So training has come to an end and all ot the new guides are well on their way to being very good guides. They all have the right attitudes and tools to do well. We did our last training trip in Cataract Canyon. A quick overnighter with an S rig and 3 row boats. The flow was around 17,000 CFS. Nothing to notable about it but there are some really funny pictures on the way that I will show when I recive them. We got back last Monday derigged and rerigged all at once to head out again on a four day Cat trip. It was myself and another guide named Zak running the trip. Our passangers where a bunch of older gentlemen the youngest being 62. We also had two of the guides in traning on their own boat. The first night was great we camped at Indian Creek, it rained and we spent a few hours at some indian granrys talking and enjoying the rain. The next morning it was off to the waterfall just up the canyon. At camp that night I had to wake up every couple of hours and make sure that the water which was rising at a hurried pace didn't flood our kitchen. The next day Rapid day!!! My self going first because Zak had only rowed the canyon once in his life and the other two had never. In the second rapid in a small roller the rookies spun their boat and one fell out and we hadn't ever started with the big stuff. One we got to "Hell to Pay" a rapid that John Wesly Powell lost a boat in I told the new guides to take a conservative line while I got my passangers wet in a huge wave. Well, they inadvertantly followed me throught the meat of it and greased the line. "Ben Hur" and "The Button Hole" where no problem. Then came the big drops. One is a breeze. At two we stopped and scouted and I explained the line with grave detail making sure they new if they messed up they would be in to the meat of "Big Drop Three" where they didn't want to be! I had them watch me go through just to make sure. I made it to the right just above Three with no problems then it was the new guides turn. The had a beautiful run through Two but got spun in some rollers between the two drops. They where 40 feet above a hole called "Satans Gut" so they both got on the oars with one pushing and one pulling and some how they ferried all the way across the river and hit the biggest hole on the other side in Three. Kieth was on the oars when they dropped into the hole and not when they came out. THEY DIDN'T FLIP THANK GOD!!! Zak was next and he wasn't able to get over to scout Three either so I got to run a line that I have never run before and had a HUGE hit! I haven't been so nervous on a trip in a long time. The water was not expected to get above 20,000 CFS when we ran it it was a 32,000. Thankfully a forgiving level. As well having three new guides to that section with the water being so high. bartidularlly if I messed up as well. We no longer have satallite phones to call out. We are on our own out there. The water kept rising. I got up and moved the kitchen twice because the water came up more the 2 feet. We hiked "Dark Canyon" the next day which involves swimming through pools and I had my camera around my neck and thought it was in my pelican case when I jumped in. Other then that the trip was amazing and to this day I am amazed that I get paid to take people into potentially life threatening situations for fun. I love my office. Alas it must come to an end.
