December '95 Newsletter

You may be surprised to hear that we've been at home the past few months. Some of you seem to have the idea that we travel all of the time. A couple of our more frequent companions have sounded us out on the possibility of adoption so they could share our lifestyle. Appealing as endless travel might sound, it isn't what we desire. Quite frankly we need, and enjoy, some home time. We spent Thanksgiving with Kelly and Dennis, two of our new paddling friends. They had a big family group in from Texas/Oklahoma and invited us to join them. It was fun and Kelly's mom prepared some excellent southern style recipes that we hadn't tried before.

A few weeks ago Bob was considering leaving home, and his beloved computer, permanently. We were having inconsistent freezes and he labored for endless hours over a several week period to get a final solution to this problem. While on this fix-it mission he did find a couple of software incompatibilities but he couldn't ever get the system to be reliable. The problem finally turned out to be defective RAM that he had installed in mid-October. A reliable company called Techworks shipped us the 4 mb SIMM's. The normal computer memory check at startup didn't see any memory problems. However, he eventually became suspicious and obtained a piece of software which would more completely test the computer's installed memory. The original on-board memory tested as good and the new SIMM's were verified as defective.

Susan has been working almost full time for the past 4-5 weeks. In addition to her weekend parks and recreation hikes, she trained as a census taker and has been enumerating for the Maricopa County special census. She was trained to be a supervisor, which pays a whole extra $1.00 per hour, but was relieved to find out she only had to collect information. Apparently, supervision can be a bit of a nightmare as the enumerator's capabilities vary greatly. Her first assignment was in one of the more affluent areas of Phoenix near Paradise Valley. The second was a small clean up project and the third a large district in a neighborhood close to ours. Most of the people she has collected information from have been cooperative and friendly. They are hoping that the census will be complete by December 15th. Susan will be done with her area by then and isn't planning to take another assignment. Between decorating, cleaning, and holiday socializing, she doesn't really want to be working during the Christmas season.

With our Yucatan plans canceled due to lack of interest, we are planning another exploratory backpack in Barranca del Cobre in late March. Bob came home from last year's trip intrigued with the possibility of backpacking from Batopilas to Urique. We'll probably take the high speed buses to Hermosillo and then travel the new road by bus directly to Creel. There are buses to Batopilas from Creel and after the backpack one can catch the train back to Creel from Urique Station or even down to the coast at Los Mochis. If it proves to be interesting, we may offer it as a group trip in the spring of 1997. It should be warm weather backpacking, 80-90 degree days, and could offer a great way to escape a long miserable winter.

The number of our friends who have e-mail availability either at home or work still seems to be increasing. This year, for the first time, we were able to communicate pre-trip information by e-mail to several of you. We prefer e-mail because it's immediate and cheap. Eventually, we would like to electronically forward the newsletter to most of you. We have a few people on our mailing list outside the North American continent now and e-mail is about the only way one could afford to communicate with them. They have a unique dilemma. In Europe, even local calls charge by the minute so it is expensive for them to stay online. For them, Web browsing is quickly finding what they want, downloading or printing a copy, and reading it offline. Telephone service pricing policies like that will undoubtedly impede Web growth in Europe. The World Wide Web (WWW) seems to work best when you can continuously interact with it for as long a period of time as you need.

Our home page on the WWW has been substantially revised and additional information was recently added. After 15 years, Bob resurrected and finally finished a short article about his 1980, 55 day backpack the length of Grand Canyon with Bob Cree. The imbedded pictures help readers envision their epic trek. We currently have approximately 80 photos from our many adventures linked with trip information. You might even be in some of them. If you have Web connect capability, check it out. Please note that the WWW Page Address (URL) was incorrectly printed in the September newsletter. One of the back slashes was inadvertently omitted. The error has been corrected below.

WWW Page Address:	http://www.kwagunt.net/
E-mail Address:	themarleys@kwagunt.net
Post Office Box:	PO Box 45079, Phoenix, AZ 85064-5079
Phone Number:	(602) 956-5946

'95 Trip Reports:

Grand Canyon Raft (9/11/95-9/26/95):

Our crew of pre-trip helpers made it to Phoenix on time and the usual last minute packing, sorting, catching up hustle began. Our Canyon REO shuttle driver, Brian, drove down the evening prior to our leaving so we were able to load all of the heavy gear in relatively cool temperatures. Dinner that night was a three foot sub and pizza, eaten while we continued to work. After loading was completed, Charlotte narrated a video of the commercial Zambezi River trip that she and Char had taken the previous summer. The big waves and flips psyched us all for our upcoming adventure. Kelly and Dennis graciously offered some of our group a place to stay. After a few rounds of coffee and a quick breakfast the next morning, we picked them up and hit the road for Lee's Ferry.

Brian drove us safely, and uneventfully, to Lee's Ferry and he was able to head home fairly early once the Salt Lake contingent showed up. Rigging went well, as we hadn't forgotten anything of major importance. We had camp set up and dinner started before dark, which may have been a first. Rigging at Lee's is mostly mass confusion as this is the first time everyone has seen the total pile of gear and tried to load it on the available boats.

The next morning, Ranger Blue showed up to collect us for his talk and slideshow. He has worked in a slew of new slides and once on a roll, talked to us for over two hours. While we all enjoyed the show, our late leave from Lee's Ferry put us well behind the other trips that launched, creating a campsite dilemma for us the first evening. We ended up at Twenty-three and a Half Mile Rapid before we could find a vacant campsite. It was a tough first day but put us in good position to score great camps on the following days. After the first few days, we seemed to travel in a window with no other groups around us.

The water was high for our trip and daily fluctuations were extremely low. The river flowed at 17,000 cfs to 20,000 cfs which washed out a lot of rapids but made for some ferocious eddies and huge waves. We had our only swimmers out of the paddle raft around Twenty-four and a Half Mile Rapid. The rapid was no problem but the squirrely water below sucked down one of their tubes and spilled three of them in the drink. That same water slammed Susan out of her seat and onto the lunch box. She was sitting gingerly for the rest of the trip and several weeks thereafter.

While at the beautiful Eminence Break campsite, we witnessed a rare rockfall directly across the river. Two backpackers from Cameron joined us for dinner that evening. As we were falling asleep, Anasazi flute music drifted down through camp. Some of the group convinced Kelly that she had dreamed it, but it was actually John's alto recorder. This camp was also the site of our most unusual breakfast, Cream of Wheat dumplings. Luckily, the doctor on our cook team was able to perform a lumpectomy on the cereal, making it almost edible. We saved the lumps for plugging holes in the rafts but ended up not needing them.

The infamous Sockdolager wave was enormous. Matt and John, who hadn't rowed the Grand before, repeatedly talked about its size until their recollections were eventually softened by even bigger Horn Creek, Granite, and Hermit experiences. John made an eye opening right side run in his cataraft at Horn, topped only by his right side run of Specter. Granite and Hermit were bigger than we've seen them in a few years. But I've jumped ahead of myself. Joe, our gourmet cook, treated us to another batch of mushrooms sautéed in wine at Cremation Camp, the trip mid-point. It was steak night and Charlotte again concocted her famous garlic spread for the steaks. We ate ourselves silly. It was the last night for six of our folks who hiked out the Bright Angel Trail and the last night for our paddle raft, which we deflated to store on Bob's raft.

Susan and Paul left early the following morning to get our hikers down to Pipe Creek before it got too hot. The rest of the group either went to Phantom or helped Bob consolidate the gear from the extra raft. Our fresh rafters arrived within minutes of the first team heading for the top. Susan gave them their vests and stowed their gear while the rest of the group made their way downstream from Phantom Ranch to join her. The new rafters brought needed enthusiasm to the cook teams, not to mention daily massage sessions to the boatmen. They got into the swing of big water quickly, as we ran Horn, Granite, and Hermit before camp that night. When we stopped to scout Horn, Kelly and Dennis found a case of beer that we think one of the commercials left for us. Being focused on rapid scouting, Bob and Susan walked right over the top of it.

Even though Susan shook her booties out the next morning, she took on a stowaway at Travertine Camp. Although Crystal was big and ugly, our runs were fine and all right side up. Susan popped an oar near the entry and with Joe's help popped it half way back on. When they touched the edge of the hole, it popped back off and had to be rammed back on again. Bailing was intense and one bucket was accidentally lofted overboard with its contents. Pulling in to spot for the rest of the team was also exciting as Chelsea got bumped off the back end of the raft and christened in the 47° water. It was more of a dunk than a swim but it certainly got her attention. After running the jewels and pulling in at Bass Camp, Susan removed her booties to find a squashed, drowned scorpion hanging from her sock. Bob noticed several welts under his life vest and thinks he also had additional Crystal passengers.

Since we were not seeing any other groups, we not only had the best campsites to ourselves but the attraction sites were also unconflicted with other commercial or private groups. We played frizbee and horseshoes for a couple of hours by ourselves at Redwall Cavern early in the trip. From our spacious Stone Creek beach camp, we watched a ram on the skyline for several hours while he seemed to be watching us. We hiked Nautiloid Canyon, South Canyon, Stanton's Cave, Nankoweap ruins, Lava Creek, Clear Creek, Shinumo Creek, 75 Mile Canyon, Phantom Ranch, Elves Chasm, Stone Creek, Deer Creek, Havasu Creek, and National Canyon, to name just a few.

On the second to the last night of the trip, Rusty proposed to Jean. After 15 nights on the river, I guess he decided she was a keeper and he'd better secure his position before she got away. Good idea, Rusty. We all think she's a keeper too. It seemed like a good excuse to have a party. So we donned togas and other ridiculous outfits for dinner on the last night. Leo, with a little help from others, wrote a poem for the betrothed couple (see page 14 ) and Blue presented them with a favorite book of hers. Matt conducted an interview that was similar to the Newlywed Game. Rusty entertained us with some of his favorite dances, including his rendition of the "sprinkler." Chelsea cooked dinner in a South Seas-like outfit of swim suit and imitation palm fonds. Fresh from the tropics, John wore his favorite mosquito netting. We hear from Salt Lake City that the happy couple tied the knot on October 27, 1995.

All in all, the trip was a great one with everyone getting along well. We had no flips and few out-of-boat experiences Between Matt, John [Ham Bone], and John's tapeworm, Willy, we had almost no leftovers. Splitting up at Diamond Creek after a frenzy of gear loading was tough. Our REO shuttle driver was early and the Phoenix contingent made the obligatory Delgadillo's Snow Cap stop in Seligman. Most of the Phoenix gear was cleaned up by 7:00 PM and people drifted home to catch much appreciated showers. A smaller group of us completed the gear storage by 10:00 AM the next morning and the trip was officially over.

Participants:

John Bingham, Deb Campbell, Charlie Crabbe, Phil Donnelly, Charlotte Ekback, Susan Groth, Leo Heska, Richard Ingbretsen, Kelly Jennings, Joe Johnson, Chelsea Larsen, Bill Leiske, Bob Marley, Rusty Morke, Paul Schmutz, Dennis Smith, Jean Stewart, Blue Stringer, Matt Thomson, Jon Trahan, Nicole Xanos.

Havasupai Backpack, Grand Canyon (10/7/95-10/14/95):

After a morning whirlwind tour of Grand Canyon Caverns, we rounded up all but three of the group and headed for Hualapai Hilltop (if you find yourself in the area, these caverns are definitely worth seeing). The parking lot at the Hualapai Hilltop trailhead was packed due to the Columbus Day weekend but we were expecting a mass exodus of weekend campers on Sunday. We secured a campsite on the rim, a few miles from the trailhead, and were just about to take a short hike when the three late comers arrived. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking trace roads on the rim to a few super Havasu Canyon viewpoints, returning to our campsite at sunset.

After an early breakfast, we packed quickly and headed for the trailhead. Everyone except Bob was on the trail by 8:00 AM. He waited at the top to make sure our commissary gear was loaded on the horses and was expecting to ride down with the packer. We were lucky that he stayed behind as there was a packer mix-up and our gear wouldn't have arrived until after dark, if it had arrived at all. Other Indian packers were willing to take our stuff in but there were no saddle horses available. The Havasupai agent suggested a helicopter ride to the village instead of waiting for a saddle horse. Oddly enough, this weekend-only helicopter service to the village costs exactly the same as renting a saddle horse. After his brief ride, Bob walked a mile above the village to let us know what was happening and then sped off to the campground to obtain a suitable group campsite. The rest of us spent time in the village, primarily checking out the new museum and people watching, everyone easily made it to the campground before 4:00 PM. Even Sandy, who was wearing a full knee brace, had no problems with this gentle downhill 10 mile hike. We'd passed hordes of exiting backpackers on the way in and the next morning even more vacated the campground, leaving it virtually empty. We eventually moved to a larger, more convenient site, where we stayed until the end of our trip.

We'd heard horror stories about the flood damage Havasupai has experienced in the past few years. Although it has changed drastically, it was a relief to see that it is still a beautiful place. Navajo Falls may actually be prettier, Havasu Falls was split into two tightly adjacent falls, and Mooney Falls appears to be exactly the same. However, the pools at the bottom of Havasu and Mooney are both radically reduced in size. Not only were the beautiful travertine dams washed out, the pools filled in with gravels and silt from upstream, so they aren't as deep as they once were.

Our daily hikes alternated between leisurely and difficult. The two toughest hikes were down to the Colorado River, which was 15 miles on good trail, and a 12-13 mile off-trail loop around on the Redwall to the back of Beaver Canyon, down Beaver to Beaver Cascades, and back up Havasu Creek to camp. All but two people made it all of the way to the Colorado which was running chocolate brown. The Beaver loop was challenging and involved some "rope work" to descend a 30-40' chockstone blockage in its bed. Easier hikes were to the top of the Supai above the campground, a hike Ernie led into Carbonate Canyon, and a hike Susan led to a mystical grotto below Mooney Falls. On the easy days people were free to wander on their own and do whatever they liked. For at least one member of the group this meant frequent hikes to the village to vote by phone on issues being decided in Washington, DC. To another it meant sketching. To yet another, catching up on sleep. Then of course, there were the ubiquitous card games.

One member of our group had never backpacked before and had never been to the southwestern deserts. We all took delight in his enthusiasm, even though we teased him relentlessly. Two of our group who live across the country from each other and were school chums found great joy in each others company and giggled most of the week. Sibling rivalry also added variety to the group dynamics.

A few days into the trip, on the way back from Mooney we encountered a man who had gone body surfing over a travertine dam near Beaver Cascade. His progress up the chains at Mooney was painful to watch. We loaned him a hiking stick so he could get to his campsite. A day or two later we saw him again, still limping a little but doing well enough to hike to the top of the Redwall for the views and later to carry his pack out to Hualapai Hilltop.

The campground was over run with village dogs but they were fairly well behaved. In the evening, a few mice were emboldened by darkness to come out of the dense underbrush and wander around our camp. On the way to the bathroom one evening, we were startled to see two yellow orbs intently watching us from a tree. Once under the tree, we shone our flashlights where the eyes had been and determined that it was a ringtail cat. The commissary, which we frequently left cardboard-boxed, alone on a picnic table, took no animal hits the whole week. The morning we took the Beaver loop hike, we flushed a magnificent bighorn ram ahead of us from Havasu Falls to the break in the Redwall near the cemetery.

The hike out on the last day was steep, 2000' elevation gain, and brutal as always. We buddied up and shipped half of the packs out on the horses, along with the remaining commissary gear. Unfortunately, one of our group had back trouble on the last day. His hike out was uncomfortable to say the least. However, everyone was at the top in 3-5 hours and headed down the road for a less crowded lunch spot in the high pines. After, chowing down on Gauley Bean Salad, we said our good-byes and went our separate ways. At least half of the group was headed for the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Participants:

Bob Feutz, Gina Goodman, Susan Groth, Ernie Hildner, Sandy Hildner, Ken Hipp, Bob Marley, Brian Plunkett, Rob Shellworth, Jim Squire.

'96 Trips:

With the Yucatan trip only three months away and only one person committed to going with us, we've decided to cancel it now rather than make all the arrangements and have to cancel it later. We also slightly changed the canoe trip by shortening it and added a second canoe trip from Mineral Bottom to Spanish Bottom. We've included supplements for one of these trips and for both of the backpacks; along with short outlines for the rest. If you have any unanswered questions regarding our other 1996 plans, please give us a call or write us a letter. We are always happy to hear from each of you. We plan to be on the river for several weeks next summer. If you are interested in joining one of our rafting trips, and you haven't received our river letter, contact us now so you can get involved in the permit application process. For those of you who are on the Grand Canyon private raft permit waiting list, don't forget to send in your continuing interest card, only accepted from 12/15/95 - 1/31/96.

We will continue to communicate other unique travel opportunities by 'special mailings' to those who travel with us frequently and who have a mailing application on file (we've included a '96 application with this mailing so you can help bring our computer records up to date and insure your next mailing).

Best of luck in your 1996 adventures, whatever they are, and wherever they may be. We hope you can join one of our '96 trips and look forward to traveling with you soon.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Susan & Bob

Updated on Thursday, December 8, 2006 @ 4:30 MST © 1995-2006 by Robert R. Marley