All exhausted after the concentration and physical challenge of day three it was great to find out that the following day would be more mellow. In 3 days we had travelled 109 miles, and the pace was about to change. We took on 3 gentle rapids and the pulled up on shore to go and investigate Elves Chasm, a green haven of clear pools, dripping moss and ferns and the red and honey coloured sandstone. At the top of the creek was a deep pool and waterfall. I was first in! Behind the waterfall was a cave and Steve showed us how we could rock climb through an opening so that we could stand on a ledge half way up the waterfall, and then jump! Such fun!
Four miles downstream we stopped again and explored the Blacktail Canyon, which is a geology master class all by itself, and demonstrated the Great Unconformity. Effectively we were at the deepest part of the canyon, in geological terms, and were surround by rocks 2.2 billion years old. The next layer on top was only about a billion years old, so what happened in between? Whatever happened was obviously eroded, creating a massive time gap. I couldn't get my head round it! And still find it a mind blowing concept!
Blacktail Canyon itself twisted and turned in hues of grey and black, layers like a Mille feuille, but random rocks wedged up to forty feet above us suggested the force of flash floods that frequently occur. Further up the canyon than others I thought I was having an epiphany when I could hear music bouncing down the walls of the canyon. It turned out that another group had beaten us up there and were testing the acoustics for their two guitars! Not an obvious busking spot!
After a stop for lunch we headed to the Stone Creek water cascade. A lovely flow of water that felt just like a shower! It should be said that the weather in the canyon was perfect. We were aware that towards the end of the week there was potential for rain storms and flash floods, and whilst we saw "thunderhead" clouds, and on the second to last night had lightening and thunder, we never experienced any rain. That said it was sooooooooo hot! Especially at night when you would get the hot thermals blowing up the river. As a result any time we found fresh cool water we would just wade in, clothes and all. We would wash in the Colorado, which whilst still freezing, we were beginning to get used to, but the water is full of silt. The camps were all sand banks, and the thermals blew fine grains of sand everywhere. So we were all engrained very quickly with the sand, and even when you washed you were just washing it back on! Needless to say with limited changes of clothes and basic washing facilities I was not looking my party best!
The best side effect of the heat was that I did not feel the need to sleep in a tent! And one of the highlights for me was lying on my cot starring up at the night sky. I can honestly say that I have never seen so many stars. And the Milkyway was so clear. On the last night I fought to stay awake so that I could drink in the view and try and etch it on my brain. Even typing this now and thinking about that sky is causing me to well up. I am so useless!
When trying to sleep I did get a tad freaked out about the possibility of critters. We knew there was the potential for rattlesnakes, and whilst we did see one snake it wasn't in camp. Obviously there were scorpions around, but I didn't see any. We saw long horned sheep, ravens and ducks, bats, dragon flies, butterflies, red ants and horrible biting flies. But that was about it. But most nights I would freak myself out with thoughts of snakes in my sleeping bag, or monsters behind bushes. I almost screamed one night when I thought there was a snake under my cot, but when I put my glasses on I realised it was the cord from the sleeping bag. Doh!
As far as the group went, there were 18 of us. Myself, and one other British couple, Steve and Tracey, who were lovely and we got on really well. Steve's enthusiasm for everything was just infectious. The rest of the group were all Americans and they were so friendly. A group of 6 were celebrating George's 65th birthday. George was practically deaf, had been down the canyon before so wasn't intimidated by it but more than that George was a child of the 60's, and to be honest I think he still thought it was the 60's! At one point he said to me if I needed anything to drink or smoke, he was my man! Alex, his son-in-law was the unlucky one to stand on a scorpion, but at least he was married to the nurse in the group! Not that she could really do anything. He just had to ride out the pain. There was a father and daughter, two cousins, partners, but of the four singletons Keith, Victoria and I hit it off from the very beginning. We always camped together, one tent for changing in and then our cots lined up outside. Victoria was a glamourous Mother Hen, always making sure we were okay, despite having injured her elbow, and Keith was our knight in shining armour, always appearing to help, always smiling. Without them both my week would have been so incredibly different, and I feel immensely honoured to have met them both. Victoria referred to us as "family" and I am struggling to understand how I can miss two people so much when I had not even met them 10 days ago.
Day Five
After a night at Owl Eyes (two holes in the cliff, that did look like owl eyes), we had another mellow day.
We stopped at Deer Creek Falls, a 100ft waterfall that generated spray that gave an illusion of air conditioning! There was an option to hike up above but with the warning that anyone with vertigo should probably refrain. So some of us just found a rock in the shade and vegged out. Another group stopped by for a while so that gave us the chance to talk to new people, and swap experiences.
After another stop for lunch we headed to Matkatimba Canyon, for what Corey referred to as "jungle gym"!!! The canyon quickly became narrow and those up for the challenge, rock climbed, shimmied, slithered and pulled our way up and over obstacles to get to the top. It was great fun, and for once have a big bum helped me when I had to wedge myself against one wall whilst walking my feet up the other wall!
By the end of day five I was starting to succumb to a cold, and just plain exhaustion, but everyone seemed a little fractious when putting up camp at Matkat Hotel (but obviously there was no hotel!) apart from the constant lovelies that were Victoria, Keith and Tracie!
The food on the trip was amazing, and in true American style there was so much of it. Every morning we had a different breakfast of cooked food and fruit, lunch was normally make your own sandwiches or wraps, but there would be cheeses, meats, olives, gherkins, crisps, cookies......, and then dinner would be called by Steve blowing through his conch shell. Hors doeuvres first, then a main course (we had Mexican, Italian, steaks, a BBQ) and then dessert (made usually by a lady named Sara Lee!!!) Hanging from the boat were two nets which we would fill with our beers cans. They would drag behind and be kept cool, if not a little shaken! We all agreed that we would probably leave the canyon heavier than we arrived!
Day Six
Our last full day, and we were excited for our first trip, but knew that we had to complete lava in the afternoon, our second Grade 10.
Havasu falls drops into the Colorado at Mile 157. We had to moor up half way down a rapid, which was not without its issues, safety being the major one. So we had to be careful to get off and on the boat. We clambered up the sandstone flats, turned the corner and looked up the creek, which is flanked by travertine formations. The water itself is laden with minerals that create a vivid turquoise colour. We clambered up as far as we felt we should before lying in the waters and just taking in the views. It was an oasis. Pure and simple.
Lunch today was at one of the nicest spots. Most lunch spots or camps have the river running past quite quickly and the noise is always there in the background. But this time we were on a bend in the river and there was no fast water, it was just still. Peaceful. And I remember commenting to Keith how unexpected the stillness was. Moments like that are good for the soul!
In the afternoon Tracey and I took to the front of the boat for a while. I rode a Grade 9 but only because Corey assured me it was a gentle Grade 9, in fact the difficulty was due to the rocks under the water, so it was technically difficult to navigate but was not too bumpy. Again we both headed for the back of the boat when we approached Lava and Son of Lava. They lived up to their reputation, but I was quite relived afterwards in the knowledge that all of the "Big Ones" were behind us.
We occasionally saw other groups on the river, one other J-rig, groups of doreys or kayaks, some of them doing trips of 14, 18 or more days. At a quieter stretch of water we met one such group who started singing to us "What's your price for ice? Six blocks would be nice"! Impressed by their effort Corey gave then two blocks and was promptly flashed by all the girls of the group. 5 minutes further down the river we were ambushed by another group who had heavy duty water pistols and good old fashioned buckets of water. Being at the front of the boat I pretty much took the brunt, but funnier yet was the line of men on the river bank who mooned in unison! Obviously you can spend too long down the canyon!!!
Our final camp was at Upper Chevron, and when getting off the boat Steve announced it would be a toga party, so we had to dress up using our sheets! And we still had a lot of beer to drink! Dinner was prawns and dip, followed by tasty trout fillets, and a Dutch oven baked cake! We all sat in a circle and chatted, listened to Steve sing with his guitar, and just soaked up the atmosphere.
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