Twig Adventures

My Adventures blog

Daily Adventures on the trail

GC Days 7 & 8: Big Splashes and 1st Layover Day

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Sunday, February 25th 2024Granite Camp mile 93.8 to 110 Mile Camp 16 miles, elevation 2188′ The day was off to a splashy start with some very big rapids. This was the start of the ‘Gems’ section, which is one of the most challenging days on the river. Many of the rapids are named after gems, starting with Crystal. First was a scout of Granite Rapid, easily done from our campsite. I set off with Charlie on his raft, while his usual crew/mate Lana stayed on shore to photograph our group with her nice camera. This was one of the most fun rapids yet, with a big wave train but not too much peril. Lana got some really great photos of[…]

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GC Day 6: Phantom Ranch Reset

Arizona Trail, Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Saturday, February 24th 2024Lower Cremation Camp mile 87.7 to Granite Camp mile 93.8 6 miles, elevation 2365′ A stop at Phantom Ranch, Mile 88, is pretty much mandatory for most raft trips, since this is the most feasible location to switch personnel. Understandably, it’s hard to commit to 3 or more weeks on the river, so some opt for an abbreviated schedule, either Lees Ferry to Phantom Ranch or Phantom Ranch to the end. Laura had just received a new job offer that she couldn’t pass up, so she was sadly only able to join us for 6 days. We pushed hard to make it to Phantom Ranch in this time frame…other groups typically do it in 9 days. But[…]

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GC Day 5: Big Water

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip

Friday, February 23rd 2024 Tanner Camp mile 68.7 to Lower Cremation Camp mile 87.7 19 miles, elevation 2450′ It was very cold overnight and I had frosty condensation on my tent in the morning. My thermometer recorded a low of 33F…the coldest night of our whole trip. This had everything to do with our exposed camp in the wide valley, not a change in the weather. We had a big day planned, with out first class 8 rapids coming up. I was nervous about this, so I rode with Charlie, who had a lot of confidence when it came to most things, especially rafting. He rowed a raft down the Yampa with Rob the previous year, so he had some[…]

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GC Day 4: LCR Perfection

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Thursday, February 22nd 2024 Upper Nankoweap Camp mile 53 to Tanner Camp mile 68.7 15.7 miles, elevation 2691′ I woke to yet another migraine, even tough I tried to hydrate really well the previous day. I was officially out of my own meds this day, so someone gave me some of their extra. At this rate, I might still have to hike out of phantom Ranch in 2 days. I helped with breakfast in the morning while some of the rest of the group that didn’t get to do the hike at night went up in the morning. I saw a bunch of other people from the other 2 groups heading up as well, so I was glad I went[…]

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GC Day 3: Easy Ride to Nankoweap

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 Nautiloid Camp mile 35 to Upper Nankoweap Camp mile 53 18 miles, elevation 2800′ I woke feeling well rested but unfortunately still with a migraine. I knew it was the result of having such a severe one the night before and experiencing a ‘rebound’ effect from the medication. I sometimes got locked into these patterns of migraines for up to a week. I took another precious pill, with my personal supply down to just 1. I had identified 2 people that had the same meds the day before, but hadn’t gone so far as to officially borrow from them yet. I really hated having to lean on other people for such things and was just hoping[…]

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GC Day 2: The Roaring 20s

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip

Tuesday, February 20th, 2024, Hot Na Na Camp mile 16.6 to Nautiloid Camp mile 35, 18.4 miles, elevation 2871′ It was a rough night with my severe migraine and nausea, and then fretting over misplaced supply of sumatriptan. First thing in the morning, I made the rounds to ask if anyone else had the same medication (it’s a fairly common migraine treatment). To my great relief, I found 2 people (who I won’t name in the interest of protecting personal info but am very grateful and indebted to, you know who you are). Both had a pretty limited supply but at least this allowed me to take one of my own pills to finally clear my headache. I felt absolutely[…]

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GC Day 1: A Wakeup

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip

Monday February 19th, 2024, Lees Ferry mile 0 to Hot Na Na Camp mile 16.6, 16.6 miles, elevation 3018′ I didn’t sleep very well, worrying over all the things that could go wrong. Would we flip a raft? Have a medical emergency? Get raided by bears? Ok, the last certainly wasn’t a concern but we were pretty worried about little bears…mice. Previous reports said they were out of control but we didn’t notice their presence at this camp. It was about the only thing it had going for it…I was glad to pack my things at first light. Except that it wasn’t just my things that needed packing. This first morning of many more to come, was the wake-up to[…]

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GC Prep and Day 0

Arizona Trail, Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

February 14-17, 2024 To begin this long adventure, I took a direct flight from Miami to Phoenix, utilizing some miles for a free one-way ticket on American Airlines. I also enjoyed a free checked bag as an AA credit card holder, because oh my did I have a lot of crap to bring along for this trip. I managed to fit it all into 2 bags, which was really quite incredible considering how much the other participants brought. Not surprisingly, my ultralight backpacking experience came into play. The typical rafter approach is to bring copious amounts of gear to ensure a comfortable experience…after all, the raft carries the weight during the day. But considering how much lugging and packing of[…]

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Grand Canyon Thru-Paddle 2024

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip

In 2023, I was lucky to hitch 2 separate raft rides while ‘hiking’ the Hayduke route through the Grand Canyon in the spring and fall. I aqua-blazed for a total of 16 miles, which only left me wanting more, so much more! So this February, I’m joining a private group for 19 days down the river, from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek, 226 miles. I grew up next to the Arkansas River in Florence, Colorado, where rafting was a more common scene than even hiking or backpacking. My dad got into the sport in the 1980’s, bought an Aire 2-p “ducky” kayak and started dragging me and Mom along. We did some multi-day private rafting trips on the Colorado, Yampa/Green,[…]

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2023 Recap and 2024 Wish-list

Bigfoot Trail, Hayduke Trail, Oregon Coast Trail, Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

I always enjoy marveling at Google bread-crumbs of my ramblings over the past 6 years…mostly by foot. I love how distinctly so many of my trails are depicted. Such a presentation really drives home how much ground I’ve covered on my hikes. In 2023, I added a significant number of dots in Utah and down the coast of Oregon, the result of hiking the Hayduke and Oregon Coast Trails. I also connected the Bigfoot Trail to the PCT to the Tahoe Rim Trail, for a total of about 2300 miles for 2023…notice the nice symmetry of those figures, completely unintentional:) This brought my total to over 17K miles since I began thru-hiking in 2017. I figure I might as well[…]

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