Day 7 - Cape Solitude and the Little Colorado

Nankoweap to Carbon Creek. (Miles 52 - 65)

The day started out warm. But something was coming, you could feel it.





The last chance we'd have for some open air guitar for at least a week.



Phong gets it.



Cape Solitude comes into view. Ed Abbey writes a great essay called Cape Solitude which "takes place" up there. A quote from the essay: "But as I was saying, let others save the world for the time being. Tonight and tomorrow and for the next few days i am going to walk the rim of Cape Solitude, along the Palisades of the Desert, and save myself. Without half-trying."

I tried to get there once when I was employed as an "enumerator" for the U.S. Census Bureau. I didn't quite make it--that Cape is truly wild. There are boats in this picture. They are small. Cape Solitude is huge. Click on the pic for some perspective.



The Little Colorado River with Chuar Butte in the background.



Looking up the Little Colorado.



Lunch.



Most of the time, the Little Colorado is a place for rafters to spend an afternoon, swim in the milky blue water, hike upstream, explore. Not today. The air stretched thin and we are all anxious to get out of their before it breaks.



It breaks at Carbon Camp.

Day 6 - Layover Day - Nankoweap

No shame...Layover Day.



THE Grand Canyon photo (everyone gets this shot--it is just too perfect) - the Nankoweap Granaries.







One of the most important pieces of equipment we have--the sauna. Inside that tent are six pieces of white hot iron rail, two buckets of river water, and the potential for an hour of hot, hot steam. The Sauna saved us all...

Day 5 - Eminence to Nankoweap (M. 44 - 52)

My "tent". Deciding which spot is going to have the most impressive morning view is the most important decision to make when picking out a campsite.



Dinner Crew No. 4 - Soren, Stottlemyre, Foley, Alex.



The infamous "Bunny Suit".



Mule Deer sighting.



Mule deer.



Saddle Canyon delta.



Saddle Canyon,





Hiking out.





Saddle Canyon silhouette.



Rowing to a layover day at Nankoweap.

Day 3 - New Year's Eve!

North Canyon to Nautiloid Camp. (Miles 21 - 35)

2007 was a great year for sleeping outside. The last camp of the year--North Canyon and North Canyon Rapid.



Downstream from the same spot.



Today we did the Roaring Twenties, a series of about ten rapids, most of which rank around 5 or 6 on the Grand Canyon difficulty scale of 1-10. Scouting 24.5 at lunch.



It sometimes takes four to tame the Puma.



A great part of The Canyon--big, vertical walls, and no shoreline.



Representing.



Holy sheep. (Desert Bighorn calf.)



There's nothing quite like sitting on a raft, floating on a still stretch of river in a quiet desert canyon, singing some old timey Eazy-E numbers.



Happy New Year! What a way to start 2008. This is going to be good...

F.O.R. Staff Float Trip - Lower Sacramento River

The Cal Salmon River

July 6th was just one of those days. We caught and cooked fish, discovered new creeks, explored abondoned cabins, braved rickety footbridges, happened upon mining camps, swam in shady pools, bushwacked and backtracked. But besides all that, the best part of the day may have been the drive back down the Cal Salmon river along the extraordinary Salmon River Road, especially when combined with a freak hail storm. Everyone should see this place at least once.















Hail the size of quail eggs. Everywhere.