Tuesday 26th July.

Tuesday 26^th July.  Day 10.  Mile 138 – 152.  Bloody Ledges Camp

8 Rapids today:

Doris (6), 139 Mile Rapid (4), Fishtail (6), 141 Mile Rapid (2), Kanab (3), 145.5 Mile Rapid (3), Matkatamiba (2), Upset (8)

I went in a raft with 5 Americans today – Rosie, Bob, Forrest, Jo and Peter - a real nice bunch.  Jen was our guide and she made a few blunders and we hit a rock once but we all stayed in the boat.  At the very start of Upset Rapid, Glen’s raft hit a very high hard wave and Ronnie got knocked out from the back of the raft.  Although Glen managed to grab her, the force of the current tore her from his grip and she was taken under the full length of the raft.  Julia, paddling in the front, did not know Ronnie had ‘gone swimming’ and in her paddle stroke, hit Ronnie in the face with her paddle as she emerged from under the raft.  Ronnie went through the whole of Upset Rapid in the water and was picked up in the eddy at the bottom, by which time she was in shock but soon managed to take her place again at the paddle – plucky lady!! (though she did have a very nasty fat lip, though she said that was from a fall in camp that morning!)

After lunch we pulled into Havasu Creek and trekked to a beautiful spot where clear turquoise water cascaded down waterfalls into pools.  The trek was not too difficult but a little scary at points with quite a drop down into the (deep) turquoise water.  A few of us stayed by some wonderful pools, while others climbed a little higher to more spectacular waterfalls. 

 While we were there, Arline got into difficulty while crossing the fast flowing water and I and some others formed a human chain to assist her.  Unfortunately I had taken my shoes off and did not have time to put them back on again before going to help her – and the stones on the bottom of the pool skinned the bottom of several of my toes.  Once in camp, Tom applied antiseptic cream, plasters and duct tape to all my toes – a fairly painful experience!.  He suspected I had foot rot, but the cream did not burn so we assumed I had not succumbed to the infection at that point. (Tom also assumed I had been walking on “Bloody Ledges” without shoes and had cut myself on the rocks, but we convinced him that was not the case).

There was no sand at Bloody Ledges campsite (actually it is called Lower Ledges but the Guides call it Bloody Ledges because people often walk around camp without shoes and sustain painful injuries) and we were told that if we wanted to erect tents we would have to weight them down with stones and boulders to prevent them being blown away by the strong wind.  We should not leave anything lying around which could be picked up by the wind!  The warning was justified as not long after erecting our tents very strong gusts came along and we only just kept our tents in place!!  The rock ledges were extremely hot and it felt like sleeping on a hot plate on the stove!  The thunder threatened again, but no rain.

Tomorrow is the biggest and most famous rapid of them all – Lava Falls, grade 10+.  We expect to run it at about 4-4.30pm when the water height is most favourable.