Day 6 started a little earlier than normal as we were trying to get on the river by 7- I think we only missed it by like 10-15 minutes. This is a good picture of a duffel line, how we loaded and unloaded the boats each day.
An hour or so later (moving fast we were) we stopped at Matkatimiba to hike the canyon. Karma 4 took the upper route and I went the lower climbing route, our lols (little old ladys, they called themselves that!) decided to stay behind. I was proud of myself for getting through the lower route without needing any assistance except a final pull at the end (which Mark gave to everyone. Last time 6 years ago I had Christian pulling me up in a spot and Bruce shoving me from behind at the same time. Apparently although I’m heavier, I’m a little better at climbing).
At the top we walked around a little and then made a butt dam. This requires sitting cheek to cheek with hands stuffed between you, damming up the water behind us (small stream) for about 10-15 minutes. It was kind of hilarious. I commented to the guides that they weren’t joining us in the dam, and they were like, uh, we’re supervising. We all stood up at once and the water went Whoosh! And it was cool.
A few minutes later we headed back along the upper route.
An hour or so later (moving fast we were) we stopped at Matkatimiba to hike the canyon. Karma 4 took the upper route and I went the lower climbing route, our lols (little old ladys, they called themselves that!) decided to stay behind. I was proud of myself for getting through the lower route without needing any assistance except a final pull at the end (which Mark gave to everyone. Last time 6 years ago I had Christian pulling me up in a spot and Bruce shoving me from behind at the same time. Apparently although I’m heavier, I’m a little better at climbing).
At the top we walked around a little and then made a butt dam. This requires sitting cheek to cheek with hands stuffed between you, damming up the water behind us (small stream) for about 10-15 minutes. It was kind of hilarious. I commented to the guides that they weren’t joining us in the dam, and they were like, uh, we’re supervising. We all stood up at once and the water went Whoosh! And it was cool.
A few minutes later we headed back along the upper route.
Around 10:30am we got to Havasu and actually got to park at the mouth instead of in the rapid, so we didn’t have to disembark with our life jackets on.
We grabbed our sandwiches and hiked to the pools, maybe a ½ mile? (So says the guides. We learned to believe everything they said unless it involved hiking.) It took about a half an hour.
We plunked our stuff down at the pools and ate lunch, and then swam, napped, and frolicked. We had a good long time there, so after I ate I went through this passageway to farther up the canyon and talked with Art a little bit and took some pictures.
We grabbed our sandwiches and hiked to the pools, maybe a ½ mile? (So says the guides. We learned to believe everything they said unless it involved hiking.) It took about a half an hour.
We plunked our stuff down at the pools and ate lunch, and then swam, napped, and frolicked. We had a good long time there, so after I ate I went through this passageway to farther up the canyon and talked with Art a little bit and took some pictures.
We eventually went back to the pools where our group was and took some pictures and waded around.
The guides passed out in their favorite place up on a ledge as always.
We made our way back and then rafted for several hours, a good 25 miles with not much white water, through the Muav gorge. We saw a lot of sheep!
One of the reasons that the last day is so long, almost a fourth of the trip’s miles, is that there are almost no campsites in the gorge, so once you are in it, you have to keep going. Karma 4 and I were nodding off on the side boards sometimes, it was so warm and with the hum of the motor, it just makes you want to nap.
One of the reasons that the last day is so long, almost a fourth of the trip’s miles, is that there are almost no campsites in the gorge, so once you are in it, you have to keep going. Karma 4 and I were nodding off on the side boards sometimes, it was so warm and with the hum of the motor, it just makes you want to nap.
We hit lava falls mid-afternoon. It was a better ride than I remembered, and I got a few pictures of the other raft going through as well.
We got to ride the sidetubes backwards on the last rapid which is always fun :)
We got to ride the sidetubes backwards on the last rapid which is always fun :)
We camped below mile 185 rapid, very close to the helopad we were going to in the morning. The beach was very wide and shallow, you could walk out halfway into the river and the water wasn't even up to my knees. 
Before dinner, which was porkchops, the boatmen took the sidetubes off the rafts so they would go faster in the morning. 
I watched Scott do it with the help of Frank Philpot and Brett, and so I kept offering to help Mark, who was trying to do it by himself (while Park cooked almost everything I think). He kept saying it was easier to do it by himself, but he did let me deflate the tubes, and then Mike helped him roll them while mom and Jan and I stood on them- this was a precarious situation with both of them leaning on me and me afraid we were all going to fall in the river and get hurt. But it worked out and Mark gave all of us beers for helping.
Before dinner, which was porkchops, the boatmen took the sidetubes off the rafts so they would go faster in the morning. 
I watched Scott do it with the help of Frank Philpot and Brett, and so I kept offering to help Mark, who was trying to do it by himself (while Park cooked almost everything I think). He kept saying it was easier to do it by himself, but he did let me deflate the tubes, and then Mike helped him roll them while mom and Jan and I stood on them- this was a precarious situation with both of them leaning on me and me afraid we were all going to fall in the river and get hurt. But it worked out and Mark gave all of us beers for helping.
After dinner we gathered our chairs in a circle and got some instructions about the next day. 
Our awesome guides, Parke, Scott, and Mark.
Our awesome guides, Parke, Scott, and Mark.
Then we had a talent show/sharing time. Lots of people shared how much they loved the canyon and the trip, Matthew sang a song, and Ross told his poem, the Philpotts both mentioned how much they missed Randy, and Jeffrey did some backvflips. Then another group camped about 1/2 mile from us came over (we had dropped ice to them in the morning) and did 2 funny skits/songs for us to say thanks for the ice- the guys were in hula skirts and wigs, it was really funny. 
The best part was the guides did a skit for us called Little Big Man, involving Parke pounding about 7 beers and getting splashed with 'rapids' (buckets of water from Scott and Brett) and cracking eggs on his head, with Mark as his arms. Parke said he just jumped in the river when he was done, and that the worst part was that the last beer was actually a root beer, which was gross to chug.
The best part was the guides did a skit for us called Little Big Man, involving Parke pounding about 7 beers and getting splashed with 'rapids' (buckets of water from Scott and Brett) and cracking eggs on his head, with Mark as his arms. Parke said he just jumped in the river when he was done, and that the worst part was that the last beer was actually a root beer, which was gross to chug.
I hung out with Monica, Elizabeth, Brett, and a few others for a little while on the beach, not wanting the night to end. I eventually moved my sleeping bag to about three feet from the water's edge and stared at the stars for a while before drifting off. Around 3am I realized the water was closer (it went down as the sun went down, due to less water being let out of glen canyon dam, and then back up overnight) to my sleeping bag and had to move so I wouldn't be wet in the morning.
Morning came at about 4- we packed everything up, had a continental breakfast, and loaded the rafts to the helopad. It was less than a mile downstream. We were the first group there, before 7am. The guides watered down the helopad so we wouldn't get sand blasted, and then we waited for choppers. They took our weight and weighed the bags and assigned up helicopters, and our whole group was out in an hour-ish.
We flew to the Bar-T ranch and had about 2 hours to kill before our little plane would fly us back to Vegas. Showers! Flush Toilets! Clean Clothes! Air Conditioning! As much as I didn't want to leave the canyon, it was nice having these things back. After a hard goodbye to most of our group who flew back to Marble Canyon Lodge, Mom and I and the Karmas and Jan flew to Vegas, and then eventually back home at like 8am the next day.
We flew to the Bar-T ranch and had about 2 hours to kill before our little plane would fly us back to Vegas. Showers! Flush Toilets! Clean Clothes! Air Conditioning! As much as I didn't want to leave the canyon, it was nice having these things back. After a hard goodbye to most of our group who flew back to Marble Canyon Lodge, Mom and I and the Karmas and Jan flew to Vegas, and then eventually back home at like 8am the next day.
The Grand Canyon is my favorite place in the entire world.
Here is my 2010 River Family.
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