/75. I’m part of a group of friends who constantly check with the National Park Service for the cancellation of permits to run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. We luck out this year and secure one of these hard-to-get permits for July. Sixteen of us commit and make sure we are ready on the designated date. This is an oar trip of five rafts, with an experienced oarsman in command of each one. I have a new hypelon raft made in Taiwan. It’s very maneuverable, though not as classy as an Avon, but much cheaper. I built a wooden frame and bought four expensive, high quality ash oars. We all carry a spare set of oars. After Phantom Ranch we do a two-night stop at Tapeats Creek, so that we can spend a day there. Ron, Jody, Sharon and I hike several miles up to a magical place called Thunder Falls, where a twin underground torrent comes pouring from the face of the red-wall more than two thousand feet above the Colorado River. Ron and I climb 100 feet up the treacherous cliff next to the waterfall and then manage to reach one of the two points where the water pours out of the red-wall. From there we enter the bowels of the earth; straddling the flow and bracing against the wall on either side as we inch into a cool and darkening cavern with the water rushing between our legs. Photo by ron cooper |