Rafting the Grand Canyon

Posted by Marci on Dec 2, 2010 in | 0 comments

Dark, rain clouds moved towards the campground. I grabbed the rain-fly for my tent and covered the open screens. Then I searched for heavy rocks to place inside to secure the structure knowing the stakes couldn’t hold in the soft sand if the wind picked up.

“East coast jitters?” One of the rafting guides joked. “It won’t rain. Not in late May.”

“I know storm clouds better than you desert boys,” I replied.

Sure enough, as the sun set against the orange, red, and golden rock face of the Grand Canyon, the clouds moved in releasing huge droplets of water in a drenching downpour. The river rose as the guides ran to erect tents over the ten rafts secured along the beach. I stood in the cool rain, a nice break from the oppressive heat of the last eight days. The colors of the rock deepened as the rain soaked their surface. The musky scent of the earth filled the air.

I began to shiver in the rain and I took shelter on one of the boats where someone had pulled out a guitar. I sat huddled in the small group, listening to the rain and song. Hours passed, darkness came, as the river rose in a flash flood.

The next morning, the sky had cleared. Rainbow prisms reflected in the drops of water on the desert fauna. The canyon smelled scrubbed clean. We packed up our wet gear and made our way down the river.

As we floated, I stared at the magnificence of the canyon. I’d spent three days on the South Rim camping before hiking into the canyon to meet the boats. High above the river, the canyon was impressive in its massiveness. I did the entire tourist adventure of taking the bus out to watch the sunset on the rocks, watching the IMAX movie, and flying in the helicopter. More than once, I saw people come to the rim, look at this wonder of the world and say, “Well I’ve seen it. Want to get some ice cream?” Now that I had entered the canyon’s depths, I realized that those people hadn’t seen the Grand Canyon at all.

Within Grand Canyon an unbelievable world of greenery exists. Waterfalls cascade from the rock’s face. Side canyons create swimming holes with whirlpools. Sunlight streams through slots in its side. Along the river, the only sound is the rush of water, and at night, the stars are your only illumination.

During the day we splashed through massive rapids, hiked along ancient trails to old Native American caves, and swam in the icy river. At night I watched the sunset as I bathed in the river and put on dry clothing. It was the most peaceful ten days of my life.

They say not to judge a book by its cover. The Grand Canyon is known for its exterior image of hard stone, but deep below it has a soft secret beauty that only can be found by leaving the exterior behind.