Sunday November 24th, 2013
When we got up, it was just misty not really raining. Through the day, a lot of people went hiking.
In the morning, a group of us climbed up a steep slope to the first rim, where Zack and I posed for a photo. There are so many layers to the canyon that it's difficult to know if distant peaks are just that or are part of the uppermost rim. The canyon is so vast that there are only a couple of places where the actual outer rim is visible from the river itself. The incredible size of the canyon is difficult to relate.
This is a picture downriver from our vantage point. Some of the others hiked a bit further but my knees were happy to stop here.
Our campsite is down on the sandbar near the lower centre of the picture. After we climbed back down, several of us thought a bath would be a good idea. We stripped down, jumped in the river, soaped up and then rinsed with much shrieking and cursing the cold. The water is released from the bottom of the Glen Canyon Dam about 15 miles above Lee's Ferry so it is a constant 47F (that's about 8C) all year. I swore I wasn't bathing again for the rest of the trip.
In the late afternoon we finally got about an hour of sunshine that helped dry out our gear. Because of the high canyon walls, even on clear days we're often in the shade.
Monday, November 25th, 2013
A clear, sunny day.
As we loaded the rafts, we were happy to see the sunlight in the distance.
Here's Tom on the oars. Through bigger rapids, Zack is the boatman responsible for the boat so he takes the oars while Tom and I paddle from the front for a little extra power. Through flat water and small rapids, we all take turns on the oars. This day, there were few rapids so Zack spent some time visiting other rafts while Tom and I sipped beer and rowed down the river.
A typical lunch spot. It's much easier to appreciate the magnificent scenery when it's warm and sunny. Later in the afternoon, we camped at Upper Nankoweap campsite at Mile 53. Just to be clear, there are a number of sand bars and cobble bars where others have camped before. They are usually named for adjacent side canyons or creeks. They are considered campsites only because there is a flat area. There are tent spots where people may have moved some rocks out of the way and trails due to use but there are absolutely no park service amenities. It is strictly no trace camping.
After a 1/4 mile hike above Nankoweap cobble bar, Zack and I posed just below the Nankoweap Granaries, often shown in Grand Canyon photos.
About 1,000 years ago, the natives built these small rooms into the cliff for food storage.
The view downriver with the granaries shown on the right.
Our campsite is down on the huge cobble bar below. We saw other groups infrequently but this night there were 3 other groups camped at Main and Lower Nankoweap campsites, still far enough from us that we couldn't hear them.
At night, many people in our group heard rocks falling, which, by the look of the slopes, happens all the time. I slept through the whole thing.
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