Grand Canyon – Day 16

Day 16 – February 18

Tuckup Camp (165.1) to Above Anvil Camp (178)

River Miles: 12.9

Coffee call came at 6:45. I slept restlessly from 4:30 on. I had to pee but didn’t want to brave the cold so chose to hold it which meant restless sleep. Oh well.

Breakfast was cold cereal then everyone set to work breaking camp. We had clean-up duty so in addition to packing our tent and clothes we also washed the dishes and put away the kitchen. We were on the river by 9:15.

Daddy started in the kayak within the first mile leaving Andrew and I in the raft. I rowed first and took us through a class 2 rapid. We got knocked sideways for a bit but overall I was satisfied. Andrew took a turn rowing – he had gotten splashed when the raft went sideways and was cold.

Andrew rowed through a class 3 rapid and did well. He held the boat straight and kept his line and kept a cool head! Daddy had a lot of fun going through the rapids in the duckie. I took a turn in the duckie after that rapid. It was fun. I stayed between the first and second boat and got some solitude because the boats were quite spaced out today.

We made it to camp a little before noon. Everyone was surprised at how quickly those miles went. We set up camp and then had lunch – salami and cheese sandwiches. The camp was in shadow and thusly cold. Shawn crawled into his sleeping bag and took a nap. Daddy, Mike, Blake, Matt, Bill, Gerry, and Cory all set off for a hike downriver. They cut across the foothills which didn’t seem expansive but watching them hike and seeing how little they were in comparison said otherwise.

I stayed at camp with Andrew and Caroline. We chatted a bit and put away lunch. I checked the satellite phone for messages – there were none. I thought of you all and prayed for you and church and a day of rest. I imagine you all are pretty beat after your first week back at school.

Daddy and Bill returned shortly after Gerry. It was rough going with lots of prickly plants to reach out and scratch them. Daddy had three big scratches on his right arm.

The sunshine hit camp about 3:30 – glorious warmth. We reveled in it. We have a lot of apples left so Daddy wanted to make an apple crisp in the Dutch oven. I peeled the apples and while Daddy chopped them I made a crust topping from leftover oats, sugar, butter and cinnamon. Daddy cooked it in the fire.

Dinner was cheese quesadillas with black beans and rice. As dinner prep was underway I wandered down to the river to watch it for a bit.

There seemed to be a surge at 30 second intervals. I’m not sure what to think about that.

After dinner we pulled the apple crisp off the fire – it was warm and tasty. We all sat around the fire talking about Lava Falls Rapid, a class 9, our toughest yet and we run it tomorrow morning. We’re two miles from it. There is anticipation about tomorrow because of that rapid.

Before long the stars were out and I was thinking about bed. Shawn mentioned that when he went to take a nap he found a tick on his sleeping bag. This camp has long grasses and is prime territory for ticks. Up I went to bed. I took off my outer pants and socks and then went to take off my long underwear and I had a bump on my leg – a tick! It was latched on too but it’s head wasn’t sunk in… yet! Blerg! I pulled on my boots and high tailed it back to the campfire so Daddy could pull it off BUT he wasn’t there!

I sat down to explain my discombobulated state but when I pulled off my boot – NO TICK – what?! Looking inside my boot I could see the tick climbing up the inside wall. Shawn worked to get the tick out and I squeezed the place where the tick was attached to bleed it a bit.

Daddy came back to the tent with me and we checked each other for ticks. We were clean but I still feel itchy. I think I’ll be hyper vigilant tomorrow about looking for ticks.

It’s a big day tomorrow with Lava Falls. Time to get some sleep. We miss you all. Lots of love.

XOXO – Mom