Travelogue

Helicopter evacuationToday was a relatively relaxing day - no major rapids or big hikes. Rather we would spend most of the day at the Deer Creek Patio and Falls, just a relatively short 2-mile hike up from the river.

After breakfast and packing up the boats, we set off down the river for about 3 miles to a beach from which we could walk up Deer Creek.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, there was a lot of excitement going on, as a motor-raft expedition was getting ready for a helicopter evacuation.

Starting up Deer CreekI spoke to a gentleman from that expedition and he said it was not anything serious. A 9-year-old boy had cut his shin badly on a rock and needed stitches. Hmm… this hit a little too close to home, as I had cut my shin right down to the bone just 5 days ago and was still watching it closely for any signs of infection.

Well I was certainly glad this evacuation wasn’t for anything really serious.

As skilled as the Grand Canyon helicopter pilots are, they can’t just land anywhere, but need a reasonably-sized patch of flat sand. It’s surprising how small that can be.

A little friend we met along the wayWe watched in awe as a helicopter appeared at the canyon rim and began gradually descending by going back and forth up the canyon several times, each time getting a little lower.

Wow! To think that could have been me.

Ok, back to our hike to Deer Creek Patio and Falls.

From the boats we had to climb up atop several rock ledges and through a prickly pear cactus grove, with barely enough room to navigate through without getting stabbed with one of their very sharp spines.

Heading up Deer CreekPrickly pear cactus is found throughout the Grand Canyon, and some evidence suggests that ancient people may have cultivated the cactus and harvested their fruit, which can be eaten raw, or used to make juice, jelly, syrup, candy, or chewing gum. Excess fruit was dried and stored for winter.

The Southern Paiute people who live on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon utilized the Deer Creek drainage for hundreds of years before white settlers expanded into the southwest. Perhaps it was these people that planted these prickly pear cactuses as a source of food, or to keep tourists away.

After making it relatively unscathed through the prickly pear cacti (their spines can be 1-2" long), we reached Deer Creek.

Nap time on the PatioWe hiked through the actual creek a bit before climbing up and walking along the rocky ledges alongside the creek. One short section was quite narrow with a precarious drop below, so we took our time and carefully made it across.

We eventually got to the patio, a shaded large ledge alongside the creek, where we could sit and relax for a while and swim in the lovely pool.

View of the River from Deer Creek hikeThe narrow slot canyon downstream from the patio is of spiritual significance to the Southern Paiutes, as they believe it to be a conduit for spirits passing from this life to the next.

I think the group was hitting the wall from all the activity, so everyone decided that it was a good time for a nap, even on hard rock.

Everyone that was except me, the photographer, and Cosmo, who was only 13, and had lots and lots of energy. My God. I just realized that I was more than 5 times older than him.

The gang looked a bit too much like Southern Paiute spirits passing from this life to the next.

Deer Creek FallsAfter what was apparently a much-needed nap, we continued our hike up towards the waterfall.

But first, we came to an overlook with a beautiful view of the river down below. Wow! I didn’t realize we had hiked up that much elevation.

The water looked so emerald green. I always thought the Colorado River water would be a murky chocolate brown from the sediment, but I guess that depends on the time of year.

We continued on to Deer Creek Falls, the most beautiful falls we had seen so far in the canyon. Yesterday’s Thunder River Falls was more powerful and impressive, but this one was more subtle in its beauty.

Cooling off in Deer Creek FallsIts 100-foot cascade dropped into a pool surrounded by green vegetation. It was a lovely place to cool off.

What a nice way to spend a few hours - hiking, napping, and then refreshing ourselves beneath a beautiful waterfall.

Then it was back down to the boats to continue downriver for about another 9 miles. There weren’t many rapids today, so Daniel let us each take a turn at the oars.

I found out that there was a lot more to it than appeared. I have rowed a boat before, but never one that weighed about 2,000 pounds, with all the passengers and gear in it.

Lolo, the river runnerAt Mile 146, we pulled the boats up onto a beach to set up camp at Olo Canyon.

This was probably our most difficult camping spot to date, because there was no real flat spot close to the river to set up the kitchen.

Instead the strongest of the group (mostly the under-40 crowd) had to lug some really heavy equipment up a steep sandy hill. The fire line where we unloaded our bags from the boats and the up above the steep hill was no picnic either.

Our Olo Canyon campsiteDuring one of those slogs up the sandy hill, the strap on my Teva sandals broke, meaning that I would be spending the rest of the trip in my hiking boots if we couldn't find a way to fix it. Fortunately, Herb is very handy, and one of the guides had a speedy stitcher, so Herb was able to do a make-shift fix that would hopefully get me through the trip.

Finding camping was a bit challenging as well, as we had to go pretty far from the river to find a flat spot.

Herb and I did manage to find a very pretty (albeit inconvenient) spot up against the limestone cliffs, with our own private little waterfall nearby, where spring water from the canyon above spilled over a limestone lip, cascading about 20 - 30 feet down to the sandy ground below.

It was nice falling asleep to the sound of trickling water.