In Search of the Good Life...: 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!