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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