"You're safer riding a boat . . . . through the Grand Canyon . . . than you are driving your car to work every day for a year. That is what the statistics seem to mean. But despite the odds, despite the proven efficacy of a sound life jacket, there is till something about a big rapid that makes a man nervous. Every time."

EDWARD ABBEY

Down the Grand Canyon with Grand Canyon Dories in 1986

Lee's Ferry to Lake Mead

According to the GCD boatmen, it was a "Golden Trip" in that not one of our boats flipped during the entire eleven day trip. Allegedly the river was running 25,000 cfs that September. We put in at noon on the 5th, and came out on Scorpion Island on the evening of the 15th. Weather was generally good with mild days and rain only one evening.

Our experienced crew was led by "The Factor", Kenton Grua (141 previous trips down the river) who skippered the legendary dory "Emerald Mile". Peter Dale (25 trips), skippered the equally legendary "Black Mesa", the "Dirt Bag" Peter Gross (15 trips) skippered "Sespe", Jeff Sloss (9 trips) skippered "Hidden Passage", and Jack Sears skippered the supply raft. Rod "the God" Nash (40 trips) skippered his own boat, "Canyon Dancer." Melissa Berry was the cook and Mary Jones was the swamper or "Kitch Bitch." Our goal was to do the trip in 11 days instead of the usual 15-19, and to do as much extemporaneous hiking as possible to see the geology in the canyon.

An ecletic group of engineers, grad students in sundry fields, UCSB profs, geology people, and friends comprised our group that included Kimla Macdonald, Laura Cohen, David Chapman, Tanya Atwater with Yosha and Eddie, Jeremy Siegel, Kaj Hornle, Bill Chadwick, Teresa Atwill, Nancy McCagny, Tray Ahrenz, Matt Clayman, Rick Iverson, Eric and Debbie James, Eric Lindstadt, Dana and Leonard Shaheen, and Art Sylvester. I have assembled this web page primarily for all of them and the Grand Canyon Dories' boatmen and staff.

The images in this file do not fully document the trip; they are intended to give an idea of some of its highlights as well as as of the flavor of a Grand Canyon River trip in the 1980s before digital cameras, the web, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

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