Start: Mile 150 Finish: Mile 180
Breakfast today was cereal, yogurt, and bagels.
We broke camp earlier than normal because Wiley wanted to beat the Hatch boats into Havasu Canyon. We only left about 30 minutes earlier than normal.
We started the day with Upset Rapid (3-8). About 10 minutes after we left, we passed the Hatch boats at their camp; they were just getting loaded. Within 30 minutes, the Hatch boats had passed us. The Hatch boats are faster than J-Rigs since they are lighter and have a different design… so we could have slept in.
The Hatch boats parked at the mouth of Havasu Canyon and unloaded their passengers. We had to run a small rapid and park in the rapid and tied the boats to the canyon walls. We had to wear our life jackets when we got off the boat and then clipped them to the bowlines.
We hiked about 30 minutes upstream and spent 2 hours at the beautiful turquoise water. We met Renee from the Hatch boat and traded our morning treats for 2 Tootsie pops.
Tracy swam upstream into a small waterfall and we sat around in a pool for the remainder of our time. We decided to hike back early because we wanted some space between the hikers since it could get slippery and we did not like to be crowded on the ledges.
While we were gone from our boats, 2 ravens raided Wiley’s raft and tore apart the bag contains snacks and also a bag containing the lemonade mix. Clever little shits! I think they followed us downstream for the remainder of the trip.
Ten minutes after we got back on the boats, we stopped for lunch in a wonderful shady spot. They offered deli sandwiches and we had a wonderful conservation with Addison (one of the classiest ladies we have ever met).
After lunch the temperature on the water was unbearable and there was very little shade [video]. The wind from the canyon was hot and it was very uncomfortable on the water. We kept applying sunscreen because it felt like our skin was being cooked.
Marty said it was 105 degrees during lunch but later it felt like it was 115 degrees. We pulled over in the only shady spot near the water and took a much needed break. They passed around 2 bags of candy bars and Deanna fell between the ropes on the front of the boat when she went to grab the candy bar she had dropped. She got tangled in the ropes and was laughing so hard that she needed help getting out.
Tubbs started dancing on the unstable wet sand in front of the boat causing it to become quick sand. Wiley and Joey then pushed Tubbs into the sand up to his waist. Janice also got buried in the quick sand.
Just above Lava Falls Rapid, we clipped the boats together and Wiley finished reading the “Belles of Ore”… the guy died in Lava! WTF?!?
We had an awesome hit in Lava Falls Rapid (8-10). Panther sat second in the middle tube and Tracy was third on the right tube. The hit on the left side of the boat was so strong that both Mike and Dinshaw were thrown backwards into Panther but she never lost her grip even though we could not sit upright anymore. Someone pushed Panther back up before we dove into the next part of the rapid.
To see an awesome video of Lava Falls Rapid, click here.
We had a fantastic campsite just below Lava Falls Rapid (8-10) [video].
Wiley said that were we having a captains dinner tonight and everyone had to wear a toga in order to be served [video]. The guides all wore black tie affair and each one of us had our own unique togas. Dustin had to show Panther how to assemble a toga.
Dinner was steak, potatoes, and chili. Dessert was cake!
After dinner, Amy read a poem dedicated to Wiley [video]. Then Joey, Wiley, and Dinshaw entertained us with music after dark [video].
Another hot night on the river! The wind really picked up after dinner but it was still hot air.
Wildlife: 5 big horn sheep, 1 red tail hawk, 1 human butt