GTS River Trip 2002

What do you get when you put a bunch of boatman on the river for two weeks with so called “old timers” who have lived and loved the river for decades, expert speakers on everything Grand Canyon, and absolutely glorious weather? A fantastic 2002 gts River Trip!
Over eighteen boatman from eleven different outfitters participated, with a motor rig from Grand Canyon Expeditions, a paddleboat from oars, oar boats from azra, Canyon Expeditions, and oars, Mat Royden’s cargo cat, and a kayak paddled by John Middendorf. The Park Service was well represented, to say the least, with river rangers Dave Desrosiers and Brenton White, Deputy Superintendent Kate Cannon, and Superintendent Joe Alston. Noel Eberz made sure everyone who wished to had the materials to participate on the “Adopt-a-Beach” program, and we launched on a picture perfect sunny day with a total of 31 people under the leadership of trip leader, Fred Thevenin, with the assistance of his sister Theresa.
The highlights of this trip were the “old timers”. Kent Frost won us all over with his wit and wisdom, and wonderful stories of floating Glen Canyon, crossing Lees Ferry before the bridge, tales of hiking with Katie Lee and trips with Norm Nevills. Al Holland provided us with some great river history, moved us to tears with tales of Glen Canyon, and gave everyone food for thought on future financial planning (buy that house!) Bob Rigg entertained and informed us about river running “in the old days”, as did Bill Mooz, who also told of his river adventure on an air mattress. It was incredible to have these “living legends” on the river with us and to hear what they had to say about the history of river running, and life in general.
Our speakers included geologist Peter Huntoon, who talked about anything and everything geological, but especially the faults and spring systems, and the slumps and slides that changed the river channel many different times in the area around Deer Creek. Nat White from Lowell Observatory got in a star talk almost every night, with very cooperative clear skies and many visible planets. Clay Nelson told us about all the work going on with the endangered Kanab amber snail, and its weird parasite that sounds right out of a bad science fiction movie. The guy chasing lizards was Geoff Carpenter, a herpetologist, who in addition to setting us straight on the lizard identification and behavior, talked about the importance of biological surveys and continued research in the canyon. I was the trip “generalist”, and tried my best to identify plants and birds for folks, and talked about condors and ravens and the bats at Stanton’s Cave. Superintendent Joe could usually be found rowing one of the park boats with an incredibly big grin on his face, before hiking out with Deputy Superintendent Kate at South Canyon. Rangers Dave Desrosiers and Brenton White led us on some great hikes, including one from 50-Mile canyon up and over to Little Nankoweap, as well as informing us about current park management issues.

Other speakers joined us the second half, including archaeologist Helen Fairley, who did a terrific job explaining the very complex archaeological record in Grand Canyon, as well as leading discussions about its protection in the future. Kristen Straka gave a talk on the aquatic food base in the river (basically everything that the fish are eating and what those critters are eating) and the importance of a healthy aquatic ecosystem. We were also joined by Jim Reilly, Acting Chief Ranger, and Mike McGinnis, Wilderness District ranger, who also talked about park issues in between turns at the oars.
Kitchen duty, meal preparation, and groover set-up were all shared and things went smoothly like a well-oiled machine. The food was fantastic and no one went the least bit hungry. One of the great things about this trip (besides the weather) was the dayhiking. Rather than stop at the usual “tourist attractions”, we did hikes almost every day to places like Bert’s Canyon, Little Nankoweap, The Tabernacle, Monument, Tuna, Hakatai, Stone, the up-and-over route to Deer Creek, Specter, Tuckup, Parashant, Matcat, Blacktail…well, you get the picture! We also did many beach clean-ups and hauled out an incredible assortment of trash.
The take-out at Diamond went smoothly with everyone cooperating and like magic, gear got back to where it needed to go and the motor rig continued down to Pierce to take out. It was an outstanding two weeks with new friends, new information, and a new river season to look forward to. Sincere thanks to Fred and Grand Canyon Expeditions for providing equipment, food, and doing the incredible job of leading this trip—you made it look way too easy! We also owe a big thank you to the Grand Canyon Conservation Fund for their funding support, all the outfitters and speakers, and the nps for making this wonderful trip possible, plus gts river trip coordinators Noel Eberz, J.P. Running and Lynn Hamilton—we couldn’t have done it without you!
On a personal note: Although the canyon is my passion and I have taught for Grand Canyon Field Institute as a naturalist for many years, this was my first river trip. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the “river community”, the politics, and the issues…I was like most passengers in that regard. What I saw was really a river family. Yes, you have problems, and “discussions”, and you learn and grow and just make it up as you go along, like most families. I saw a real caring for and stewardship of the place called Grand Canyon, and I know that whether on a motor rig, an oar boat, dory, or paddle boat, that you will pass on that caring and honor for this place to your passengers. They are in good hands. Thank you so much for welcoming me into the river family, and making my first experience such a great one.
Sally Underwood