A rafting/kayaking journey through the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, is highly coveted and hard to come by. It is the longest rafting trip in the United States, and one of the most spectacular as well. It is said that the only way to truly experience the Grand Canyon is to float through it.

My Journey began on Dec. 2^nd, 2011, we boarded our flight in Ottawa and flew to Las Vegas, Nevada to start our drive to our outfitter Canyon R.E.O. in Flagstaff, Arizona.  As we crossed to Arizona from Nevada we started to see snow (in the desert). The bit of snow quickly turned to a full on blizzard. When we finally arrived at 3:30 A.M. at the motel in Flagstaff where we were meeting the rest of our crew there was at least 10inches of snow on the ground (way more than Ottawa had when we left).  I was very worried that the next 24 days on the Colorado River would be way colder then I expected.

We arrived at the outfitter the next morning and started loading up the trucks with all our gear and everyone was asking the same questions (Is this normal for Arizona to get this much snow?). The reply we got was assuring… “This is typical weather for Flagstaff but it will be warmer the closer we get to the put-in…” However once we started driving to the put-in it continued to snow and our driver kept saying that he has never seen snow this far down. (Great) We arrived at the Lee’s Ferry put-in around 2:30 leaving us about 2 hours of daylight to inflate our rafts and get everything rigged and loaded. As it was still cold out (a lot colder then we were hoping for) everyone agreed that it would be better to stay at a motel one last night instead of camping and keeping all our tents dry.

The next morning  (Dec. 4^th, 2011, LAUNCH DAY) we were met by to Grand Canyon Park Rangers at the Lee’s Ferry put-in to go over our gear and to fill us in on some of the Leave No Trace practices used in the Grand Canyon… (ex. Put a ground sheet on the floor of your kitchen area to collect food scraps. Pack away your ash. Urinate in the river, etc…)

We were finally packed and ready to go around 11:30 A.M. and our Grand Canyon trip was officially started. The Following 24 days were Amazing. We spent the 1^st few days figuring out our camp chores and the best way to pack and unpack our rafts. We split the groups into 4 and set a rotation system (Shitter, Dinner, Day off), so your chores would start as follows: You start by setting up the Groover (an amo can with a toilet seat and a hand washing station) in the evening. The next morning you are responsible for packing up the Groover. That evening your group is responsible for setting up the kitchen and preparing dinner. The third morning your group will be responsible for breakfast and lunch. Once lunch is finished you officially have a day off. This system worked great for us.

We were lucky to have high water between 21,000 – 22,000 cfs for this time of year which made going down the river very quick. Having 24 days to cover 283 miles (456km) meant we didn’t have to do too many long days. We would normally be packed up and ready to go around 10:30 A.M. and would normally do about 20-30 miles in a day, getting off the river about 3:30 P.M. and set up camp. We decided to take a number of layover days at specific camp spots to be able to do some of the many hikes or to just relax and enjoy a bit of sunlight (which would typically not last long in one spot). Trying to document a 24 day trip without having a number of extra batteries and memory cards would have been impossible without the GOALZERO portable solar chargers. Even though getting more then a few ours of direct sunlight inside the canyon proved to be a bit of a challenge, however, the chargers worked great.  We were able to charge all of our cameras on a daily basis. I was also able to charge my laptop (which was essential for dumping our photos and videos to keep our memory cards ready for each day).

The Grand Canyon is very beautiful and everyday I was amazed how the Geology and Scenery would change (I will let the photos do the talking).

We were lucky to spend Christmas in the Canyon. It was my 4^th Christmas in a row where I was unable to be at home (which has been a bit hard in the past), however, this one will go down as one of my favourites. We shared some great laughs and exchanged our secret Santa gifts as well as received our stockings in the morning.

One of the coolest experiences I had was on the final 34miles of the trip. In order to get to the take-out at Pierre’s Ferry, most people do a night float. (This is because there are no campsites on the final stretch of the canyon. We put on the river at 11:30 P.M. and tied our rafts together. We set up our solar lights, Euchre Table, and sleeping pads and proceeded to float the 34miles to the take-out. Geoff and I took the oars and made sure we didn’t hit any of the walls as we floated. We arrived at the take-out at around 9 A.M. and out Grand Canyon Adventure came to an end after 24 amazing days…

For more info on the Grand Canyon click HERE

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most stressful things about paddling near the equator is the early sunset – around 5:30pm! This is compounded by a laid back attitude about timing. That being said, I knew we were in for an adventure one day when we pulled up to the Rio Chicamocha river at 2:30pm to find it flooded to the point of resembling Black Bean soup.

The Rio Chicamocha in the Santander region of Colombia is dubbed a great intermediate paddle down one of the longest and remote canyons in South America. The drive to the river proved to be stunning and this 2-day run was expected to be a “warm up” for our Colombian paddling adventure.

The soupiness of the river somehow suggested that this might not be the case. However, the local paddlers assured me that this was going to be fine and that we were good to put on.
The first thing that strikes you about the canyon is it’s incredible beauty. While this is not the type of boxed in canyon that you would find on a remote class 5 stretch, the sloped walls go as high as the eye can see and a hike out would involve a great distance through thorned jungle.

We were committed.

As the river wound around corners, the silty waves got bigger and bigger. However, they were navigable and we were still able to spot upcoming hazards with sufficient warning. One of the major issues with paddling in water heavily filled with sediment is the inability to actually read the water. Whitewater without the white makes it that much more difficult to make out and react to features.

Soon enough, we came to the section of the river where the river bed narrows and constricts the flow. Ahead of me all I could see were brown explosions of water. I knew things were about to get interesting.

Our leader, Mark Hentze (the author of the Colombia Whitewater guidebook) charged ahead of the group down this massive section of whitewater. Before anyone realized this, we had all pulled off to the side, making an obvious decision not to follow.
We tried to figure out what to do. Mark was gone and a swim out of his kayak in this water would likely be fatal. We climbed up on the highest rocks we could find in order to try to spot him in hopes that he had already reached safety. He was nowhere to be seen.
As an expedition paddler these are the moments you dread. At that moment, I came to the realization that it was very possible that we had lost someone on the river and might not even recover a body.  That being said, we still had to get the rest of the group to safety by navigating what we could. Hiking out was not possible.

Along the right side of the river we could spot lines down the flow that would get us from eddy to eddy. Between one paddler getting out of his boat, communicating a possible line down the rapid and paddling the line himself this all took a great deal of time.

Our hopes of getting ourselves safely down this massive torrent quickly enough to have a realistic hope of finding and helping Mark if he was in trouble were slim. Not to mention that daylight was fading fast, and there was no end in sight to this rapid.

Out of nowhere, we heard the ringing of a cell phone. Cesar, one of the local San Gil paddlers had his cell phone on him. It was Mark, letting us know that he was safe downstream. Relief washed over us.

Mark had somehow been able to work his way through the rapid and get into an eddy about 1.5 km downstream. He would later tell us that he felt lucky to have done so considering the size of the whitewater and lack of eddies on the left side of the river.

With daylight fading and the group close to reuniting it was time to make a decision. We had to find a safe spot off the river to hole up for the night. We were properly equipped with supplies, but were far from any reasonable campsite.

We continued down the river between massive holes and breaking waves until we found Mark waiting for us on river left.  At this point it was twilight and it was time to move fast. A jungle terrain is not ideal for hiking at night with heavy boats and equipment.

We started the steep hike up the left side of the canyon. Each step in front of me seemed to look darker and darker and soon there was barely any light at all. Thankfully, in my overnight gear I had packed my Goal Zero charger pack to recharge my camera gear. One of it’s features is a handy LED light that became my main source of light that night.

Soon enough we found a little shelter for cattle placed in the middle of a marshy pasture. Relieved, we all took shelter among the cow patties, while stealing occasional glances at the massive bull staring back at us. We consumed what water we had and began to make a plan.

Before we knew it we saw flashlights heading our way. It was the local farmer with his 9 year old son. At first, he seemed angry at finding us on his land and in his barn. However, we finally realized that he was not upset but inviting us to his home to spend the night with his family!  It didn’t take any convincing for us to follow him to his house.

When we arrived 4 more small, shy children poked their heads out to see the unfamiliar gringos arrive at their home wearing strange gear. The shyness wore off when we handed them each a chocolate bar and they were all smiles the rest of the night.
They have a simple 3-room house – a kitchen with wood oven, a storage room, and one bedroom for the whole family.

They had a dog, a mule, cats, goats, chickens, and cattle all in the near vicinity. They provided us with use of their kitchen, hammocks, water and sleeping pads. They marveled at our cameras and the photos we showed them of San Gil and other areas.

Their life was simple and seemed to be filled with hard work and happiness.  The father told us that the kids were to go to school in the morning and that the Pueblo of Ordan was only a 25 minute hike from their farm. Perhaps there in the morning we could find a ride out of town and back to San Gil.  It was likely that the river was still rising and would only get more dangerous.

I’ll always remember this family’s warmth, kindness, and generosity. To me, this represented the people that I met all along the way in Colombia.

Another example of this was the next morning when we made our way to Ordan. Quickly we were taken into a local home and provided with a meal of eggs and sweet bread. It is hard to think of North Americans offering to take some stranded foreigners into their homes and sharing a meal.  The lady who cooked us breakfast then called the local driver to see about providing us with a ride out of Jordan. This would involve a trek up a 1500 M canyon on rugged roads. In fact, it was a path seldom traveled since the principle route was washed out by landslides.

After an afternoon of lounging in the local swimming hole, we met with our driver to load his mid-sized truck with six loaded kayaks and six paddlers. Epic on it’s own.  The ride out was bumpy and dangerous. Especially with two of our crew hanging off the side of the loaded kayaks. However, the views in the canyon were beyond spectacular. At every turn there was either a waterfall plunging into the gorge below or a jagged cliff wall that gave you chills to look down. This was a class 5 drive for sure.

In the end, what started as a potential disaster eventually resulted in a wonderful experience to remember. The family’s hospitality created an evening to remember fondly for a long time to come.

We finally made it back to San Gil in one piece around 10pm that evening. Along the way, we had failed brakes and a wheel fly off the truck across a soccer field.

The driver took it all in stride and never stopped smiling. Perhaps we could all learn a little from the Colombian outlook on life and take life for what it is: an incredible journey with its unplanned twists and turns – much like a river – to accept and enjoy for what it is.

Photos by: Andy Atkins