GRAND CANYON

1 GRANDCANYONEXPEDITIONSAway to the West are lines of cliffs and ledges of rock not suchledges as you may have seen where the quarryman splits his blocks,but ledges from which the gods might quarry mountains .. and notsuch cliffs .. where the swallow builds his nest, but cliffs where thesoaring eagle is lost to view ere he reaches the summit .J . W. Po w e l l1869 Portaging Ellsworth Kolb s boat the Defiance during a trip Ellsworth and his younger brother Emery made in the winter of an out-of-this-world adventure,running the Colorado Riverthrough GRAND CANYON rankswith a safari to the SerengetiPlain or a trek through theHimalayas. The experience isone of a kind. In eight memorabledays, you cover some 280 river miles,negotiating nearly 200 exciting rapids, butwith safety and in first-class comfort. It wasdifferent for Major John Wesley Powell who,with a small band of fellow explorers, took amonth in 1869 to blaze the watery trail we nowcover in a fraction of the time.

2 Like most riverrunners who have since followed him, Powellwas awed by the river and the CANYON : Withsome eagerness and trepidation we enter therapids below. GRAND CANYON offers the most spectacular geological extravaganza on grandest CANYON of them all, stretching280 miles in length, measures from 4 to 18miles in width and averages a mile in relentlessly attacks its primeval floorand age-old walls, carving bizarre land veritable rainbow of hues is displayed, fromthe CANYON s two-billion year-old base ofblack Vishnu Schist to the dazzling whiteKaibab Limestone at its rim, with every colorin nature's easel in between. Though this is adesert setting, plants and wildlife and wildflowers dot the river's glens where waterfalls tumble to theriver can be lush with ferns. Bighorn sheep,mule deer, coyotes, and ringtail cats may beseen along the banks and in tributarycanyons, while overhead soar many speciesof birds, including hawks, golden eagles,falcons, great blue herons, and GRAND CANYONA GRAND CANYON expedition is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation; it deserves to be anunhurried experience.

3 Our eight-dayexpedition traverses the entire 280miles of the CANYON , beginningat Lees Ferry, Arizona, andending at Pearce Ferry onLake Mead, withplenty of time forexplorationalong DAY To many, the most thrilling event on a GRAND CANYON voyage is riding therapids. The exhilaration you feel as your raft plunges through the wavescannot be described, it must be felt. Only after passing through such rapidsas Hance, Sockdolager, Hermit, Crystal, and Lava Falls can one appreciatethe achievements of the early river no less thrilling are the many opportunities to explore the other wondersof the CANYON to play in the pools and waterfalls of the warm tributarystreams; to walk the winding, endlessly varied side canyons; to sit in the shade of a tamarisk tree and watch the river swirl on the river is pleasant. Eight days of exciting rapids, exploration, and sleeping under the stars will seem to pass much too quickly!

4 RIVER TRIPSMost people sign up for our standardeight-day expeditions. However, wedo offer special trips for those withparticular interests in history,geology, photography, ecology, andarcheology. On these expeditions,which follow the same course as ourregular eight-day trips, passengersare accompanied by experts whoshare their special knowledge of Native Americans were thefirst people to discover and explorethe GRAND CANYON . The CANYON wasnot just background scenery forhuman events but an activeparticipant that shaped the lives of itsdwellers. Listen as our guestarcheologist tells the story of theseearly people who ventured into thisgrandest of Canyons and left behind,along with petroglyphs and ruins,split-twig figurines that date from3,000 to 4,500 years INTEREST EXPEDITIONSE cologyOur Ecology Expedition offersan opportunity to travel with anexpert in the field of naturalscience. W e will devote plentyof time to discover and watchthe dwellers of the CANYON ,with an emphasis on discu ssingthe relationships among thediverse plant and animal lifeencountered along theCanyon's river historian will join us on this special trip toshare many memorable stories and pinpoint thedramatic events experienced by the early riverrunners.

5 Our historian will keep you entrancedas you learn of the challenges encountered byMajor Powell, George Flavell, Julius Stone, andthe Kolb brothers on their expeditions. Ofcourse the trip would not be complete withoutthe intriguing story of the honeymoon couple,Glen and Bessie Hyde, and the mystery thatsurrounds them. PhotographyFor photographers, there can be few subjectsmore beautiful or challenging than the GrandCanyon. The wildlife, bizarre rock formations,profuse wildflowers, and constantly changinglight conditions offer photographers uniqueopportunities to sharpen their skills. Our guestinstructor shares the excitement of capturingthat prized shot a hedgehog cactus in bloom,a blue heron in flight, the evening glow of asunset on the CANYON walls. Whether you are anovice or an accomplished photographer, youwill have the time you need to compose the shotof your desire in the most beautiful studio GRAND CANYON of the Colorado is ageological showcase unparalleled anywhere inthe world.

6 Accompanying us on this special tripwill be a noted geologist who will focus on thegeological history of the CANYON , the eventsthat shaped andsculpted it. Aswe driftdownriver fromour starting pointat Lees Ferry, webegin our step-by-step journeyinto our planet'spast, coveringtwo billion yearsof Earth'shistory. Memorial Brown Inscription. Mile 12, carved by survey crew member PeterHansbrough. Five days later he also drowned. Point Hansbrough, Mile 44 is namedfor him. Glen and Bessie Hyde, the ill-fated Honeymoon Couple in mid-November were last seen at Hermit Creek, just a few days after this photo was is constructed of a64-ounce, class 7, neoprene-coated S-Rig is made up of 20 separate compartments and , experiencedboatmen will guide youthrough the of our pilots havemore than 10 years ofboating experience on theColorado River. You ll findthem to be not onlycompetent guides, butgood hosts as , low emissionfour-stroke enginesare carried on food boxesstore canned and packaged aluminum frames give theboat stability GRAND CANYON referencelibrary is always ice chestsstored below deckhold severalhundred pounds ofice, keeping meatsand vegetablesfresh through drinkingwater isconstantly side-tubes providestability and RAFTSOur 37-foot S-Rig, developed by GrandCanyon Expeditions, has proved to be the mostsuccessful raft used on the Colorado River.

7 Itssimplicity and design make this craft ideal forGrand CANYON river running. Thanks to theboat's ability to transport all supplies neededfor eight days or more of travel, guests cantraverse the CANYON in first-class the safety and maneuverabilityengineered into the S-Rig have minimized theeffort required to boat through the CANYON ,they have not at all diminished the thrills ofwhitewater river running. The most formidablerapids of the Colorado, which Major Powell andother early explorers were forced to portagearound, are now amongthe most eagerlyanticipated highlightsof our expeditions. Thiscraft has also made possible theexploration of the great rivers ofthe world, including theZaire, Columbia, Amazon,Niagara, Yukon,McKenzie, Frazier, andmost recently the 1890miles of the MississippiRiver to the carry a maximum of 14 passengers perboat, even though the raft has a rated capacityof more than cameraboxes are bags chill ourbeverages for the storage creates a lowcenter of gravity, enhancing stability.

8 Guests can sit comfortably on the deck, uncrowded by storage boxes, and enjoy unobstructed river views regardless of seat. A TYPICALDAY ON THE COLORADO RIVER7:00 waken to thearoma of fresh-brewed the sun will not floodour camp for some time, tops ofthe CANYON walls are alreadyaglow with sunlight. Somewherenearby a CANYON wren is singingreveille. We pack our sleepingbags while eggs, sausage, andmuffins :00 enter a series ofrapids. A great blue heron takesoff down-river, wings bird and its surroundingsseem :00 stop to explore anarrow, beautifully sculptedwash named Shinumo. Inshadow all but fleeting momentseach day, its polished silverwalls shed a light of their see the sky, you must tiltyour head back with greateffort. 11:00 Canyonintersects the river, signalingthat Vasey's Paradise is justahead. A paradise, indeed!Sunlight seems to explode fromthe fountains of water gushingfrom the CANYON 's wall.

9 Lushgrowths of moss and ferns inthis "paradise" seem strangely out of place in such a desertsetting. We drift close to thegushing water, giving everyoneaboard a welcome shower. 12:00 noonOur boats stop forlunch in the shade of RedwallCavern. Inside this great cavethere's room enough for a gameof softball! 2:00 two golden eaglessoar lazily overhead, we driftquietly and our boatman tells usthe story of Bert Loper'shistoric river run in 1949. We feelthe heat, but soon a rollercoaster rapid refreshes us. 4:00 sight moon lilies,abloom at the mouth of SaddleCanyon. A hike to exploreSaddle is topped off with a :00 make forNankoweap, site of ancientIndian ruins and our campsitetonight. 8:00 a dinner ofhalibut filet, black beans & rice,green salad, and cherrycobbler, we hike to the ruinsand view the river :00 sit by the riversharing stories, while the drowsyfind their sleeping TRIPSR iver trips through GRAND CANYON have been our specialty for years.

10 Folkslove our eight-day trip we cut no , when we decided to offer rowing trips, we wanted to do it right. Theleisurely paced trip through the CANYON that went without saying. But whatsort of boat? Back in 1869, when Major John Wesley Powell led the firstexpedition through GRAND CANYON , he used wooden boats. Although theyweren't the best design, they worked, and for seventy years those whofollowed Powell's route tinkered with designs and techniques, refining to ascience the art of rowing wood boats in whitewater. In the 1960s, conservationist, writer, and boatman Martin Litton introducedthe dory to GRAND CANYON . He'd first rowed similar boats on the MackenzieRiver in Oregon and he thought they'd be perfect in GRAND CANYON . Theywere. And are. They keep the grace and heritage of the old wood boat, andgive the exhilarating responsive ride that only a rigid boat can give. Yes, theydemand full respect for the river, its currents and obstacles, but in turn youfeel each nuance of the riffles and get rocketed off the top of some of thegreatest waves in the CHOICE OF BOAT WAS OBVIOUS.