In
2003 I climbed Mt. Whitney with Andrew and Kristina. On the way down we
discussed what our next adventures would be. I had planned to climb Mt.
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania Africa in 2004. Andrew talked about rafting the
Grand Canyon. We decided to look into doing that trip together in
2005.
So in the fall of 2004 we were still up for the trip. We
wanted a paddle trip. I checked
out the various companies and decided on Canyon
Explorations/Expeditions based in Flagstaff Arizona. I chose them
for a number of reasons. I liked that the were a small company that did a
number of paddle trips. Their web site explained the trip in detail. I
also liked the fact that they provided transportation at both ends of
the trip. Other outfitters provided transpiration on only one leg of the
trip. We decided to go on the May upper canyon trip. We hoped to
beat the heat of July and
August. Mostly I wanted cool nights for sleeping.
We called up in November to book our trip.
The office staff was great. I called several times with questions. They
made sure I understood the hike out was a non-trivial. The
information they send also stresses that you need to be in very
good shape for the hike out.
In March I found good prices on airline tickets. America
West is the only airline at RDU airport that had a direct flight to Phoenix.
I wanted this to minimize the chance of lost luggage.
Somewhere about the same time I received Canyon Explorations
"Float Notes". This is a very detailed booklet that provides
all the information you need to prepare for the trip. There are detailed
equipment lists, directions, packing instructions, etc.
Listed below is a list of equipment I brought with me
and associated comments.
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Shorts, 4 pair, quick drying. Used all of them on
the trip
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Shirts, 3, synthetic only. Just say no to cotton.
Used all of them
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Hat, 3, nylon Sahara style ball cap, cotton ball
cap, and fleece hat. Used the two ball caps. Too hot for the
fleece.
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Rain gear - bought the cheap stuff sold by guide
service. Use the pants for about 1 hour. A must have in case of
rain.
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Paddle jacket - bought from CanX. Used about 1 hour.
The water is cold and in May there can still be cold gray days when
you want it. Two weeks prior to our trip they had snow and cold
temps.
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Long underwear - brought 2 lightweight sets of
Patagonia Capaline. Used one top for about 1 hour.
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Fleece jacket - brought my Patagonia R2 (heavy
weight) and my Campmor micro-fleece. Used the R2 for my pillow. Wore
the micro-fleece one morning at camp.
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Teva Terra-Fi sandals - wore them everyday on
the river and on hikes. They broke on the 3rd day of the trip for
me. Two other people on the trip had the same sandals and they also
broke. Get Chaco's or Keen sandals. That's what the guides wear.
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Lowa Renegade boots - light weight hiking boots.
Wore on hike out and part of one side hike.
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3 pairs SmartWool hiking socks - wore on one side
hike and the hike out.
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Seal skin dry socks - well these really did
not keep your feet dry. More like wet suit booties. I wore most days
on the raft with my sandals. Mostly wore them because I was
concerned with my feet getting sunburned.
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Cotton long sleeve t-shirt - never used
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Nylon trekking pants - never used
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Arc'Teryx Khamsin 62 - used on hike out
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2 Nalgene water bottles - used every day
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Princeton Tec Aurora - used on a night hike
and every night to read and journal
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Carabiner - used to hook water bottles to raft. used
every day
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2 pair sunglasses - $5.00 Wal-mart specials
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pack towel - used twice for bathing.
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Camera and 35 mm film
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paddle gloves - used several days to prevent
blisters
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Sunscreen, lip balm, liquid soap, toothbrush and
paste, journal, pen, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember.
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