Colorado Rafting!!!


Click on the images below to get a larger picture.

I spent the summer of 90 at 2 major rivers of the world! In the southern summer I rafted the BioBio river in Chile and in the north I rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon!! Our lead guide was Randy Porpiglia (at left). A few of the other guides are seen below him, Mike Borcik (rowing with his feet), Rocky Pisto and the whole group of guides goofing off. We started out in Las Vegas and from the airport went to a small airstrip from which we took small Cesinas and flew in to the small airstrip at Marble Canyon. Nice views of Hoover Damn on that flight! After a group orientation in the evening we enjoyed dinner at the Lodge and packed up our drybags. The next morning we had breakfast in groups and were ready to be shuttled down to Lee's Ferry where we put-in to the river! We passed under the Marble Canyon bridge and began our 12 day journey following the river floated by John Wesley Powell so many years before. We stopped at Vasey's Paradise to cool off in the waterfalls, and played volleyball on the beach at Redwall Cavern. If you
look closely on that picture, you will see the relative size of the cave by finding the raft which is at the far right side of the beach just about to hit the shore. We stopped at Phantom ranch and lost 9 rafters who hiked out of the canyon and we gained 3 people who hiked down to join us for the last 7 days of the trip. On the 3rd night out we camped on a beach with some rock cover because we started getting a bit of rain. It didn't last long but when we got to Phantom ranch we found out that downstream, Havasupai had been flooded and a few buildings damaged but no one was killed, there had been only a few minor injuries. After a few days of some thrilling rapids, we got to Havasu Creek and started hiking up but
many of the travertine dams had been broken and the water was a milky green-blue color. The path had been littered by so much debris that we had to stop and turn around. We would not be seeing Havasu Falls on this trip. I will just have to return in the future to see it and raft through the canyon again. We hiked up Matkatamiba canyon, Deer Creek canyon, and National canyon as well as others and hiked up to see indian granneries in a cliff face. Crystal rapid has a HUGE hole on the left side which everyone avoided. Many in the group took turns in the paddle raft to get warm and waste a few calories. I actually took the sticks on a few of the oared rafts when we were in calm water and even took it through a few #2 rapids. Rapids are ranked from 1 (flat water) to 6 (waterfall). Lava Falls was a great rapid and we had the chance to go through it twice!!! We needed enough ballast in the oared rafts to make it through the infamous V-wave on the right side. Then a few of us crazies, hiked back around the rapid (the walking around was the hard part) and we jumped into the paddle raft and took it through, this time on the left side of the rapid. In the middle of the rapid we lost our guide and got jossled around. I fell into the middle of the raft and was rewarded with the butt of the oar of the person paddling opposite me hitting me high on my upper arm. It was a bruise that lasted for weeks!!! It was a great ride though!!! We had a great lunch after surviving Lava!!! The guides were the only ones thrown into the river by the whitewater.

The lower Deer Creek Falls is seen below with me in the foreground as well as the Vulcan's Anvil and lava flows down to the river, a wide shot of everyone relaxing in a beautiful area of Matkatamiba and a few shots from the walk up to that point, and one of our harder campsites, ledges camp. As the canyon opens up we come upon Diamond Peak and our last stop, Separation canyon. Here we met the jet boats which would transport us up to Pierce Ferry and our awaiting ride back to Las Vegas. If you have never taken this trip before, JUST DO IT!!!

Home Astronomy Vita Fun Information UA Computer


Last updated: November 6, 1997