Twig Adventures

Tag: Arizona

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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Hayduke Bonus: Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River

Hayduke Trail

Monday, Oct 9th to Wednesday Oct 11th, 2023Total distance: 45 miles You can watch Worm’s accompanying video here. To celebrate finishing the Hayduke, we walked down some MORE canyons! This was all thanks to Worm, who scored us some last minute permits and also provided his wheels to get us to the hike. While I’m at it, note that most of the pictures posted here are also his…basically if I’m in the photo, he took it! I also must thank our Hayduke cohort, Sky, who shuttled us from Lees Ferry to Wire Pass trailhead so that Worm’s van would be waiting for us at the end of the hike. Sky’s impeccable timing meant that they just so happened to be[…]

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HayDay 42: Colorado City

Hayduke Trail

Thursday, Oct 5th, 2023, 0700-1830Maroney well to Short Creek, 3 miles north of Hildale12 miles, elevation 5130′ It got really cold and damp overnight, due to our proximity to the well. I woke around 2 pm to find heaps of condensation on my tent, both inside and out. I was so chilly, I had to put my puffy on to sleep again. I hadn’t felt such a chill since the spring. By dawn, the wet had turned to frost. Worm was pretty soaked since he cowboy camped. I detested packing a wet tent, but at least we were on our way to town and I could dry it somewhere there. We went about 3.5 miles to reach the highway and[…]

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HayDay 41: A Cache and Pool Party in the Desert

Hayduke Trail

Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023, 0650-18301\2 mile south of Hack Canyon mine to Maroney well27.5 miles, elevation 5070′ The wind really started to blow overnight, causing my tent to flap annoyingly, so I dropped my center pole and went into bivy mode. I only tried this briefly in the storm 2 nights prior, but it worked pretty well for most of this night, since there was no rain. I was able to position the mesh over my face so I could breathe and the extra layer kept me warm. It got pretty chilly…down into the low 40s. I was in a hurry to get to our extra food, so I left Worm in his cowboy cocoon (how he got his trail[…]

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