Start: Mile 24 Finish: Mile 63
Some time before breakfast, Panther cut her left foot when she was walking down the beach barefoot. She applied Neosporin and put duct tape over the cut.
We started the day with rain gear because the water is really cold and it helps keep us warm. We thought about bringing our paddle gear but it is very heavy (we had a 20 lb limit for gear) and it would have been too hot and it is hard to easily slip on/off.
Our first big rapid was Tiger Wash (between miles 26 and 27) followed by Silver Grotto rapid [video].
We pulled our rafts into a small eddy to look at Vasey’s Paradise [video] and saw the Bridge of Sighs [video].
Vaseys Paradise
Redwall Cavern
Looking out from Redwall Cavern
You can also pee off the back of the raft while we are moving. For guys this is easy but a little more difficult for women. Python went to the back of the raft, put each foot on a different fork, dropped her drawers, and squatted while hanging on with one hand. The hard part is pulling up your drawers with only one hand; it is even harder if your drawers are wet.
We pulled over where the Little Colorado River runs into the Grand Canyon. The water from the Little Colorado River is a beautiful turquoise blue color and it was warm! We hiked up the side canyon for 30 minutes until we came to a small rapid that we could safely float down. The warm water was a welcome relief from the frigid cold of the Grand Canyon water.
Little Colorado River
Lunch today was a delicious chicken curry salad in tortilla wraps or peanut butter sandwiches.
Tubbs is quiet knowledgeable about cameras; especially Olympus digital cameras. He showed us how to use the panoramic setting on our cameras. Here is some footage of a flat section of the river we shot while talking about cameras with Tubbs. [video].
Tonight there was no room to put up a tent so we did cowboy camping [video]! Tracy did not feel well because her stomach ached and she was coming down with a cold.
Dinner was barbeque chicken, corn surprise, and corn bread. Dessert was cheesecake. Tracy did not have any appetite so she only ate corn bread.
Tracy had to get up a couple of times during the night to pee in the pee cup; she did not dump it out because it was really rocky and it would have been hard to get to the river in the dark. In the morning, there was a very large toad swimming in her pee cup. Poor thing… but he lived.
Wildlife: mule deers including 2 bucks, 2 Peregrine falcons
Powell Report: August 9, 1869
“The river turns sharply to the east and seems inclosed by
a wall set with a million brilliant gems. On coming nearer
we find fountains bursting from the rock high overhead, and
the spray in the sunshine forms the gems which bedeck the wall.
The rocks are covered with moses and ferns and many beautiful
flowering plants. We name it Vasey's Paradise, in honor
of the botanist who traveled with us last year.”