Grand Canyon: where to cross with a packraft?

[RVP]

I am trying to put together a loops that include a crossing of the Colorado in a lightweight packraft (Klymit).  No whitewater or anything sketchy.  It looks like there may be crossings along the Beamer Trail or Bass Trail.  Any other ideas?

 

[Greg Mihalik]

There are many places to cross between Tanner and the Little Colorado, IF you can get to the river.  Cold water is more of an issue than “fast” water.

FKT crossings (Hermit to Bill Hall  R2R2R) have been accomplished on minimal air matts.

More details will elicit better responses.

(Be aware that a packraft requires a permit which entails a whole lot of other stuff. I’d be discreet about definitive trip plans.)

[David Thomas]

Yeah, tell them you’ve got a raft and suddenly you need a high-bouyancy life jacket, a metal ammo can “groover” to poop in, hand-wash station, etc. And to be successful at the permit lottery.

But back to original Q about the hydraulics:  there’s a spiral-bound, water-proof paper book with mile-by-mile details of the whole river through GCNP. Rafters flip to the next page, strap it to the cooler in front of them and then know what to expect. I assume there’s an electronic version now. There are lots of sections of slow water and some very slow water (rafters may have to paddle downstream if the wind is against them or they’re trying to make miles). As Greg says, the bigger issue is getting to the river.

A possibly alternative to a pack raft would be an inflatable life jacket (and a dry bag for some of your gear). Or the inflatable pad you’re bringing anyway (lightest option) but also the sketchiest on the water).

[Greg Mihalik]

R2R2R South Bass North Bass FKT –

http://blog.ultimatedirection.com/r2r2r-alt/#more-1822

Spoiler –

 

 

 

They swam it in shorty wetsuits.

[Ralph Burgess]

I had read that report by Buzz Burrell, and was thinking about it when I was hiking in the North Bass area a couple of years ago.   I finished my hike, and was sitting in my car at the N Bass trailhead, where surprisingly I got phone reception, so I had been sitting there for about 20 mins reading email.    In a truly bizarre coincidence, Buzz and Peter Bakwin then turned up at the trailhead, at their turnaround point having run and swum from S Bass again.   Buzz had wanted to go back, because he didn’t complete it the first time.    I hadn’t met either of them before, I had no idea they were doing it, and if I hadn’t got phone reception I would have missed them by 15 minutes.

[David Thomas]

Back on the desktop now.  Here’s the book we used on our 2-week Grand Canyon private rafting trip:

Here’s an example of a page from it:

[RVP]

Thanks all – sounds like Hermit to Bill Hall and South Bass/North Bass are possibilities.

David – that book looks pretty nice, though can you tell from it where it’s feasible to reach the river?

I’m confused about the regulations, though.  I thought that you could legally packraft for a total of 8 miles with a regular backcountry permit.  If I stay within that regulation do I need to be discrete or bring the hand-wash station, ammo can, etc?  I can’t seem to find clear guidance on the NPS website.

[Greg Mihalik]

^^^

The Supervisor’s Compendium contains the rules and regulations specific to a national park.  Every park has one and it is updated every year.   For back country packraft use in the Grand Canyon it says –

[Be sure to continue reading on Page 15 about restricted areas.]

 

The full compendium for the Grand Canyon can be found here –

https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/upload/2017-grca-supt-compendium.pdf

Or –

 

For any park, google –

Any National Park Superintendent’s Compendium 2018

[David Thomas]

I withdraw my alarmist post about all the regulations that rafting trips have to follow.  I didn’t realize there was an exemption for short-distance pack-rafters.  That seems a reasonable accommodation.  I wonder if there are water passages they’ll deny a permit for because of the difficulty of the rapids.  I did a few modest rapids in a solo inflatable kayak designed for white water and reminded myself (1) that I’ll come out the other end (albeit perhaps not in the boat) and (2) KEEP AHOLD OF THE BOAT! – it’s a lot more buoyancy than your PFD.  But following the experienced rafters’ instructions to paddle over the top of each haystack worked and I stayed in the boat through the rapids.

I distinctly remember wearing a higher buoyancy PFD on our rafting trip – 22 pounds (Type I) instead of 15 pounds (Type III), but it looks like that requirement is reduced for pack rafters.  And you can use inflatable (Type V) PFDs.  Inflatables save a lot on volume and some weight.  If, however, you could manage the volume of a Type III (maybe use it as part of your sleeping pad arrangement?), there is greater safety in a PFD that is always ready to go.  Lots of times, in 105F heat, we’d be jumping in the river to cool off and having that full PFD made it very safe – unlike an inflatable in which you have to decide if this is the one time you’re going to deploy it.

[RVP]

Greg – great info. Thanks!

[RVP]

Has anyone crossed from Nintyfour mile creek on the north side to Hermit Rapids or Boucher Rapids on the south side?

Or: granite rapids in the south to Ninetyfour mike Creek on the north?

David, would you mind posting a picture of that area from your rafting book?

Thanks!

[Link .]

From the Roaming Dials packrafting blog GRAND CANYON .

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