Grand Canyon of the Colorado!

Below- Martina and I ready to hike down Bright Angel Trail ending close to Phantom Ranch

 The Canyon at night

 Cooling down in the river on one of the day hikes in a side canyon

Looking down at the river & rafts on one of the day hikes

A cool natural bridge on one of the hikes- this day we walked for about 10hours! It was really hot and it was hard to drink enough water!

Above- Out for a hike ;) 

 Above- Kent and Brynn coming down 'Lava' one of the better rapids in the canyon:)

Enjoying the scenery- thanks to Chad for lending Martina and I the boats!

Havasu Creek is one of the most beautiful side creeks in the canyon. The water is a stunning turquoise!

 So many beautiful canyon walls

Canyon entertainment! 

 Stoked to spend 10days with two of my best friends- Shilo & Martina

 Ready to head out of camp

Marissa pracicing some yoga in the depths of Havasu Creek- this creek is beautiful and a great spot for swimming!

 Martina nearly at the top of one of our climbs- we did a bunch of climbing on the trip including visiting some really cool caves that had water running though them

Chilling 

 Above- Looking up at Lava Rapid

 Shilo taking in the sights

Some of the crew

A few weeks ago my good friend Shilo called me to ask if I wanted to come on a trip down the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. I was a little unsure what to expect, joining a group of 16 (12 of which I have never met), but I can now safely say I am very glad that I took up the opportunity and went on the trip. 

On the 12th of May Martina Wegman and I hiked in to meet the rest of the group down Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim. It took us around 3-4hours to hike in with our gear (fortunately our kayaks were already with the group) we met the group that were already on their 6th day and completed one of the longest days on the river for the trip covering 27miles. 

The group was a awesome mix of people from Lake Tahoe, Steamboat and New Zealand, along with Martina from Holland. We were welcomed right from the start and had a great time getting to know everybody. 

The Canyon was stunning and the hikes down the side canyons were both challenging at times but also very nice. We were fortunate to go at a warm time of the year although the water was still really cold. It warmed up as we went down the river as it increases in temperature the further down the Canyon you go. We slept under the stars every night and for me this was one of my favourite times as the moon reflected so beautifully off the canyon walls and then the stars were really bright. We ate incredibly well with different groups cooking each night. Our trip had 4 rafts so with this support we were able to carry a large amount of food and the coolers did a great job at keeping the food cold. 

The whitewater down the Grand Canyon is mainly class 2/3 for a kayaker, after trying to row one of the rafts I understood that with their weight and the swirly currents it was a bit more challenging! The camping, the people, remoteness and beauty of the canyon are what makes the Grand Canyon river trip a great experience. Stoked to have been a part of such a good crew with such a successful trip.