek at approx. Mile 84 for a hike up the schist cliffs to a waterfall at the end (a new meaning to the phrase "hard water"). We are in the Vishnu Schist.

Next stop is lunch from sandwich bar just down river from Clear Creek at approx. Mile 84.5. Vishnu Schist.

Passed Kaibab and Bright Angel Suspension Bridges and Phantom Ranch. Getting pretty cloudy.

Horn Creek Rapids and Hermit Rapids were next. Just about everybody got soaked and then it started sprinkling.

Camp at Schist Camp at Travertine Canyon at approx. Mile 95.5. Sprinkling while the tents were going up then it started raining even harder as John was passing out gorp and Dr. Ed was passing out Jack Daniels. Ellie gave new meaning to the term "bag lady" because she was wearing a garbage bag to keep dry. Dinner was spaghetti and meat or vegetarian sauce, salad, etc., and then it really started to rain and blow. Ellie and Stefan had to move their tents because they had set up in a wash and the wash started to run, Dan and Wendy’s tent had rainfly and leaking problems, Meg was running around making sure that everyone was as dry as they could be under the circumstances. Woke up sometime in the middle of the night and saw lots of stars which is a good thing!

Thursday, May 21, 1998, River Day 5

Breakfast is eggs to order, bagels, ham, fruit, cold cereal, juice, etc.

Everyone moving pretty slow this morning trying to dry out tents, bags, etc. before we have to pack up and head out.

Early morning rapid is Crystal. "ABC" is "alive below Crystal."

Rafted past large boulder of Bass Limestone with red stromatolite.

Geology stop at approx. Mile 107 at Bass Rapid where the old boat is. Clarence Dutton was a geologist that Powell hired to map this portion of the canyon and he was into Hindu Mythology hence the names Vishnu, Zoroaster, Brahma, etc. Brad Ilk (?) has theory that schist is folded due to subducting plates relating to island arcs. Diabase intrusions here are similar to Hawaiian melts. Bass Limestone contained lots of cherts which reacted with the intrusions and formed lots of asbestos in the area. Paul let us know what he thinks of the whole asbestos abatement, etc. situation.

Next stop is a sandwich bar lunch just upstream from Elves Chasm at approx. Mile 116.5. Had lunch then hiked up to waterfall at Elves Chasm where lots of people did some diving.

Next stop is hike and geology talk at Blacktail Canyon at approx. Mile 120. Discussed Hutton’s idea of horizontal layers, tilting, etc. and saw first hand the Great Unconformity represented by the contact between the Tapeats Sandstone and the Vishnu Schist (the layer between the two is the Hakatai Conglomerate?). The age of the earth is approx. 4.5 Ga.

Camp at 122 Mile Canyon. Only a few people hiked into the canyon while others rested and some played Frisbee.

It’s Mexican Night with a great guacamole dip, burritos with beans, cheese, onions, meat, jalapenos, sour cream, and brownies, and margaritas provided by Tommy!!!

"Sour Cream Jean" made her debut tonight (ask Brian and Jack).

Friday, May 22, 1998, River Day 6

Wisdom along the river included "great shades of shiny schist, boatman!"

Stop at Deer Creek Canyon at approx. Mile 136 for look and swim at Lower Deer Creek Falls which is in the Tapeats. The wind was really driving the spray. We didn’t hike to Upper Deer Creek this time.

John and I think that "Sorry But" is a good river name for Nancy Knauth because she says it all the time!

Had a sandwich bar lunch just down stream of Deer Creek at approx. Mile 137. Geology talk about area of shattered rock "across the street" which is considered to be a landslide (a giant slump). River used to go under the landslide but the landslide plugged up the old channel so the river made a new one. The "Deer Creek Landslide." Another interpretation is by Elston(?) that includes the river flowing the opposite direction than it is now and then changing direction when Utah was uplifted.

Much to the chagrin of certain of my fellow passengers, I got to drive the boat for awhile!!! It’s not as easy as it looks principally because the currents are constantly changing and you have to keep steering the boat from left to right just to keep it going straight.

Stopped at Havasu Canyon at approx. Mile 156 for a hike, swim, or whatever. There must have been some additional flooding again this year because there are more logs, etc. in the path than last year.

Camp is approx. Mile 158 with no hike.

Dinner is halibut, rice, asparagus, salad, potato salad, and leftover brownies. Paul gave a great talk on Powell after dinner and we got a visit from Powell’s ghost after the talk.

Saturday, May 23, 1998, River Day 7

Breakfast is eggs to order, bacon, potatoes, pineapple juice, cold cereal, fruit, etc.

This will be the last full day on the river. It’s a little colder than usual this morning because of the wind and the higher walls of the canyon so we haven’t gotten any direct sun yet.

The first stop is for a hike in National Canyon (Muav?) at approx. Mile 166. Saw lots of fossils like crinoid stems, also lots of chert.

The next stop and hike is in Fern Glenn Canyon ("Fern Gully") at approx. Mile 168. Hike up the canyon to a very pretty place with ferns and a small waterfall. Also lots of travertine here.

Sandwich bar lunch at Fern Glenn Canyon where Jimmie finished the poem.

Long boat ride through 1.2 Ma lava flows with columnar jointing (like Devil’s Post Pile at the east end of Yosemite). Some theorize that the lava formed a dam that backed the river all the way up to Lee’s Ferry which accounts for the river terrace deposits there. Paul doesn’t agree and he thinks that the lava dam would let the water seep through and not back things up so far (there are easier explanations for the terrace deposits at Lee’s Ferry).

Lava Falls was next and we didn’t get out to scout the rapids this time.

Our boat stopped just below Little Lava Falls at approx. Mile 180 to look at some basalt with peridot in it. The peridot indicates that the lava came from deep within the mantle.

Camp at approx. Mile 186 with group photos, a tip for the crew (approx. $3,100), a card for Paul that Dan and Wendy got, and instructions regarding tomorrow’s helicopter and plane rides, luggage, ("CD"), etc. Darla is really in her element when she’s telling people what to do!

The crew is removing the side tubes and adding an extra motor on each boat for the 10 hour trip to Pearce Ferry.

J.P.’s books include the following:

Austin, Steven A., ed., Grand Canyon, Monument to Catastrophe, Institute for Creation Research, Santee, California.

Brean (?), Nancy, River to Rim, Earthquest Press, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Cooley, John, The Great Unknown, The Journals of the Historic First Expedition Down the Colorado River, Northland Publishing, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Hamblin, W. K., and Rigby, J. K., 1969, Guidebook to the Colorado River, Part 1: Lee’s Ferry to Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park, Department of Geology, Bringham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Hamblin, W. K., and Rigby, J. K., 1969, Guidebook to the Colorado River, Part 2: Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park to Lake Mead, AZ-NV, Department of Geology, Bringham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Sadler, Christa, ed., There’s This River: Grand Canyon Boatman Stories; Red Lake Books, Flagstaff, AZ.

Sunday, May 24, 1998, River Day 8

Breakfast is yogurt, coffee cakes, cold cereal, etc.

Everyone up early this morning so we can get to the helicopter pad the sooner the better.

On to the helicopter pad (the "Whitmore Anasazi Helipad" according to the crew) at approx. Mile 187.5. Bell Jet Ranger helicopters from what I understand (according to Ted Hatch, the helicopters are from the "Circus Circus" organization in Las Vegas).

Short helicopter ride (1/4 mile) to the Bar 10 Ranch then a six seater Cessna for the approx. 120 mile flight back to Cliff Dwellers. The planes are from Lake Mead Air in Boulder City, NV. According to our pilot, all the smoke and haze is from forest fires in South America (after talking to Ted Hatch and others, the consensus seems to be Mexico).

Ironically, when I got back to the place in Flagstaff, I noticed that the feature article in the Republic’s Sunday Travel Section was on the Grand Canyon. According to the article, over 5 million people visited the Canyon last year but out of that 5 million:

"Only 1 percent of visitors see the Canyon as Powell did - from the river up. Invariably they describe the expedition as a soul-shaping experience - exhilarating because of its grandeur, humbling because of the river’s power and the Canyon’s vastness."