The Ditch (Grand Canyon Rafting Trip) Part 8

4/3 Granite (93.8) to Emerald (104.4)

It's been a few days since my last post because I've had to set aside my river hat and put on my undergradute-student-who-is-desperately-trying-to-pass-her-classes hat, but I got all of my assignments submitted for Discrete Math...and getting caught up Intro to Computer Science sounds like a problem for Future Kellie. I thought a strong academic performance pre-river would have established enough discipline and solid weekly routines to sustain me through the end of the semester. Boy oh boy, I could not have been more wrong. My experience on the Grand changed me in many countless positive ways, and at least one less-positive way. I definitely became THAT student. Big whoops.

Anyway, I had written up a lovely crew spotlight on Chris, which I am excited to post, but I need to table it for a day because after reviewing the trip itinerary for today's post, the spotlight needs to go to Avery because today was Carnage Day. But we'll get there in a second.

We left Granite camp and immediately ran Granite Rapid. It's a big rapid but I don't recall any significant issues or hero lines. From Granite until a little after Mile 106(ish), we didn't really get to let our feet off the proverbial gas. This section of river is pretty burly, and includes what is known as "The Gemstones" or "Gem Series" Rapids. From Western Rivers:

"Agate, Sapphire, Turquoise, Emerald, Ruby, and Serpentine; are the names of a half dozen rapids in that many miles. The Gem Series Rapids, often considered the younger siblings of the larger rapids upstream which include; Horn Creek, Granite, Hermit, and Crystal. Though smaller in size, the Gems should never be taken lightly. The power of the waves and drops in the Gems often surprise the most experienced boatmen, especially at low water when shallow boulders capable of destroying an outboard engine creep closer towards the surface."

As I was looking for a supplemental explanatory link, I was like, "hey, wait a minute, why isn't Crystal [rapid] included in the Gem Stone series?" Well I'll be damned if they are not even remotely the same thing and shame on me for such an egregious error. If you're curious, you can read all about it from what looks to be a very scholarly and reputable site.

So yeah, today was a BIG day of BIG rapids. Granite (8), Hermit (8), Crystal (8), Tuna Creek (6), Sapphire (6). I wish I could remember more about all of the rapids other than Crystal, but Crystal occupied a lot of brain space on this particular day (and you will find out why shortly), so I will rely on the editorial team to provide any relevant information and/or photos for other rapids.

So let's get right to it. Crystal Rapid. From the RiverMaps book:

Mile 98.8 - Crystal Rapid has strong holes at the top of the rapid and a large rock garden at the bottom. Scouting on river right is done both along the riverbank and from a debris fan bluff on the upper end of the debris fan. Either a right or left run will avoid the top holes, though if you run left, don't go too far left or you'll have to deal with a very strong eddy fence and pour-over at the top of the Slate Creek eddy. Just past the eddy the river left wall projects into the river and can flip rafts as well. Once past the upper holes, staying way left or way right of mid-stream can clear the rock garden at the foot of the rapid. (RiverMaps)

Brad and me scouting Crystal

Photo credit: Chris Inman

A different crew running Crystal before us

Photo credit: Chris Inman

I think if folks are relatively familiar with rapids on the Grand, most folks will probably list Crystal and Lava as the two most notable rapids. In fact, if you're familiar with the Emerald Mile (fastest run on the Grand), Crystal flipped their dory. I've heard varying accounts of how high the wave wall was when they ran it, but "multiple stories high" seems to be consistent during the 1983 run. Crystal can mess up your day. Helicopters are often called into assist with medical emergencies and or dislodging pinned rafts.

We took our time on the scout and came up with a good plan for running Crystal. Avery went first in the kayak, followed by Cory/Chris, then Joe/Andy, then Steve/Doug, then Brad/Ada/me. Avery made it through fine and waited in an eddy for the rest of the crew. Cory's boat made it down and pulled into an eddy to wait. Steve's boat, despite a good line, got hit with a wave that seemingly appeared out of nowhere (I think I heard people refer to it as New Wave?), and that's when the carnage ensued. Watching an 18-foot raft flip is not a thing you want to watch happen.

Good news is that both Steve and Doug were able to get out of the way of the raft and swim into an eddy for safety. Our boat was able to grab Doug out of the water and Steve made it on shore. Both were safe and unharmed. And then there was the boat. The boat...got stuck on the rock garden.

This is where I'll pause to do a crew spotlight on Avery!

Photo credit: Chris Inman

Photo credit: Chris Inman

My connection to Avery is very special in that he is a graduate of the Westminster Outdoor Education and Leadership (OEL) program. I had Avery in several classes and he was a participant on the 2020 Field Semester.  I can't remember what I've discussed in posts already--I probably mentioned the OELFS so I'll skip it, but check out the website if you're curious. It was on the OELFS that Avery discovered a love and talent for whitewater. Since then, he's become an incredibly adept hardshell kayaker and raft guide. He currently serves in a leadership position for a rafting company in Idaho. Having Avery on the trip as a safety boater was really indispensable. Not only did he save several swimmers (myself included), but he really earned his keep on Carnage Day. He single-handedly managed to dislodge the stuck raft (link to Avery's video on IG) from the rock garden and get it moving downriver where the rest of the group could meet up to attach flip lines and get the boat back right side up. Total boss move. Proud teacher moment: it's also been so fun and rewarding to watch Avery develop as an outdoor educator and leader--not only in his technical outdoor skills (especially whitewater), but also in his human skills (namely, communication and giving and receiving feedback). Also a grill master. Well done, Avery. Grateful to have had an opportunity to share this experience with you and thankful for your contributions. We debated on whether Avery's river name was going to be "Human Z Drag" or "Tigger" (from the bouncing required to dislodge the raft from the rock garden). Tigger won :)

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We got the raft downriver, assembled the group and some flip lines, and eventually got the boat right side up. Worth noting is how incredibly calm everyone stayed through this process. Each person had a role, they knew what their role was, people communicated clearly and directly, and everyone chipped in. It was really a beautiful demonstration of effectively responding to a critical situation as a team. Well done, everyone. 

As far as additional carnage--the boat was stuck upside down with a pretty significant current for an extended period of time. As a result, there were some items dislodged and some damage to the boat. One of the oar tower cobras (the thing that keeps the oar in place) got completely sheered off. Shoutout to mechanic Ada for having the oar tower fixed lickety split! Most of the toilet paper was pretty wrecked (it was our groover boat). A cell phone was claimed by the river, among some other odds and ends. Most of the Bills Bags got waterlogged despite being sealed correctly. Overall, the priority and most important thing was that humans were safe and that the boat was in fixable condition. It was a bummer to lose some stuff and have things get wet. I commend Doug and Steve for their incredible patience and positive attitudes throughout the whole ordeal. It could have been very easy to end up in the "everything sucks and I hate everything" mentality after getting flipped, losing some stuff, and getting all your personal gear wet. They were absolute champs. And honestly, it's the sort of flip that could have happened to any of our boats. And we found out later that it DID happen to another groover boat of another rafting party that we ended up camping with several times. Sometimes shit happens to your shit boat.

Regrouping after the Carnage
Photo credit: Chris Inman

We got through Crystal, licked our wounds, and continued through the Gem Stone series until reaching Emerald Camp. Dinner: Chicken Stir-Fry and Rice.

Emerald Camp was rocky. 
Photo credit: Cory Inman

Not the best campsite, but still some great views.
Photo credit: Andy James

Cory emerged from his tent dressed like a Von Trapp Family Singer, so Joe and I added a few NRS straps to complete the look.

Photo credit: Kellie Gerbers

I don't remember much else from Emerald Camp. We were all pretty gassed after the big day. I may try and get another post up tonight--whatever I can do to avoid coding HW!

The Ditch (Grand Canyon Rafting Trip) Part 7

4/2 Lower Cremation (87.7) to Granite (93.8)

I've posted a few entries with some glaring (and embarrassing) typos. Duckie, not ducky. Cremation, not Creamation. I am deeply shamed. And the errors have been fixed.

View of the river from Granite campsite
Photo credit: Cory Inman

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Crew Spotlight: Rio

I gotta get Rio’s spotlight in before he departs the trip at Phantom Ranch. Rio (River name: Sonic, as in the hedgehog) was the youthiest of our fellowship, and I truly don’t think I’ve ever met a more competent or composed young man at his stage of life. Rio is an excellent athlete, which translated well into his time behind the oars and in his duckie, and also partially inspired his river name. The dyed spiky hair also helped.

Rio was not the chattiest member of our team, but he might have been the chillest (Although Steve could give him a run for his money). Always ready to lend a hand. Ruffled by nothing. A savant with a Rubix cube. Rio started the trip by immediately hopping in the car to drive to Kanab after finishing a college-placement test, and then he had to depart the trip early to get back to school. It was so much fun to have a father-son combo on the trip, and the mutual love and respect shared between Joe and Rio was really special to observe. Thanks for being a part of the trip, Rio!

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Joe and Rio departed camp early to get Rio set up for his solo hike out on the South Kaibib trail. We were all tremendously relieved that we had been able to catch up to our original planned itinerary to get Rio out on time. And we missed him immediately.

We had a fairly relaxed departure from camp (sorry, Joe, for making you wait!) to row about a mile to Phantom Ranch, our first major "out of the raft" excursion (besides getting ejected from a boat...). Pulling up to Phantom Ranch was a little surreal. Sure, we'd seen other rafters on the river, but at Phantom Ranch, we saw....infrastructure! Buildings! Hikers! 

Map of Phantom Ranch

Photo credit: Chris Inman

Phantom Ranch Ranger Station

Photo credit: Cory Inman

Heading toward the canteen
Photo credit: Cory Inman

A little about Phantom Ranch (from nps.gov)
"Phantom Ranch (1922) is a comfortable oasis nestled at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It is tucked in beside Bright Angel Creek on the north side of the Colorado River and is the only lodging facility below the canyon rim.

The Ranch can only be reached by mule, by foot, or by rafting the Colorado River and is a popular stop-over point for hikers and mule riders traveling to the bottom of the Canyon via the famous Bright Angel or Kaibab trails. Open year-round.

Fifty-three year old Mary Jane Colter, architect for Fred Harvey Co. and the Santa Fe Railroad, was given the assignment to design a small group of rustic stone cabins on the north side of the Colorado River near the mouth of Bright Angel Creek. She called it Phantom Ranch. The ranch was completed in 1922. The rustic cabins and main lodge are built of wood and native stone and fit in with the natural beauty and solitude of the setting.

Mary Colter’s plans for Phantom Ranch, like of all of her designs, drew inspiration from the region’s history, cultural traditions and landscape. Instead of trying to compete with the dramatic scenery, she used native materials to blend in with it."

The hike to the actual "ranch proper" took maybe 15-20 minutes. Folks ordered sweet treats from the walk-up counter, including a cold lemonade, bought some postcards and stamps, and a few other odds and ends. We spent the next 45 minutes(ish) writing and sending postcards (that are packed out daily by mule), enjoying our lemonade, and getting to know each other a little better. We shared who we were sending postcards to and chatted up some hikers and campers. It was interesting to get campers' perspectives on our rafting trip. Up to this point, we'd only interacted with other rafters. The campers were very excited and curious to hear about what a 16-day river journey looked like.

Given that Joe had already been waiting on us for...several hours...we had to keep our visit to Phantom Ranch relatively short. A few folks took a few extra minutes to cross the pedestrian bridge while others worked on getting water jugs refilled and various tasks around the boats.

Mailing a postcard from the bottom of the ditch to be packed out by mule

Photo credit: Cory Inman

The Brothers Inman at Phantom Ranch

Photo credit: Kellie Gerbers

Avery and Ada on the bridge

Photo credit: Cory Inman

Doug on the bridge

Photo credit: Doug Marchant

After departing Phantom Ranch, we had a few chill miles before our next class-8, Horn Creek rapid. After consulting with my editorial staff, I can confirm that we scouted the rapid for a while and had an opportunity to watch another group run the rapid before we went through. While we'd received advice to "split the horns," our boats ran right of the right horn. From editorial staff (Chris and Cory): "Everyone had a good run. Some were bigger than others." I think I remember this rapid being pretty fun.

Horn Creek rapid
Photo credit: Chris Inman

After a delightful day on the river, we made camp at what was definitely a top 3 campsite (for me) on the trip: Granite. It was a large, flat camp with great access to the river, good spaces for cooking and hangin' out, and nice little nooks in which to set up tents. It also gave us a great view of Granite Rapid (8), which would be on the docket for the following morning. Also had a chance to rinse off in the river (voluntarily, for once). Dinner: Tacos with Beef, Refried Beans and Mexican Rice. Lots of folks hung around the fire for a proper campfire hootenanny this night. Great live music and some top quality star-looking. Such fun!

Granite Camp was great for maxin' and relaxin'
Photo credit: Cory Inman

View from Granite Camp
Photo credit: Cory Inman

View of Granite Rapid from camp
Photo credit: Cory Inman

Stellar campsite for a campfire hootenanny
Photo credit: Cory Inman

Campfire hootenanny! 
Photo credit: Kellie Gerbers

I'll post more photos of Granite campsite on the next post because they're shots from the following morning...

The Ditch (Grand Canyon Rafting Trip) Part 6

4/1 Palisades Creek (66.1) to Lower Cremation (87)

Morning views of the river from Palisades Creek Camp

Photo credit: Avery Higgins-Lopez

Morning views of the river from Palisades Creek Camp
Photo credit: Cory Inman

View of camp
Photo credit: Cory Inman

View of camp
Photo credit: Cory Inman

Today was a good day on the river that ended with a hefty dose of humble pie. We had a bunch of rapids: Tanner, Basalt, Unkar, Nevill's...and Hance. And then several after Hance, but I want to stop and pause at Hance (77.1).

It's hard to remember exactly how I/we were all feeling pre- and post-Hance, but I do remember that this was the first rapid that I was pretty gripped about before we ran it. So I'll include Dune's Litany Against Fear (looking at you, Brad) for good measure:

"I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain." - Dune (Frank Herbert)

I remember the scout taking a while. Hance is the first 8 (reminder, scale of 1-10 in difficulty) we encountered on the river. It is long and it is one of the more technical rapids. I'd rather generate my own content, but I'm using this as a placeholder for now: Running Hance Rapid (source: gorafting)

View of Hance Rapid from river right scout

Photo credit: Chris Inman

Doug pointing out obstacles on Hance
Photo credit: Chris Inman

Happy faces after completing Hance

Photo credit: Chris Inman

I think (?) this rapid required our boat operators to back pull through the first portion of the rapid, which meant that each boat needed a spotter in the bow pointing out the correct angle for the boat since the rower wasn't able to see downriver. Several rocks to dodge (called "The Land of Giants") and I think this rapid required a righthand entry with a hard pull to the left. I had to fact check my memory with a teammate, but 3 of 4 boats took inadvertently took a hero line through this rapid (read: through the Land of Giants) despite lots of discussion and planning.

That said, all boats and boaters made it out in one piece. But no rest after Hance. Immediately following Hance, we had Sockdolager Rapid (6), Grapevine Rapid (6), a few minor rapids, oh yeah, and 83 Mile Rapid (3).

You might be wondering, "Kellie, why bother pointing out a Class 3 rapid?" Well, because sometimes a Class 3 will wreck your afternoon. You probably see where this is going.

At this point, we'd been on the river for almost a week, so lots of time for new rowers (myself included) to get time behind the oars. And it was really fun to watch rowers progress in their skill, competence, and confidence, as it pertained to reading whitewater and actually rowing rapids.

A new rower asked to row 83 Mile Rapid. Those of us in the boat felt very comfortable with this rower handling the rapid. And sometimes, you get hit with a big ass wave and get dumped. We got dumped. And it was real, REAL cold. The rower got the other swimmer in the boat pretty early, but I ended up swimming most of the rapid. Was probably in the water for a few minutes. Avery (our rescue boater in the kayak) came to my rescue. Thanks, Avery! We only had a few miles to make it to camp, but those were the coldest miles of. my. life. After shivering violently for a few minutes (which is a good thing--the problem is when you STOP shivering...) I asked if I could row to warm my body back up, so I cranked very, very hard on the oars into the wind for 15-20 minutes trying to haul ass to camp so that we could...better our situation.

We made it to Lower Cremation camp, which was the *must stop at this camp* to get Rio set-up for his hike out the following day. Unfortunately, the camp was already occupied by two other groups, but fortunately, these groups were AWESOME and so, so kind. They not only shared the camp, but they shared beverages, advice, support, etc. We ended up passing and/or camping with these groups several more times down the river, and they were truly a delight with every interaction. Goose (river name), one of the leaders of one of the groups, definitely felt like a river mentor to us by the end of the trip.

I do remember Lower Cremation camp pretty vividly. Amazing how a cold swim will heighten your senses. The camp was set into a rocky hill, and because it was pretty crowded, it meant that finding good Groover and tent sites was...challenging...as we were the last of the three crews to arrive.

View of Lower Cremation Camp

Photo credit: Cory Inman

View of Lower Cremation Camp

Photo credit: Cory Inman

Dinner: Frozen Lasagna with Garlic Bread

The Ditch (Grand Canyon Rafting Trip) Part 5

3/31 Upper Saddle (47.5) to Palisades Creek (66.1)

This is where I really regret not journaling, because it's easy to pull up the logistical what/where/when information, but it's impossible to remember the unique stuff. The conversations on boats, the specific views of the canyon wall--those are things I can't recreate.

We left Upper Saddle probably around our typical departure time (~11?) and started our cruise through the final miles of Marble Canyon before the confluence with the Little Colorado River (LCR). It's worth pointing out that until the confluence, the water in Marble Canyon is quite clear (and really, REALLY cold). So beautiful. 

This picture is from earlier in the trip (you can see the Navajo Bridges in the background)

But I'm including it so you can get a sense of the clarity of the water in Marble Canyon

Photo credit: Doug Marchant

Doug behind the sticks as we make our way to the confluence of the LCR

Photo credit: Steve Marchant

We passed the Nankoweap granaries on this day, which is a popular hike for many river trips. Unfortunately, our very condensed itinerary + need to get Rio to Phantom Ranch in a few days meant that we had to skip a lot of the cool sites in the upper canyon. We made note of the missed opportunities and hope to do them on the next trip. Because there will definitely, definitely be a next trip.

At mile 61.7, we reached the confluence with the LCR. I think Cory has some drone footage of the confluence, and if I can figure out how to properly imbed videos into these posts, I'll add some eventually. Speaking of which, Cory reminded me that this was the fateful day on which he fell, busted his knee, AND broke his drone. Total bummer. The drone footage he has for the first several days of the trip is really cool and I will share it eventually.

Note the muddy water mixing with the clear water at the confluence.

Photo credit: Andy James

Muddy water from here on out.

Photo credit: Chris Inman

Other than reaching the confluence, I don't remember anything particular about the afternoon--no major rapids or features. @Chris, if you read this, send me some of your favorite shots of Palisades Creek Camp! Dinner: Chicken Curry and Rice with Veggies.

Crew Spotlight: Andy

Andy’s connection to the group is through Cory. Andy is both a mentor and colleague of Cory’s in neuroscience, and they’ve published together a few times. Andy is very much an outdoor enthusiast but came into this trip with no multi-day river experience. That said, when I think of what type of person I’d want to consistently include in a river crew, Andy would be at the top of my list. Andy is both brilliant and hilarious, but beyond that, he’s the type of servant leader that **gets stuff done** without being asked or without looking for any recognition or credit. He and I frequently found ourselves on kitchen cleanup crew (him even more than me) and he was also always ready to lend a hand to other teammates to help them get their systems set up. He was also willing to try ANYTHING. Rowing, river crossings, you name it—he was game. Thanks, Andy, for being a part of this experience! We’ll get to his river name later…😊

The Ditch (Grand Canyon Rafting Trip) Part 4

 3/30 21.7 Mile Camp to Upper Saddle (47.5)

I tend to write these posts late at night from my bed. I mention this because I have to consult my river map book pretty frequently to jog my memory as to what stretch of river/features happened on which day, and my map book is still full of sand. So now my bed is full of sand. I feel like a...tortured poet.

Today was a big day on the river. At this point, we were pretty far behind our planned itinerary (about 10 miles off), so we committed to getting on the water early (9:50--a record for our team!) and cranking out a ton of miles to try and get back on track. So we did.

This stretch of river didn't have too many significant features. Georgie Rapid was a 6 that I think we scouted and there were a few 5s. We stopped for lunch at was one of the highlights of the trip: Redwall Cavern (mile 33.3). 

The Party Barge is approaching Redwall Cavern

Photo credit: Avery Higgins-Lopez

Getting closer

Photo credit: Chris Inman

  View from inside the cavern
Photo credit: Chris Imman

The crew enjoying lunch outside of the cavern

Photo credit: Chris Inman

One of my absolute favorite photos from the entire trip.

Photo credit: Chris Inman

After lunch, we needed to continue to crank miles. I think this might have been a day where I migrated from Party Barge (Brad and Ada, with occasional appearances by Avery) to the ATL Barge. I loved getting to know and spend time with EVERYONE on this trip, but I gotta do a special spotlight of the ATLiens because this day of river cruising was so, so good for my ATL soul! Only regret was that Brad couldn't actually be in the boat because he was rowing another one! Also, this post is about to go way, WAY off the rails.

To recap who is an ATL Homie on the trip: Andy, Chris, Cory, Brad, Kellie.

At this juncture, all of us (minus Brad) were riding on the same raft, and as it was still pretty early in the trip, we were asking a lot of "get to know you" / "what's your backstory" questions. These references will be lost on 98% of the folks that read this blog if you're not from the Southeast, but for those of you who ARE from the Atlanta area, I hope these references make you smile as much as they made me smile.

• Weekends spent at Six Flags Over Georgia
• Debate on the best rollercoaster
• Popular opinion: Mindbender (what eventually was renamed the Riddler)
• Georgia Cyclone: keeping chiropractors in business since March 3rd, 1990
• The Monster Mansion Ride - y'all, I have been waiting to discuss this ride with other humans for 7 YEARS (since moving to Utah). It's --without question-- the best ride at 6 Flags Over Georgia and its theme song is a total banger. I remember getting into a multi-month and heated argument with one of my longest and closest friends, Cathi, about the lyrics to this song. There was much debate over whether it was "and humans are allowed" or "but humans are allowed." I'm fairly certain Cathi defended "but," so, Cathi, here is my apology (you were right) about 15 years too late.
• If you're curious, here's the video ride through. It's like if "It's a Small World met Splash Mountain but with monsters and jazz music. 
• We yelled "STAY OUT OF THE MARSH" *a lot* for the remainder of the trip.

Screen shots from Monster Mansion (source: YouTube)

• When not at 6 Flags...
• Whitewater
• Getting sick sick air when riding the Dragon's Tail
• American Adventures - I just learned that it closed in 2010. Absolutely devastated
• Sparkles Skating Rink (discussed in the first blog post)
• Mountasia Fun Center
• ATL restaurant highlights
• The Varsity
• Standard order "What'll ya have?"
• Chili cheese dog, fries, frosted orange
• Waffle House (WaHo)
• every HS student's late night hangout
• If I could add one restaurant to Utah, it would be a Waffle House
• Correct hashbrown order: scattered, covered, chunked. I recognize this is a controversial statement.

I'm sure we discussed other ATL-specific memories and experiences (definitely concerts), but I'll end the reveries here so that I don't lose what few readers I have. Suffice it to say, being around other Atlantans for an extended period of time is not something I get to do much in Utah, and it brought me so much joy. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Utah and my Utah community, but sometimes, you gotta be true to your roots.

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I don't remember too many significant rapids in the second half of the afternoon, but I *do* remember starting to approach campsites near sundown, and they were all occupied, so we lit our rafts up with whatever lighting devices we had on board (headlamps, Mickey Mouse wands, etc.) and kept rowing until we got to Upper Saddle camp. Dinner: (Grill)--BBQ Chicken with Pre-Made Potato Salad.

Let the night rowing commence!
Photo credit: Andy James

We only had a super late camp arrival once in 16 days <breathes sigh of relief>
Photo credit: Andy James

Sun goes down. Party goes up.

Photo credit: Andy James

I remember very little about Upper Saddle camp. It was dark when we arrived, so we didn't exactly get a great lay of the land. I received confirmation that this was also the Darude Sandstorm evening, which meant that high winds + a beachy camp made for a heinous cooking/cleaning/tent set-up experience because everything was perpetually covered in a layer of sand.

Shot of the kitchen on Darude Sandstorm night
Photo credit: Avery Higgins-Lopez

Fact Checking.

 If anyone has good notes or photos from Upper Saddle or Palisades Creek, holler at your girl!

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Crew spotlight: Chef Ada AKA Rainbow Brite

I hope Ada doesn't mind if I highlight her, but holy moly does this bad boss deserve recognition. Ada is a little younger than the average age of our crew, but what she lacks in years of life, she makes up for in incredible talent (art, equipment repair, biking, climbing, skiing, and of course, COOKING!), kindness, and energy. One the first day of the trip, Ada whipped out her collection of glitter and asked if anyone needed to be glittered before starting our journey (only correct response to this question is "yes").

Cory immediately suggested Rainbow Brite as her River Name, but Ada is too young to know who Rainbow Brite is. Ada, if you read this, you can learn about Rainbow Brite from Aunt Wikipedia and you should probably watch the Rainbow Brite movie. 

Rainbow Brite (80's cartoons were the best!)
Source: GoodEndFriendsWiki

Anyway, the point of this post is to THANK Ada for her tremendous leadership and talent when it comes to a very polarizing camp chore: cooking. On Day 1 of the trip, Ada expressed an interest and desire to be all-time camp chef. For those of y'all who have done multiday outdoor trips of any sort, you know that cooking is no easy feat. Especially on days where the team rolls into camp late, folks are tired and cold, and all people want to do is get their tents set up and relax. Not only did Ada cook every single dinner on this trip, she never once complained about the responsibility, and her meals were damn good.

I also want to acknowledge that Avery very much stepped up and was Sous Chef, but he's gonna get his own highlight when we get to Crystal Rapid. And other folks chipped in for various cooking duties as well, but Ada was definitely GOAT chef. Thanks, Ada! You're still my patronus.