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Winter 1996

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the journal of Grand Canyon River Guides, Inc.
volume 9    number 1 winter 1995-1996
   
 
Paul Thevenin

e were headline material in all the Mexican papers, especially down in that area. Up in the States it was covered in Life magazine, Time magazine, Sports Illustrated. And we also made the TV show. But the canyon itself was one that was not runnable. We got into it, the people in the community gathered on the bridge that went over the beginning of the thing, all staring down at these crazy gringos doing this. “Why do you want to do this?” We went in the first day and just floated on down and camped the first night. Next day got up and came to this twenty-six-foot waterfall. It didn’t go straight down, but it went down in about three stages, twenty-six foot, which is a little steeper even than Lava. And we decided, “Okay, we’re gonna have to line this thing.” But we want to get good shots of it. We’d taken along three twenty-one footers and a seven-man, just for a little support boat with a motor on it. So we went across the river, put the photographer on the other bank so he could get the shots of lining and portaging with the river in the foreground. We got part of it done that day, then decided, “Okay, time to go get the photographer.” Jack said, “Well, I’ll go ahead and drive the boat.” I was going just to help him, in case he needed to edge it upriver or something. We got over and picked up the photographer. I was holding the boat and letting him get in, and I was trying to make more room for him to get in, so I was in motion while he was in motion, and Jack was in a hurry to get going. He gunned the motor before everything was set down and as he peeled out on the river it just sort of did a nice little peel and up and over it went, right at the head of the twenty-six-foot waterfall.

Turned over?

Turned over.

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