The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is a white water
challenge of a lifetime – particularly when rowing a wood boat with 9’
oars. In April 2012, a team of
river runners from 3 countries and 5 western states attempted to run every
rapid in that 285 mile stretch in hand-made wood dories built as exact
replica’s of the boats that ran the Colorado 50 years ago.
I built one of those boats – the 1962 Portola – and Sawyer
built the oars.
Badger Rapid - Photo by Dave Mortenson |
“Badger”, at mile mark 8, is the first rapid of significance
with a 15’ drop and a rating of 5 on a 10 point scale. After scouting this rapid, I carefully
slid the Portola into the line at the top and crashed through the first drop. As I dug the left oar deep in the water
to make a turn – it stuck hard and I was almost yanked completely out of my
seat by the power of the river on the oar. I let go and it sprung through the oarlock and was beyond my
reach in a second. Grabbing one of
the spare oars, I slipped it into the oarlock and finished the rapid. Sawyers float, so we picked up my
un-tethered oar in the pool at the bottom of the rapid. Welcome to the Big Water of the
Colorado…. that rapid was a great “learning experience” and taught me some
valuable lessons I would apply the rest of the trip.
Soap Creek Rapid - Photo by Dave Mortenson |
I made a few adjustments to my boat and to my rowing style
but still lost oars to the power of the river in Soap Creek, Hermit, and Lava
(I got pretty good at re-loading a spare oar under pressure and pounding back
the tines of my brass oar-locks by the side of the river).
Lava Rapid - Photo by Dave Mortenson |
Twenty days and 230 river miles later we faced one of the
last difficult rapids of the trip called 231 Rapid – with a 10’ drop and a
rating of 5. I had a passenger in
the boat for this one – Elmira Freeman was cinched up tight in her yellow life
jacket on my front passenger bench.
This would be the whitewater ride of her life. We hit the first lateral wave in the drop and it hit back
with a huge wave of 47 degree water barreling over the right quarter section of
the bow. The wall of water caught
Elmira directly in the shoulders and face with a force that knocked her
completely off the bench and washed her right out of the boat into the fast
moving water of the Colorado. One
second she was sitting there upright holding onto the splash guard – the next
second she was in the turbulent water clinging to the side rail and kicking her
legs to stay afloat. It happened
in a blink.
Greg and Elmira - Photo by Dave Mortenson |
Jumping back to the oars, we had two new problems – we were
now missing the right oar and the boat was going sideways through the middle of
the rapid. Downriver I could see
two big boulders guarding the exit of 231… no way will the Portola fit through
this slot going sideways. If
either boulder is hit, the little wooden boat will be damaged badly at this
speed - perhaps permanently. By now, I had deployed spare oars so many times in
mid-rapid that it was a reflex… I grabbed the right spare and slid it into
place as the boat sped sideways toward the boulders below.
Upest Rapid - Photo by Dave Mortenson |
“Sideways” had turned into “diagonal” as the back end of the
Portola was starting to take the downriver lead. With two oars in place, I only had enough time for one
strong pull before the exit and I cranked hard on the upriver oar with all the
strength I had to turn the boat in the direction the river was taking her…
stern first. The boat responded
instantly and we straightened out and slid right between the boulders
“threading” the exit of 231 rapid “boat backwards” – a couple of feet to spare
between each boulder.
by Greg Hatten
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