Last June I was fortunate enough to be invited on a 10 day upper Grand Canyon Private rafting trip. A good friend of mine was selected for one of the coveted private permits. This trip was a “bucket list” trip for me. I was able to row most of the first 100 miles from our put in spot of Lees Ferry to my drop spot at Diamond Ranch. From there I hiked to rim. The video is me in the duckie (inflatable kayak) on my first big rapid…I was a little giddy as you can tell. 
The pure beauty and remoteness of seeing the Grand Canyon from the bottom was refreshing to my soul. The river was running 27K CFS which made for the biggest water I have ever experienced. I hope you enjoy the video and pics. Its like a different planet down there. Pure God created beauty.
Some of the gear that I would recommended on a trip like this would be:
- Chaco Unaweep z2 Sandal – This is a bomb proof sandal that you can wear while rowing but also take side excursion hikes into slot canyons. Hands down the best sandal for the job.
- Mountain Hardwear Phanton 32 Sleeping Bag with a cheap liner..I made one out of a cheap bed sheet and sewed the ends together..this will keep the creepy crawlers out at night…and trust me there are LOTS of creepy crawlers down there.
- Osprey Talon 33 Backpack – used it to hike out from the bottom to the rim
- Neo Air Therma Rest Pad – sleep like a baby after a hard day of rowing
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