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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