Big Trip - 2001 - Page 16
Grand Canyon

Ahhhhhh!  The Grand Canyon.  Mecca for me.  We had about a week between the time we finished Lake Powell and the time our commercial trip through the Grand Canyon began.  In that time we ran the last 15 miles of Glen Canyon (from the reservoir down to Lee's Ferry), went to Wupatki and Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Flagstaff, and then up to the Grand Canyon.  The canyon from the top is mind numbing.  How do you get your head around a canyon that's 10 miles wide, a mile deep, and 240 miles long?  How is that possible?  It's like a clever fake.  You just can't believe it.  And what the general public sees is only a small portion of the whole.  It would take a lifetime to see it all.

So we met the commercial company in Flagstaff, Arizona - Canyon X.  We had a trip of mostly lead guides so we were a bit privileged.  The knowledge they had ran very deep - in geology, biology and even history.  We were driven to the put in at Lee's Ferry.  Angie and I vied for positions on the paddle boat.  Our desire was to propel ourselves down the river in one way or another - as opposed to being chauffeured down the river in an oar by a guide.  As soon as possible we switched over to inflatable kayaks.  I stayed in the inflatable a fair amount of the 16 days.

One of the side canyon stops was at Silver Grotto.  You can see it's a narrow canyon and it wends it's way back into the cliff side where it is stopped at a plunge pool.  You can climb up the other side of the pool but you can't go any further.  You'll notice the big turban on my head - it's made of a polar fleece pullover.  We were told to bring something warm because the water and canyon could be kind of cold.  It turned out this time not to be necessary but they do call this Shiver Grotto.  The climb past the plunge pool is actually pretty tricky - say 5.7 and when you slip off, you slide down into the plunge pool.  Each time you try you get wet and track the wetness onto the rock and it gets slicker and slicker each time.  But it was fun trying it.  Both Angie and I tried.  I made it but it took a bunch of tries.  Angie didn't.