Colorado, AZ

Granite Camp , Day 8

Granite Camp , Day 8
Photo of The last sunbeams of the day light up the horizon line at Granite. by Daniel W. Webb taken Aug 28,2004 @ 18000

Gauge Information

River Description

The Grand Canyon is one of the seven Wonders of the World. The only launch point is Lee's Ferry, which is measured as mile 0 on most maps. Lee's Ferry is the dividing point between the Upper and Lower Colorado Rivers for water rights politics. The majority of private trips in Grand Canyon travel 226 miles to Diamond Creek for their takeout. Other takeouts include Pearce Ferry on Lake Mead (mile 279) which has been closed due to low lake levels since August 2001. The next access is South Cove, which is 17 miles farther on the lake.

Passengers may choose to hike in or out at a variety of trails in the mid-section of the run. The most common location to swap participants is Phantom Ranch (mile 89).

The commercial rafting industry that feeds on Grand Canyon has built the whitewater up to heroic proportions in the public mind, but in reality, it is not that difficult. The gradient tells the tale; most of Grand Canyon is flat water. The infamous 1 to 10 rating system does not mean that these rapids are harder than class 6; this rating system is for heavily loaded large rafts, and a 10 on this scale might not require a single stroke from a kayaker. Disregard the hype, and apply your usual river-running judgment.

Putting together an expedition that meets Park requirements and keeps a group of river runners well fed and happy for 18 or more days is the challenging part.


The skills required for a kayaker to negotiate Grand Canyon include:
1. A bomber roll. The water is too fast and cold to really enjoy swimming.
2. The ability to turn sideways to a big wave train and paddle out of it.
3. The ability to keep your balance and your cool in sustained funny water (whirlpools and boils occur at the bottom of many rapids and along eddy lines).
4. The ability to scout and choose a big-water line.

Lava rapid (mile 179) is the most intimidating rapid on the section. Because of another flash flood in Prospect Canyon, the left side of the rapid (which is considered by some to be a sneak) is cluttered with boulders, and only popular with rafters at higher flows (at least 15,000). Center Left at the top of the rapid is one of the biggest pourover holes you'll ever see, yet you will not be the first to throw some ends there if you try. You can scout from either side, but the impressive scout is to follow a small trail on river right up to an outcrop of lava where you can overlook the maelstrom. It doesn't look good, but you can't see while you're in it. The standard line is to start center right. Rafts commonly punch through the maw of the V-wave, but kayakers can bust through the lateral that feeds it from the left and smooth out their ride.

Reaches of the Colorado River:
01. Hot Sulphur Springs to Hwy 40 bridge (Byers Canyon) (CO, IV)
02. Gore Canyon (CO, IV-V)
03. Pumphouse campground to Rancho Del Rio (Pumphouse) (CO, III)
04. Hanging Lake Exit 125 (I-70) to Shoshone Power Plant Exit 123 (I-70) (Barrel Springs) (CO, IV-V [V+])
05. Shoshone Power Plant, Exit 123 (I-70) to Grizzly Creek, Exit 121 (I-70) (Shoshone) (CO, III-IV)
06. Cameo Dam (Big Sur / Lucky 7) (CO, III)
07. Loma to Westwater (Ruby / Horsethief Canyons) (CO-UT, II)
08. Westwater to Rose Ranch (Westwater Canyon) (UT, I-IV)
09. Cisco (Rose Ranch) to Moab (Professor Valley) (UT, I-III)
10. Moab to Powell Reservoir (Cataract Canyon) (UT, I-IV)
11. Lees Ferry to Lake Mead (Grand Canyon) (AZ, I-V)
12. Black Canyon (AZ-NV, I)

Diamond Creek access information: 

The Hualapai Tribe charges a fee for each person, vehicle and driver that goes to or from Diamond Creek.   In 2008 that fee was $59.   You can arrange for a shuttle service to pick you up or you can make arrangments with the tribe for shuttle between the river and Peach Springs.   The $59 is in addition to any shuttle fee. 

Hualapai River Runners
P.O. Box 246
Peach Springs, AZ   86434
(928) 769-2210
(800) 622-4409

Boaters may also launch at Diamond Creek and travel 71 miles to South Cove take out.   The permit for doing this section is reportedly much easier to obtain than for launching at Lee's Ferry.  Diamond-Down River Trip Application    Grand Canyon NP: Diamond down information

Other information Sources:  

Grand Canyon National Park: river running information

Grand Canyon River - Audio/ Video Podcast Channel

The Grand Canyon is perennially represented among American Whitewater's Top 40 River Issues. Check out AW's articles on the fee demo program and the wilderness and access lawsuit.

Grand Canyon Private Boaters' Organization. They do excellent work for private boaters and have a very informative online discussion forum.

River Runners for Wilderness wiki

Grand Canyon River Guide's Association

Moenkopi blog

Slideshow of rapids

Colorado River NASQAN program

Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center

Time Lapse Videos of beach erosion

Grand-canyon-favorite-hikes
Packing-for-grand-canyon-trip

There are many videos on you-tube and at similar video websites.  Search for grand canyon, rafting, kayaking, whitewater and similar, or by rapid names. 

Outfitters and shuttle services for private trips: 

PRO;  professional river outfitters

Canyon REO

Moenkopi Riverworks

www.rrshuttleservice.com,