Next week I'm heading out for an 8 day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon.

Have any other members done this before? If so, any tips?

This is the website for the expedition company that I'm using: Grand Canyon Expeditions Company

Of course, I'm going to take 2 days of play time in Vegas before the trip...that's always fun, too.

John

 

Man that would be a beautiful trip. What an awesome experience. I'd love to get out there and do that. Take a lot of pictures for me to drool over!

Oh, and don't drown.

 

my x-boss just did the same thing and he took over 600 pictures! if you bring a digital camera bring lots of batteries and memory.

it's really hot during the day and freakin cold at night.

bring a bottle of your favorite booze because you will have one or two nights of heavy drinking.

he also told me the hikes were really hard so you better be in shape!

have fun!

 

Good Advice, thanks Tuff.

Even better advice from hcmq!!

I'm bringing my Nikon Coolpix 5700 with three 256 mb CompactFlash cards and 6 disposable lithium batteries (no way to recharge the "stock" battery in the canyon). I plan on taking lots of pictures as this will probably be a "once in a lifetime" trip.

hcmq - I'm in decent enough shape for the hiking, as long as I don't go overboard with with your advice I quoted above.

John

 

Hi everyone,

The trip was better than I ever expected. Our group was especially fortunate because the rafting company we went with normally tries to put 14 passengers on each raft (also their advertised maximum), but there was a late booking that brought the total passengers up to 16...so they added a raft. This meant we had more personal space on the rafts than most trips, and plenty of space for...Beer! Everyone in our group got along great, which helped the experience, too.

The Colorado river was cold...in the mid/upper 40's at Lee's Ferry, then warming 1 degree every 20 miles or so downstream. The afternoon temps in the canyon reached 120F during the trip. So we got quite cold going through some of the rapids, then very hot, especially when we weren't in any shade.

We slept on the ground (with a small tarp, ground pad, and sleeping bag), without tents. The night sky was simply amazing. The stars and the Milky Way were so clear to see. I saw lots of shooting stars. The moonlight was so bright flashlights weren't necessary if we needed to walk around at night.

One person was stung when he rolled over onto a scorpion that crawled onto his sleeping bag...he said it was very much like a bee sting. The most annoying critters were the red harvester ants that were pervasive on most of the beaches...their bite stings, too. You also have to watch out for the Raven's...they'll steal whatever they can get.

I definitely plan on going back for another trip. I would like to do a non-motorized trip (rowing, preferably in a dory boat), which takes 14 days. If anyone is interested in learning more about these trips, here is a very helpful site to learn more about planning a trip and information about all of the commercial outfitters and the trips they offer:
Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association
Here is the National Park Service website for the Grand Canyon:
National Park Service - Grand Canyon

Pics to follow.

John

 

Here a few pictures from the GC. Unfortunately, pictures don't do it justice. You need to go there to get a true sense of its wonder.

I've posted 9 pictures in my "Misc." album inMy Gallery.

View from ancient ruins at Nankoweap:


Campsite near boat that was abandoned in 1915 at Bass Rapids:

 

Raft going through Lava Falls rapid:


Early morning view:

 

Here's one for Raoul...

Desert Bighorn Sheep:

 

Looks and sounds like a great time. Glad you enjoyed it and got home safe.

 

Wow, John, that looks awesome. 8 days, huh?

I saw a pic that was from mile 188, how many total miles did you go? How much hiking was there?

 

Tuff,
Believe or not, 8 days is almost too short of a trip for going through the canyon. The starting point for the river trips is Lee's Ferry, which is Mile 0 on Canyon maps. The mile points are mapped to mile 280, which is in Lake Mead. Some outfitters have their groups exit prior to Lake Mead, but the one I went with technically covered all 280 miles. On the last morning, our rafts met up with a jet boat at around mile 245. The passengers and our personal items were transfered to the jet boat and we cruised the rest of the way at 45 mph.

There were a bunch of short hike each day up side canyons to see waterfalls and indian ruins/petroglyphs. There were opportunities for a few longer (2 hours) group hikes, also. As time and daylight allowed (depended on what time we got into camp), individuals could go off exploring on their own. Everyone goes at their own risk...the guides make it understood that they aren't there to babysit. I think that the 14 day (non-motorized)trips would have more opportunities for hiking/exploration than the 8 day (motorized) trips.

John

 

Great pics John. Looks like that would be a heck of a trip.

Has to be the only way to see the Grand.

Might have to look into that trip in the near future.

Next year will be doing a week in the mountains of Wyoming Wind River Range, poken cattle for a week on open BLM land on horse back. Sleep in tents and eatin from a chuch wagon.
Pretty much livin like a cowboy for a week.

That trip you took looks like it might be my next adventure..

Sled...

 

That looks like one awesome trip and I plan to visit the Grand Canyon by the end of next year. I'm sure that is a cool tour, but I just checked out their website. Over $2000 for the motorized and over $3000 for the dory? Ouch! I don't think I'll be doing that. I assume it is like any other river and you can bring your own boat and just float around anywhere you want? I would rather just get a couple friends in my own boat and have our own expedition. Is that allowed in the canyon? I'll have to check all that out when it comes time to take the trip. I also plan to go to Moab and ride ATVs.

 

looks like an Awesome time!!!


I can imagine the water, we crossed the Rio Grande at its head waters in the San Juan mountains in June. It was the coldest water I've ever been in.

But the Grand Canyon, looks awesome!!!

 

Great pics John, looks like a good time. Thanks for sharing!!