Honeymoon Rapid

 

I always like an interesting story so here’s another one: part true, part theory. At mile 232 (371km) also referred to as Honeymoon Rapid is the location where Glen and Bessie Hyde likely disappeared in the early winter of 1928. Newly married, the couple set out on their honeymoon adventure trip departing from Green River, Utah. When they reached the Grand Canyon, they hiked out for supplies and stopped at Emery Kolb’s studio to have a photo taken. Emery offered them life vests but they declined.

When they didn’t arrive at their destination on their scheduled date, Glen’s father organised a search party. The Kolb brothers who assisted in the search found the Hydes boat with all the gear intact but without the couple. Amongst the gear was Bessie’s journal with an entry indicating that they cleared the rapid before Honeymoon Rapid and then no further entry. So, what happened to them? 

Their disappearance was never solved but some theories took hold. The first one was by Georgie Clark, a well-known river runner, declaring some 40 years after the event, to fellow rafters that she was the real Bessie Hyde and that she stabbed her husband after a disagreement. She later recanted her story and upon her death her home was inspected. Several dubious items were found but once investigated it was decided that the evidence was inconclusive. 

Another theory that floated around was that after Emery Kolb died, a skull with a bullet hole in it was found amongst Emery’s belongings. It was theorised that it might have belonged to Glen Hyde. Thanks to advanced forensic science it was concluded that the skull belonged to an unidentified suicide victim who died in 1933. 

 

The final theory and one that seems most plausible was that the Hydes hit submerged rocks and had fallen out of the boat into the freezing cold water (it was winter). Having declined the life vests Emery offered earlier, they were possibly swept downriver and drowned. 

 

Their bodies were never found and the case remains a mystery.

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Diamond Peak

Around mile 216 (346km), I entered the Lower Granite Gorge where the canyon closed in, narrowing the width of the Colorado. The rapids were easy and uncomplicated, passing the occasional small rock piles in the middle of the river and a handful of islands.

The canyon seemed to have softened with more vegetation present and less imposing layers of rock, except for the pointy Diamond Peak that I could see for miles before I reached it. Adjacent to the peak was Diamond Creek Beach. A wide sandy beach, it had several permanent concrete tables with benches and each with a metal cover above it to shield them from the sun. From here I had a perfect view of the craggy peak.

As the first place accessible to vehicles since Lees Ferry (mile 0), Diamond Creek is a popular spot for day trippers and also for river runners to end their trip or start the shorter route downstream.

Diamond Creek Canyon is prone to flash flooding during monsoon season and it often washes parts of the road away. In the summer of 1984, a couple of river outfitters were heading up the canyon in their trucks. When one of the vehicles got stuck in loose gravel everyone hopped out to help free it. Then, the rumbling came. At first thinking it might be a plane or thunder, imagine their surprise when 100 yards (90m) away a 10ft (3m) wall of water filling the canyon raced towards them. With only seconds to spare, everyone raced up the cliffs, just barely managing to escape. Fortunately, no one was hurt but a couple of guides spent several hours stuck on a narrow ledge waiting for the water to recede and be rescued.

The water was so forceful that the trucks were pushed into one another, rolled into the river and submerged whilst the gear floated away. A lot of the equipment was recovered a few days later 20mi (32km) downstream in Lake Mead. One of the rafts was found 29 years later in the lake. When the water is low, one of the trucks becomes visible in the river not far from Diamond Creek.

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Pumpkin Spring Pool

Having flipped and survived Lava Falls, the next few rapids were a ‘walk in the park’ in comparison. Although Kolb Rapids wasn’t as scary anymore, it did, however, bear more history about the Kolb brothers. This adventuring duo had a grand plan to row the entire 1100mi (1760km) of the Green and Colorado Rivers, even though they had no whitewater experience.

In September 1911, they launched their boats from Green River, Wyoming and, over the course of four months, they rowed, portaged, flipped, and swam freezing waters, patched and repatched their boats until they emerged from the Grand Canyon in January 1912.

Throughout this expedition the brothers photographed and filmed their experiences which they played in their studio every single day for the next 60 years, personally narrating it until Emery’s death in 1976 at the age of 95 (his brother passed away in 1960).

Filled with enthusiasm, the brothers also established Kolb Studio in the Grand Canyon where they would photograph tourists on the trail. Due to water scarcity, they would hike 4mi (6.4km) down to a water source to develop their prints, then hike back up to sell the photos to the tourists who were on their return trip. Both brothers were incredibly dedicated, but as time passed differences began to strain their relationship until Ellsworth eventually left. Emery continued to live in the Grand Canyon until his death and was then buried in the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery.

After a couple more rapids, I arrived at Pumpkin Spring Pool, a geothermal pool on the side of the river. Shaped like a pumpkin with its lid taken off, the spring’s attraction was the river’s deep water and the chance to cliff jump into it. As for the pool itself, it was best to avoid bathing in it. Unlike other amazing hot springs found in Arizona, this one was filled with toxic water and high levels of arsenic. With that in mind, I snapped a few photos and chose to appreciate it from afar.

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Lava Falls Rapids

 Now I can imagine that in 1923, when Emery Kolb “upset” his boat (a term used back then meaning flipped) by hitting a steep hole in the centre of the rapid, he indeed might have been upset. Lucky for him, Frank Dodge, another boatman and great swimmer jumped in and retrieved the boat. Since the rapid had no name, it was immediately bestowed with Upset Rapids.

After so much murky water, the milky-blue Havasu Creek tucked within Havasu Canyon was a welcome sight. Havasu Creek is the second largest tributary of the Colorado River and home to several spectacular waterfalls and a multitude of pools to swim in. The incredible blue colour was such a contrast to the brownness of the Colorado. Even more fascinating was the defined line where the two rivers met, with pale blue on one side and murky brown on the other.

A gentle cruise followed for several miles with a few mild rapids until I came across the most advanced one on this journey in the form of Lava Falls Rapid. In the centre of the entry point was a huge ledge hole with turbulent waves crashing into the hole. The strong current pushed around the sides of the ledge. Fierce lateral waves seethed and frothed seemingly ready to gobble me up.

 A feeling of trepidation hit me as my raft headed straight over the ledge into the hole. With the raft tilting to the right and partially submerged, the force of the oncoming wave was enough to flip the raft over and launch me into the river. The raft, caught in the water’s turbulence, was tossed around and around like a spit roast on speed. In the meantime, I surfaced and bobbed up and down, riding the waves, letting the current carry me forwards and out of the rapid. Once the raft cleared the hole, it followed me downstream where I was able to climb back onboard. As adrenaline coursed through me making my ears ring, I was delighted to have come out unscathed. This rapid may be super short but it packs a punch in those few seconds.

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Deer Creek Canyon

The next dozen rapids were a series of easy to medium intensity. Around mile 127 (204km) was Randy’s Rock, a huge slab of sandstone partially submerged to the left of the river. The rock was named after a young commercial guide who in 1976 took a nap on his rig whilst one of his passengers was left in charge to row it. Sure enough, Randy was woken when his rig collided with a massive rock. The force of the river wrapped the boat around the rock, tossing its passengers and some of the gear into the river. The remaining gear got caught underneath the undercut of the slab, dragging the boat below water level.

Unable to free the boat from the rocks, the expedition party exited the river and hiked to the nearest campsite with whatever items were recovered. At some point during the night, the boat freed itself and was salvaged. Unfortunately, the frame of the boat was damaged beyond repair and left to sink to the bottom of the river. The tubes were deflated for later extraction.

The expedition continued to the end of its journey on other rigs. You could imagine the company owner’s dismay when the party reached the end and was told that one of his rigs had been lost because the guide took a nap.

Deubendorff Rapids is known for its many large holes and pour-overs. It was named after Seymour Deubendorff, who in 1909 was the first person to flip his boat in it. In his journal, Seymour described riding over waves and when his boat came into one of the trenches the rear hit a rock capsizing him. When he surfaced, he struck his head on the boat. He attempted to swim to shore but was carried downstream, mostly submerged, only catching his breath between waves. Finally, he was rescued and to his great satisfaction so was his cap.

Arriving at Granite Narrows, I travelled through the narrowest section of the river. At 76ft (23m) wide, it indeed felt quite narrow. Within these narrows was Deer Creek Canyon and at the end was the spectacular site of Deer Creek Falls, plunging 126ft (38m) from above into a shallow pool below. Another opportunity to refresh myself with a swim, I leaned against the ancient rocks and pondered that in less than 3mi (5km) I would have reached the halfway point.

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Elves Chasm

A mile after Waltenberg Rapid, I came across a pile of large rocks slightly to the left of the river’s centre. The geology was fascinating here and vastly different from further upstream with its combination of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Once past this section, the river settled down and I was able to enjoy its slow meander through the canyon. Before taking the next bend, I took a quick stop at Elves Chasm for the promise of a lovely horsetail-shaped waterfall and refreshing pool to swim in. The waterfall gently cascaded down the rock face amongst long tendrils of hanging greenery.

At the top of the chasm was the Royal Arch, a spectacular rock archway that was carved by water with a thin stream running through it forming the waterfall in the chasm below. Next to the archway was a vertical column about 100ft (30m) tall, much like the Old Man of Stoer in Scotland. Where the Old Man is forever watchful at the water’s edge, this one was standing on the side of the canyon’s wall. The arch created a picture-perfect frame when the vertical column was composed in its centre.

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Walteberg Rapid

Way before the Grand Canyon became an organised tourist destination, it attracted some very colourful characters but none more interesting than Emery and Ellsworth Kolb. They were brothers, professional photographers, daredevils and major contributors to the Grand Canyon’s designation as a National Park.

On 19 December 1911, the Kolb brothers launched their wooden boats, Edith and Defiance, onto the Colorado River with the intention to photograph and film the interior of the Grand Canyon. Five days later on Christmas Eve, each with their own boat took a chance on the Waltenberg Rapid. Choppy, moody and referred to as “bad” by Ellsworth, the end of that day was possibly the best pre-Christmas Day present ever.

When they approached the rapid, each took a different course – Emery chose the right and Ellsworth chose the left. It didn’t take long for Emery to find himself stuck. He wrote, “I scarcely started when I found myself on a nest of jagged rocks, with violent water all about me, and with other rocks, some of them submerged, below me. I climbed out on the rocks and held the boat…The greatest trouble would be to hold the boat if she broke loose."

Ellsworth on the other hand found himself in a whirlpool “bouncing back and forth like a great rubber ball”. As his boat filled with water it sank and overturned with Ellsworth still holding on. Once he let go, the strong current pushed Ellsworth through the rapid, bobbing up and down, submerging with each breaking wave.

As Ellsworth was barely kept above water by his life vest, Emery pried his boat loose off the rocks. Launching in the centre of the rapid, it wasn’t long before he hit rocks once again. His boat broke “like egg-shells” and left a gaping hole on its side. His rescue effort was done for.

Fortunately, Ellsworth was drawn out of the centre of the whitewater into a calm part of the river. Knowing he had limited time before the current would push him downstream into another rapid, he mustered what strength he had left and dragged himself out on his hands and knees. Emery eventually reached him and helped him out of his frozen clothes and into dry blankets.

Their companion, Bert Lauzon, was spotting the pair from shore. Seeing Ellsworth’s boat caught in an eddy he swam out and rescued it before it entered the next rapid. The next day the trio celebrated Christmas by repairing the gaping hole in Emery’s boat and continuing with their adventures.

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Shinumo Falls

A sharp turn brings me to Willie’s Necktie Rapids (100mi/160km) and its interesting story. Back in 1950, Willie Taylor’s motorized boat got pinned against the rapid’s wall, tossing him in the river. His buddies threw him a line that unfortunately wrapped around his neck. Focused on reeling him in, they pulled on the line around his neck cutting off his air supply. Luckily once pulled into the boat and his ‘necktie’ loosened he was able to regain his breath and live to tell the tale. Dying of a heart attack on the Colorado six years later, his friends, upon his final request, buried him in a small side canyon not too far from Peter Hansbrough (see postcard 4). He and Peter are the only two Grand Canyon river-runners known to be buried in the canyon.

At the tail-end of the rapid, right in the centre of the narrow river, is a massive rock the size of an apartment. Taking a left approach, once I passed it, I nearly overlooked the smaller rock jutting out of the water. I’m sure it’s caught the occasional unsuspecting runner. The large rock was named after US President Nixon and the smaller one after his Vice President Spiro Agnew. Both men were caught in political scandals in the early 1970s and resigned their office within a year of each other.

The next lot of rapids are known as the Gem Series with names such as Agate, Sapphire, Turquoise, Emerald, Ruby and Serpentine. Although smaller than Horn, Granite, Hermit and Crystal upstream, the gem rapids can be quite tricky during low water when boulders surface creating more obstacles. River runners often scout the rapids from the shore prior to tackling them because changing river conditions such high or low water levels will also change the rapids’ intensity.

Having made it to Shinumo Creek, I took a very short hike through the narrow canyon, wading through the shallow creek until I arrived at a small waterfall with a pool below it. A wonderfully clear waterfall and warmer than the Colorado it was a great place to escape the sun and float around the pool relaxing.

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Crustal Rapids

It’s been 83mi (133km) since the last manmade structures when I rafted below the Navajo Bridges. Now within half a mile of each other I came across two suspension bridges, both serving pedestrians. The first one was the Kaibab Bridge which was built in 1928 to replace the swinging bridge that was built seven years earlier. It is often referred to as the “Black Bridge” and it spans 440ft (134m) across the river connecting the North and South Kaibab Canyon trails.

The second bridge, Bright Angel Bridge (aka Silver Bridge) was completed in the 1960s and aside from connecting the two sides of the river, it also provides support to the trans-canyon water pipeline that is suspended beneath the bridge. The pipeline pumps 500,000 gallons of water per day from Roaring Springs near the North Rim to the tourist area on the South Rim. Several sections of the pipeline can be seen along Bright Angel Trail.

Following two easy-going rapids, I came upon one of the more difficult ones in the canyon, Horn Creek. Although short it was also very steep as it dropped into a series of waves and holes. A huge sinkhole is to the left of the rapid’s start. I entered to the right of it navigating around big waves that were bouncing off a submerged ledge. Steering left, beyond the sinkhole, I crashed through oncoming waves getting soaked all over again. It was a fast, heart-pumping thrill.

The rapid was named after Tom Horn, a late 19th century US Army Scout who was the main interpreter during the surrender of Geronimo, leader of the Apache people. Later, he became a detective which he took up when all his cattle were stolen one night from his ranch, bankrupting him, then a Pinkerton agent due to his tracking abilities; and finally, a gun for hire for which he paid with his life when he was found guilty for killing a teenage boy and hung. To this day his guilt/innocence continues to be debated because the investigation lacked detail, sufficient evidence and lastly, Horn’s confession was made whilst inebriated.

More intense rapids ensued with Grapevine, Hermit and Crystal. Each with their own hair-raising characteristics. There’s always something to look out for: strong currents, sinkholes, twisting waves but with Crystal there’s the added rock garden in the middle of the river where a raft could get pinned or the small whirlpool near one of the rock walls that almost guarantees a flip. I navigated through the left of the rock garden, keeping it tight through the centre as I rode the waves out of the rapid avoiding the big holes. With each intense moment, I doubly appreciated the calm that followed.

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Grapevine Rapids

From mile 77 (123km) I entered the Upper Granite Gorge where the river exposed 1.7 billion years old rocks. Because the rocks here are harder and slower to erode, it makes the river move faster and the rapids grow larger. The gorge begins at Hance Rapid and is my first experience of an advanced rapid. Roaring and intimidating, the start of the rapid involves navigating around a bunch of large rocks in the centre, creating huge pour-overs to the left with plenty of holes to the right. Skirting the boulders, I aimed to avoid the big holes on the right but things don’t always go to plan. A subtle misjudgement had me heading straight into one of the holes and just as the raft dipped into it, a huge wave washed over me. Soaked through, I was sure this was not going to be the last time I’d be this wet.

Hance Rapid was named after John Hance, believed to be the first non-Native American resident of the Grand Canyon. A Civil War soldier, asbestos miner and Canyon guide, he was largely remembered for his colourful character, tall stories and building the Old Hance trail to the river. Hance was the first person buried in the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery and is now among 400 other graves including 29 unidentified passengers from the 1956 air disaster that occurred over the canyon.

Two miles later, I headed straight into another advanced rapid, the Sockdolager Rapid, which is long and choppy within the narrow canyon walls. Back in 1869, Powell’s expedition couldn’t find a way to portage around this rapid so they tackled it head on. When they returned three years later, they decided to call it Sockdolager, an archaic slang term meaning “a forceful blow” which is possibly what they felt as they paddled their way through it.

After jostling around a few more rapids, I looked forward to our campsite at Zoroaster Camp. It was a small, concave stretch of sandy beach surrounded by rough jagged cliffs in colours of grey and black. The landscape blended with the murkiness of the Colorado, projecting a very different sight to the usually stunning hues of red and orange. It was wonderful to observe the constantly changing face of the Grand Canyon.

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Tanner Canyon

As I entered the Grand Canyon proper, I sensed a change. The canyon became deeper, the river more powerful, more imposing. This is where the advanced rapids awaited my arrival.

Around mile 64 (107km) the lower part of the canyon walls have significant mineral deposits. Known as the Hopi Indian salt mines, this is where the Hopi Indians come to gather salt for ceremonial purposes. A pilgrimage here was also a rite of passage for young males entering adulthood. Considered sacred ground, the area is off-limits to outsiders and rafts on the river are not permitted to stop and explore.

Four miles (6.4km) later I rafted past Tanner Canyon and through Tanner rapid. The murkiness of the water was really showing and a far cry from the green colour in Marble Canyon. The rapid was named after Seth Tanner, a 19th century prospector and guide. He was responsible for expanding and improving the Tanner Trail down to the river. Legend has it that the trail was used in the late 1800s to drive stolen horses and during the prohibition era of the 1930s likely used by moonshiners (liquor smugglers).

Norm and Doris Nevills were pioneers in commercial river running in the 1930s. Norm was in charge of the expedition on the river and Doris in charge of logistics. Norm was credited with numerous ‘firsts’ such as: first person to run through the canyon more than twice, first to run a commercial run through the canyon, first to take women on a commercial trip, and and first to take women through the canyon. Norm was also proud of the fact that he never flipped a boat on any of his river runs. As prominent figures in Grand Canyon history, they were bestowed with their own rapid at mile 75 (120km), known as Nevills Rapid.

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Little Colorado River

As I progressed along the river, I rafted through Kwagunt Rapid. Not an overly difficult rapid with average sized waves but the current was so strong that it kept pushing the raft towards the exposed rocks. As with any rapid, flipping in it was not ideal as there was no chance to self-rescue, making the ride bumpy and exhausting. Continuously course correcting, I made it into calmer water and carried on to the next one, which was quite uneventful.

As anticipated shortly after the 60mi (96km) rapid, I reached the confluence of the Colorado River with its major tributary, the Little Colorado River. This was the end of Marble Canyon and the beginning of the Grand Canyon proper.

A significant difference at this junction was the change in water quality and colour. Up to now, the Colorado River was a cool, clear and blue-green shade. The Little Colorado River was a muddy brown, a result of too much silt due to heavy rains muddying its usually vibrant blue colour.

So here I was at the junction where the green of the main river blended with the murkiness of the little river. The further along I travelled the browner the river became leaving the dark green shade behind. The canyon walls were no less impressive but the murky water was no longer inviting. Perhaps just as well since the water temperature was an average 48°F (9ºC) so I no longer felt the desire for a swim.

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