Only six groups are allowed to depart each day, so we were lucky to get a permit on a holiday weekend. Here's a shot of our group just after taking off.
We traveled about 27 miles our first day on the river. During the first day, the canyon walls were shorter and wider than they'd be any other day. It was beautiful - 90 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. After putting in, we saw only one other person the rest of the day.
We spent the first night on a beach.
Everyone was very tired from being in the sun all day, so we crashed our tents before the sun had fully set. We woke up the next morning with a goal of going another 20 miles. We spent the day relaxing, letting the wind and flow of the river push us down.
We spent the night on another beach, not quite as sandy as the beach from the first night. The best part about permitted trips is the lack of people - because the number of groups were so limited, we had so many breathtaking camp spots to choose from.
We took off the next morning, planning on going only 15 miles. A few guys in our group had done this trip a few years back, and knew of a good camp spot. We were the first boat to arrive. To pass the time, we took on another couple in a good ol' fashioned game of The Newlyweds. We won!
Once everyone else arrived, we emptied our boats and created a slip-n-slide.
We sat around the beach the rest of the night, playing cards and putting on shows with glowsticks to celebrate the Fourth.
We woke up the next morning and went on a small hike towards the back of the canyon. It was totally desolate, just us, the rocks and a couple hundred lizards.
It was a bit steep in some areas, especially when we'd come to the edge of a canyon layer.
When we got back to camp with everyone else, we all went on a hike. It was only about two miles, but it seemed like forever. Being in the middle of the desert with limited water supply and 100+ degree weather made it a long day. When we reached the canyon walls, we saw ancient petroglyphs.
On our hike back to camp, we found a freshwater stream and were all able to bathe. It was our one bath of the week.
We continued our celebration of the Fourth when we got back to camp by throwing a mustache party. Although space is limited on a week-long rafting trip, items such as mustaches, pineapple cups and cocktail umbrellas are essential.
After another late night, we were up early the next morning and continued on. The further in we were, the deeper the canyon walls.
We spent the remaining nights on two different beaches. Thankfully the wind was going with up for most of the trip, so we were able to let it flow with us.
We were gone for a full seven days, and were on the river for five nights, with one night spent at the put in. I didn't know if I could last that long without a shower, but I made it! All in all, it was an eye-opening trip for both of us. Very few people today can say they've gone that long away from civilization. It was refreshing to know that we were hundreds of miles away from anything for most of our trip, and encouraging to know we made it as long as we did. A majority of the week was a float trip, but we did go over a class four rapid on the fourth day. All the big rafts made it through without a loss, but a ducky, which was manned by one guy, flipped and he swam. He made it out just fine, thankfully. It was an amazing weekend, and we hope we'll be able to take the same stretch of water in the future.
