Travelogue

Morning stirrings in campToday was going to be a very big day, as we would be running Lava Falls (a Grand Canyon 10+), the most famous and challenging rapid on the Grand Canyon. Even the guides seemed nervous. I know I certainly was.

To make matters worse, Herb had convinced me last night to sleep out in the open for the first time. Most of our group didn't set up tents, but just slept on their mat out under the stars. I had been very reluctant to do this for so many reasons: critters, privacy, etc.

So, I did and it went okay, but I still prefer having a structure of some sort around me when I sleep. Well, I was probably right because at coffee that one of our friends, who had slept out in the open every night, was bitten on the toe by a scorpion during the night. The numbness was already moving up his leg. Apparently no medical attention is needed for a scorpion bite. You just have to wait it out.

Wes drawing Lava Falls RapidI told Herb that under no uncertain terms that the tent was going back up tonight.

But scorpions were the least of my worries today, as today we would be running Lava Falls, a rapid that I had been obsessed with ever since Herb booked this trip over a year ago.

Whenever we had a big, challenging rapid in store for us that day, one of our guides would draw the "features" of the rapid in the sand and tell us their plan for running it. This morning it was Wes’s turn and, as usual, he was quite entertaining and dramatic in his presentation.

Getting ready!Rapids can have different “features," which are to be avoided. This one had all more “features” than a multiplex cinema in summer time: a huge hole to avoid at the top, followed by the infamous V-wave which flips 18-foot rafts like bath toys, and ending with two static 10-feet-tall static waves known as the Big Kahunas.

As we got ready to take off, everyone (including the guides) seemed a little quieter and more tense this morning, and rightly so.

The calm before the stormWe chose to ride in Robin’s raft today, as she was the trip leader and had been down the river over 40 times. She could play the features of this rapid in her head with her eyes closed.

As we set off down the river, Herb tried to act nonchalant to keep my fear levels down. It wasn't working. I wanted to smack that smug grin off his face - just kidding

Well before we could see Lava Falls, we began to hear its thunderous roar.

When we did, we pulled the boats quickly over to a small beach on the right side of the river, so that we could hike up above it to scout the river.

Scouting Lava FallsI’m sure the guides didn’t need our input, but it was nice of them to invite us along, so that we could learn their plan and know what to expect.

As the guides observed the rapid and confirmed their plans for how they wanted to run it, we just gazed down in awe at what is the most famous and challenging rapid in the Grand Canyon and possibly even the world. It’s even listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest navigable water in all of North America at 20 m.p.h.

Okay, enough spectating. It was time to get this over with.

Maybe a little too nonchalantWe were in the lead boat with Robin, our trip leader, at the oars. As we approached, she let out her usual cry, "READY? HOLD ON!"

It was probably one of the most exciting 20 seconds of my life, because that’s all it lasts, if you do it right. Since we were the lead boat, we got to sit back and watch the other five boats in our fleet come through. Everyone ran it perfectly - right to plan.

Running Lava Falls RapidIt had been exhilarating and in retrospect, so much fun! However, I was glad the scariest rapids of the trip were behind us.

Immediately after getting through Lava Falls, we pulled over to a small beach, where the guides, who had just successfully navigated us through one of the most challenging rapids in the world, were now slicing and dicing vegetables for our healthy lunch.

They truly are amazing.

Our amazing chefsThat evening at camp, we got the disheartening news that Wes, our most experienced guide (over 50 runs down the river) had to be evacuated because he had a "bat encounter."

It had actually happened last night, but there was no way he was going to miss rowing his dory for the first time through Lava Falls. He knew he had 72 hours before needing to start the rabies shots.

It was a very sad evening as we watched the helicopter make its approach. The pilot has to zig zag up and down the canyon as they can't approach too quickly.

Wes's evacuationWe had already set up camp, so we had to take everything down and tie it together, as the winds from the helicopter would have blown everything around.

It kicked up so much sand that we had to huddle together and cover our eyes.

Then off he went..

We collected ourselves and all kicked into gear working together as a team - setting up the tents again and helping the guides put the kitchen back together.

Bye bye WesUndeterred by whatever hits them, they cooked us a delicious steak dinner, which we ate in the dark that night. We were all pretty solemn.

We would miss Wes’s entertaining stories, dramatic simulations of the rapids we would face, and his skill and calmness running the mightiest of rapids.

But the show must go on. We still had 2 more days and 46 river miles to go.