Near Phantom Ranch to Lower Bass

Friday, November 29th, 2013
Today we ran some smaller and some bigger rapids, including Hance (8), Sockdolager (7) and Grapevine (7). There were some big holes but we had good lines and avoided any problems. Nevertheless, it was still wet and cold. Everyone's hands and feet get cold from being wet most of the day. Plus we were under clouds or in the shade of the cliffs most of the time. We did have lunch on a sunny bank, which was nice. It was Hawaiian Day so those who had the appropriate costume dressed for the occasion.
We camped at Lower Cremation, not far from Phantom Ranch. We had a few drinks around the campfire at night, as usual. I went to bed but later I heard there was a chorus of Bohemian Rhapsody that made Tom laugh so hard he fell off his chair. A good last night for him as tomorrow he walks out from Phantom Ranch to the south rim and John walks in to take his place.

Saturday, November 30th, 2013
The weather is a high of 12C but it's cloudy and windy. This morning I decided to add another layer under my dry suit so now I have 3 pair of long underwear on my legs and 4 undershirts on top. Along with that I have my skiing neck warmer under my drysuit to soak up any water that seeps through my neck gasket and down my back. All of this is a bit cumbersome but it's warmer.
Grambo, J-Bo & Matt (all in various disguises) ferried Tom to Phantom Ranch early and picked up John. Since John had never met Tom, it took him awhile to recognize the sasquatch and others rowing in to the landing. The rest of us cleaned up camp and got down to Phantom a little later.
Phantom Ranch is a tourist facility that's been here for many years. It's one of the few spots where there's a well-used trail up to the south rim. There's a suspension footbridge across the Colorado to the north side where there's a small canyon with the Phantom Ranch rangers' office, campground, shop & a few small tourist cabins. Outfitters bring tourists & gear in on mules.

 The shop at Phantom Ranch where I bought a hot chocolate. I also washed my hair in the sink in the adjacent washroom. This was my first time in a building in over a week.

From the Phantom Ranch footpath, the pedestrian suspension bridge across the Colorado is visible. After we left Phantom Ranch, we had a fairly wet day going through some big rapids like Horn Creek (8), Granite (8), Hermit (8) and others. Again, we had no problems but went by some pretty big holes that could flip a raft. At the end of the day we camped at Upper Crystal campsite at Mile 99.

My tent at Upper Crystal with all my gear drying on the surrounding bushes.

Sunday, December 1st, 2013

 It was cloudy in the morning but cleared up later with a high temperature of 10 or 12C. Right away we ran Crystal Rapid (9) which, although it had some big holes and a lot of rocks at the bottom end, gave us no problem.

 Jen, Dan, Andy and Zack floating down the river. We ran Tuna Creek (6), Lower Tuna (4), Agate (3), Emerald (5) Ruby (5), Serpentine (7) and Bass (4) through the day. It was in Lower Tuna, I think, that Dan was on the gear in the back of our raft, taking pictures, while Zack rowed and I paddled at the front. As we dropped into the medium size wave train, Dan stopped shooting & hung on. Unfortunately, as a wave bounced him up, his feet slipped out from under him and he landed on the right side of his face on the cooler/seat right behind Zack, just missing the metal ammunition boxes strapped onto the raft beside the cooler. Zack and I heard a thud, turned around and saw Dan flopped like a rag doll, face bleeding and unconscious. Zack dropped the oars, turned and held Dan so he wouldn't bounce out. I hopped over the front seat, grabbed the oars and rowed, seated backwards, through the rest of the rapid and into an eddy. After about 10 seconds of being unconscious, Dan came around while we yelled for help. Patrick and Andy both rowed into the eddy. Jen, a nurse, jumped into our raft and assessed Dan. He had some minor facial cuts, which she attended to, and it took a while for him to absorb what had happened. Dan joined Jen in Patrick's raft for the rest of the day so she could monitor his condition. In the end, he had a bad head ache and neck ache but was okay. No drinking for him for a day or two.

 It's beautiful when the sun comes out.

Annie in her kayak.
As we neared Bass Rapid, we saw the "Ross Wheeler" dory on shore. This old boat was used in a failed 1915 attempt to run the Canyon.
That night we camped at Lower Bass Camp at Mile 109. This is the best camp yet, with lots of room for tents and lots of sun through the morning and early afternoon. Our crew was on kitchen duty and we served grilled chicken breasts and fettucine. Zack's bar opened that night and, although others were up much later, I managed to stay up to 10 pm, enjoying a few rum drinks.