Grand Canyon has been conquered!

Bright Angel Trail from the top

So our Grand Canyon adventure has come to an end! It was way more than either of us could have expected. Well, we honestly didn't know what to expect so that isn't saying much. We rafted all day on big water and spent our nights sleeping under the stars on beaches. We had meals cooked in a full kitchen and plenty of down time and adventures in between. Our guides were by far what made the trip so amazing. They were incredibly knowledgable and friendly, full of entertaining stories and facts about everything around us. They were all very different too, which made it even more exciting to be in a different boat every day. Some had grown up on the river, some came to it late and fell in love. I could write an entire blog about them alone!! It was so impressive to watch them read the river and know how to navigate the rapids. And oh, the rapids. So this was my first time white water rafting...basically I was scared out of my mind. Our first day was HUGE. We hiked 7 miles down the Bright Angel Trail to the water and then began the rapids almost immediately. They were pretty big! Luckily The Colorado River has few rocks to harm you like most other rapids, so the real fear comes from the size of the rapids. 

Bright Angel Trail

Bright Angel Trail (in my dorky but life-saving gear!)

We went on many incredible hikes (some that were constant switchbacks...like, all the way...literally) and spent a lot of time in pools of all different colors. The rocks do some crazy things to the water around here due to all the various metals/compounds/insert-sciencey-facts-here, etc. The water never ceased to amaze me! It was incredibly difficult to read the currents, even in small little pools. There were many times I jumped off a rock only to find myself getting sucked in a million directions or straight-up UNDER WATER multiple times. A little scary, but hey...what is an adventure without a few moments that freak you out completely? Swimming the rapid triathalon at the end was by far one of the hardest things for me to do. That and Lava Falls, but I am getting ahead of myself. The triathalon involved jumping off a rock about 10 feet and then swimming a rapid, then just finishing it off with a "quick swim to shore". Easy, right? NO. The jump and rapid went swimmingly, but the actual swimming to shore part was brutal. First of all, the water hovers around 48 degrees fahrenheit. So cold it makes your lungs hurt, you limbs go numb, and you actually get a BRAIN FREEZE if you are under water too long. Imagine swimming that, against at least 5 currents from all directions, knowing if you stop swimming you swill get swept downstream and have to hike back to camp. We all made it, but at times you were swimming in place the current or eddy was so strong and by the time you made it to camp everything simultaneously burned and felt frozen. About 15 of us were slowly dragging ourselves onto the beach gasping for air...it probably looked like some terrifying zombie movie to everyone on shore. But at least I can say I did it!

Our rides for the next 9 days

We saw the entire lower portion of the Grand Canyon and did the epic Lava Falls rapid, which is a 10 on the 1-10 scale of Grand Canyon rapids. To give you an idea, 1 is like "oh look at that cute little ripple!" and 10 is like "hmm...that looks like the perfect storm mixed up inside a washing machine with a few huge boulders...do I have a living will?". My guide went through all the safety things we needed to know if we flipped or lost someone out of the boat (known as a "swimmer"), which made me prepared and also thoroughly freaked me out. By the time we were heading into the rapid, I had so much adrenaline coursing through my veins I almost jumped out and just swam the stupid thing to get it over with. Needles to say, it was amazing and totally worth it. We heard later a boat after us got stuck in a super scary part and had a few swimmers...guess we dodged a bullet! :)

Killer hike to Thunder River Falls (think thats the name?)

There were so many other amazing things we saw and did, it is too much to put into words. I will post a facebook album once we return from all our travels to give you a better idea. Even so, pictures can only say so much. If you ever get a chance to do the trip, DO IT DO IT DO IT!!