Big Runs in Crystal and Slithering Company

This trip was a hot, hot trip. I think it got up to 115 this week. The trip started out normal.  We did some fun hikes and were off to a pretty good start.  On Day three we dropped into the upper granite gorge.  There wasn't anything abnormally big.  Hermit had fun 15 foot waves.  Then we got to Crystal.  We Dropped right into the left side of the rapid (the big side).  I had one of the smoothest runs I have ever had.  I made it down past the rock bar and pulled into an eddy to watch my second boatman (Andy Dicus) come through.  I saw him have a big hit in the center hole and then disappear behind the big cliff on the left.  He had slammed the boat into the cliffs.  It corked the frame and pushed the corner of the frame through a tube of the boat.  It ripped a 12-15 inch hole in the boat.  We made it down to the Ross Wheeler beach to camp for the night.  It took until 11pm to get the boat patched.  On top of all that, it was 100 degrees in the shade (at 9:00 pm).

Right when we thought we were in the clear, a passenger fell the next morning and split his finger wide open.  We almost needed to fly him out of the canyon.  

This is a Grand Canyon Pink Rattlesnake.  It slithered into one of our camps this week. Some of our passengers came down and told us that there was a rattlesnake next to their camp.  Another guide and I went and caught it with some tongs. The snake was deep in some brush and hard to catch. I kept it in a bucket all night and Leigh took this picture when I let it go the following morning.

Good looking snake!!

Leigh standing in front of one of the original Nevills boats.  Norman Nevills was the first commercial guide in Grand Canyon. This is one of his original boats that his grandson had restored.  He was getting ready to start a trip.

Nice shot of a ram.  This is the third year in a row I have seen this guy. He hangs out on the left side of the river between Stone Creek and Tapeats creek.

Cold Trip

Elves Chasm

We just got back from our second trip.  It was a cold one.  I can't tell you how nice it is to have high temps of 70 rather than 115.  

We had some good folks and did some nice hikes.  Our six day trip was overcast the entire time.  We had multiple days of rain, but nothing flashed (which is nice).  Right above Horn Creek Rapid the sleet started to fall.  It felt like snow.  

This is from the back of Red Wall Cavern. 

I took this last week.

This is us at the source of Thunder River.

This is from the private Grand Canyon trip we went on last fall (thanks again Marky). 

This was one of the most memorable trips in my life.

It was hard to go back to work in the canyon this year. Every corner we turned it reminded me of our private trip.

Lets start Blogging.  Yes, we are a little slow to the whole thing. But now we are part of society.

Let the games begin.

We are on break from our first Grand Canyon Trip.

We are going to run Nine trips this year.  I will try to keep you posted on interesting things from these trips.