Zoroaster

MILE 85

The limited number of good camps, and the complexities of exchanging passengers and crew the next morning at Bright Angel, leads to some interesting gamesmanship in this reach of the canyon. We decided to cross the river from Clear Creek and camp at Zoroaster - which sounded much better to some of us than camping at a place called Cremation farther downstream! This is a narrow camp at the base of the cliffs on river left. The Duke was placed in a dramatic cleft in the rock, out of which I expected to see emerge orcs or a giant spider (more Tolkien).

Very early the next morning, two boats took off with Rachel and our six companions who would hike out to the south rim. That would let them begin the hike up from Pipe Creek before the heat got too bad. The rest of us would rejoin those boats below Bright Angel and Phantom Ranch later in the day. The six that hike out will get showers and dinner at the El Tovar.

Clear Creek

MILE 84.5

The steep, inner gorge with its contorted, often dark, rocks invoked images of Mordor. Beaches and pullouts were small and far between. We pulled over above Clear Creek (river right, as are a disproportionate number of side canyons in the Canyon) and scrambled up over the sun-baked rocks and then down into the valley. A mile walk brought us to the waterfall.

Hot - maybe very high 90s or even 100 on the rocks, but could be much worse this time of year. Having all the side creeks and the cold river nearby sure helps.

Upper Granite Gorge

MILE 78

The Vishnu Schist begins to appear around Mile 78 and we rapidly enter the Gorge. The Colorado cuts into these ancient rocks in three sections of the river - appropriately named the Upper, Middle, and Lower Granite Gorges. The black schist is thoroughly marbled with the pink Zoroaster Granite (more aptly a geniss, given its history). The resistant rocks form a steep, narrow canyon and it's often difficult to see above the Tapeats, which marks the upper edge of the inner gorge, to the much larger and grander canyon above.

Hance Rapid

MILE 77

The regular routine - coffee ready by 5am, as the sun begins to light up the upper walls of the canyon. Packing up. Greg's reading. A lineup for the Duke. And on the river around 7.

We were out of the rafts scouting Hance by 7:30. It's rated 8 on the GC scale (our biggest yet), relatively long by Grand Canyon standards and runs right up against the wall on the right. We watched Amity run it in the big boat before heading back to the rafts.

20 minutes later we were in the schist and the walls of the inner gorge were beginning to rise.

Below Nevills

MILE 76

We pulled up on river right just below Nevills Rapid to camp. There is considerable anticipation about tomorrow: Hance, Sokdolager, and entering the gorge.

That evening, some combination of Greg, Tom, and Rob told stories, but what stood out was Bill reciting Robert Service's The Spell of the Yukon from memory. Maybe about a different place, but a perfect touch.

In the morning, Greg did his regular reading. I believe, and it would have made sense given where we were, that this was when he read the story of Norm Nevill's pioneering of the river rafting business and the 1949 plane crash that took his life. Norm, Greg's grandfather, who pioneered the use of boats like the Sandra.