Rafting Through the Grand Canyon

People talk about having a bucket list, things they want to do before they die. About seven years ago I decided that I needed to start doing things on my bucket list while I was in good health and had the time. A friend invited me on a summer river rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I loved river rafting and have been river rafting many times throughout my life and going on this trip was a lifelong dream. I longed to see the unspoiled beauty of the Grand Canyon from the river.

Before deciding whether to go on the trip or not, I thoroughly read the company’s materials about the trip which included a description of the largest rapid on the trip, Lava Falls. The rapid involved a 37 foot drop over several hundred yards. It is rated a Class 10 level of difficulty, the highest degree of difficulty in the Grand Canyon. The brochure said that it was always possible to walk around any rapid if a participant did not wish to experience the rapid. I agreed to go on the trip and spent much of the school year anticipating this amazing trip.

It was a 14-day trip from Lee’s Ferry to Lake Mead on wooden dory boats. The trip was 225 miles long with 73 rapids. You can see some of the amazing scenery on this YouTube video .

I was absolutely awestruck by the natural beauty of the area with the colorful walls of the canyon framing the river. We explored Redwall Cavern, a huge cave with the feel of an amphitheater; Elves Chasm, an enchanting waterfall with deep emerald green water; side hikes in Blacktail Canyon and other trails to undiscovered waterfalls; and rockslides in Matkatamiba Canyon.

The most memorable side trip was when our guide showed us an unmarked canyon trail where there was a deep and wide chasm between two cliff trails with a small creek far below. On this trail we saw the outline of small childlike hands on the walls. We were told that Paiute Indians had lived in the area and made the wall paintings by chewing a local plant and spitting around their hands. The hands symbolized the ancestors welcoming their relatives to the afterlife. We were told that many died making the jump from one cliff across the chasm to the other cliff, believing that they would join their ancestors. The feeling I had on that trail was hard to describe. It was an honor to be there and be told the history.

Finally, the time came for us to prepare for the largest rapid, Lava Falls. We had already travelled 180 miles down the river to get to this point. I had decided before I even started the trip that I would walk around Lava Falls. On a previous trip on the Rogue River in Oregon, I had a scary experience getting caught under a rapid called Blossom Bar while in an individual rubber kayak, and did not want to go through that again. After hearing a description of the rapid from the guide, I was even more convinced that I would walk around it. So, when he asked if there were any questions, I raised my hand and asked about walking around it. I will never forget his response. He said, “You absolutely can do that, but I need to tell you that it would be more dangerous to walk around it.” I was stunned. He explained that the path had loose rocks on it and was steep. He explained that because the guides were managing the boats, they would not be able to go with any hikers. When he mentioned snakes, I was out. I simply could not do anything more dangerous than something I was already terrified of doing. Helicopters were only used for rescue missions to air lift people in emergency situations (with a price tag of $40K)!

This was a defining moment in my life. I decided to accept that there was no way out of the situation other than to just go through the rapid. I asked myself what I was afraid of, and I realized I was afraid of dying. I looked death in the face and accepted that I had lived a good life, and if it was to end due to circumstances beyond my control, I accepted it. Further, I realized that it would do me no good to close my eyes while in the rapid, or be filled with angst as I went through it. I vowed to myself that I would make the most of it.

Going through Lava Falls was perhaps the longest twenty seconds of my life. It was as if our boat was inside a fountain, with crashing waves pouring over us from every direction while we dropped. I managed to let go of the fear and experience the thrill of being in wild elements in a beautiful setting. I am so glad I went on this amazing trip!

You may wonder what leads me to tell this story. We are in a time of uncertainty now, surrounded by a virus that we cannot yet control. It is affecting us. We must stay home. We must change the way that we do school and work. We must lose out on things we have looked forward to like graduation, the prom, Beach Day, lunches with our friends… in order to save our lives and other people’s lives. It is time to be courageous. It is a time to look fear in the eye.

In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Just think how strong and resilient we will be after this pandemic. We will be ninja learners/teachers and remote mavens. I admire your courage.