“A left hand run at Bedrock is not recommended”
– Tom Martin, A Guide to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
What an eventful day. Not even sure how to describe it, so I will do my best to make sense.
Bedrock Rapid was BAD. Everything about it was BAD. Somehow Nick was slightly off on his entry. Instead of going right of Bedrock, we hit the rock with the rear port side of the boat.
I was thrown out of the boat head first. I don’t think I hit my head on the rock. I was pulled under immediately. The boat went over me. I could feel it and see it. I was wearing a face mask because it was another very cold day and I was unable to get a good breath. I had enough cognizance to pull the mask down to get a breath before being pulled back under.
Twice I felt myself go under, and I didn’t get a good breath either time. I felt myself go dark. I actually had a fleeting thought about death.
Eventually I popped out into calm water.
I vaguely remember my name being yelled, Cody rushed over to me in the IK and he pulled me to a rock near shore. Nick eventually made it to me in the boat. The river gods must have been watching over us, because directly downstream was a warm sunny beach to recover and dry off.
Supposedly I swam three pretty bad holes. I was told it only took ~30 seconds, and the IK had me within a minute, but the entire situation seemed like a lifetime. How Nick didn’t flip the boat in the eddy he got stuck in is beyond me. Every video on YouTube of a left run at Bedrock shows rafts flipping.
I felt really beat up. The experience was violent.
The Deer Creek Patio
Well worth the sketchy walk to see the Patio.
300 ft Deer Creek Falls.
Nick and AK’s tent site.
The groover.
River Miles: 12.3 miles
Camp: Football Field [mile 137.7]
Fossil [class 5]
Hundred and Twenty-Seven Mile [class 3]
Hundred and Twenty-Eight Mile [class 3]
Specter [class 6]
Bedrock [class 7]
Deubendorff [class 7]
Tapeats [class 5]
Hundred and Thirty-Five Mile [class 3]
