Grand Canyon culebra fun

A Grand Canyon -Culebra Adventure

by Casey Taylor

Some say ignorance is bliss. I have to say, I agree. Especially when it comes paddling an 11 foot Culebra down the Grand Canyon, and swimming some big rapids. Going into the Grand Canyon, I knew no more than being a passenger on a big row boat down the town part of the Animas… I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to raft the Colorado River last August for 16 days, with 15 incredibly knowledgeable and confident people. I jumped at the opportunity to go down that big river, on a little boat.

What an amazing and humbling experience. The planning, preparing, and then daily work and group effort involved was more than I could have ever imagined. I loved every second of it. Even the really sweaty parts, and really scary parts.

Have a look at this video of a very successfull clean run at House Rock Rapid - Ian Burnett and Casey Taylor

Sockdolager was my first experience with swimming a rapid…. And it wasn’t even me, but it sure was an eye opener! There’s 3 of us in our little 11 foot Culebra (we later learned the hard way that less is more in that boat), one on each side, one middle back. We’re darting around various holes mid rapid (that thing is SO agile), and all the sudden my R-2 partner Donica, gets sucked over the left side of the boat. I’m frantic for what seems like an eternity looking for her (surely NOT and eternity), I see her head pop up again on the left side of the boat, I’m hollering at her to turn around and I haul her in. She’s back in the boat like nothing happened, her paddle back in the water and we are through the rapid.

Granite. “Whatever you do. Do not go right at the bottom of this rapid. You will go right into A-hole Eddy. I repeat. You DO NOT want to get stuck in A-hole Eddy” – Jack Kloepfer. Yup. He was right, that thing is no good. So again with 3 in the Culebra we dive into Granite, paddling as hard as we can but it just feels like pure chaos. Next thing I know were flipped and swimming. Underwater, catch a breath, underwater again. Up again for a second, things are calmer, but I can’t keep my face above the surface. I later learned this is the eddy line, just pulling me down and down, until I pop up again and I’m circling around the giant A-hole eddy. I try grabbing the wall as I circle around, no luck. Back to the eddy line and the eerie feeling of getting tugged down from the surface. I pop up again and I’m next to an oar, so I grab that, I see a paddle, grab that too. I can see people on the shore with ropes to get me, but I’m just too far away I think. Then I see my big yellow 18 foot boat full of angels from heaven coming for me. It’s a battle in this eddy, they finally get close enough to throw me a rope. Indescribable sense of relief as soon as my hands are on that rope. They haul me in, and then we have the task of getting the flipped Culebra. Which is also stuck in A-hole Eddy. We get to the Culebra, attach it, and I’ve never seen 3 people work that hard paddling. One on one oar, two on the other. Battling it out with A-hole Eddy. We make it out, my two fellow swimmers made it down stream avoiding the eddy. We all hug it out, it’s a unifying group event.

I don’t know if my heart has beat as hard out of anxiety as it did going into lava. After scouting long enough that I had plenty of time to get good and nervous, we are set up perfectly, two in the Culebra, we’ve ditched the cooler and bag of happy hour drinks, were as light as we can be. Donica sets us up and we’re following the bubble line. Were in, paddling hard, and it feels like madness, we get pulled to the right and I’m sucked off the boat. Donica proceeds to one man the 11 foot Culebra through 75% of Lava, AND THEN pull me back in the boat before even reaching the end of the rapid… Outrageous. Little did I know, she’d been waiting to return the rescue favor since Sockdolager. And honestly that swim wasn’t as scary as Granite.

Casey Takes another swim- This time at Lava Falls

Being on that Culebra really made my experience in the Grand Canyon an intimate one. You are rarely lounging, you feel every ripple, you fight every eddy line, you totally freak at every rapid, you’re pretty constantly engaged. I have to say one of my favorite moments on that ridiculously fun little boat was missing our targeted path, and going directly into the big hole at mile 150, Upset Rapid. We were at a dead stop in that thing, and then just dug in and shot out. It was awesome.

Rigging, packing, tie downs, dry bags, set up, break down, Culebra love, paco pads (or lack of paco pads), tarps, heat, rain, river dirt, slip n slides, paco pads turned water lounges, groovers, happy hour, soda stream, malt beverages in the morning, squeal piggy squeal, solar power, M & M Peyote oatmeal, water filtering, hand soap, food prep, crumb collection, Anasazi can crushing, garbage sorting, GoPro, tattoos, face paint, big scary holes, kid boat, Donald Trump, Frisbee, waterfalls, waterslides, river booty, Everything is Awesome, rainbows, butterflys & beer. And an incredible group of amazing people, it was pure joy.

Casey on the slip and slide at Bass Camp

Casey with Sarah and Michael and Chris on Donald Trump nite

It was one year ago today that we launched from Lee’s Ferry, and still get goosebumps just thinking about the journey.

This is the new addition to the family. Noel is almost 1 year old. So this story has been around for more than a year.

Caseys story is the other willer of the paco pad. Face book contest. We are sending her a paco grande so Noel will have something to sleep on in college.

Have a look at Tony Glassmans video of running Gore Creek through Vail Colorado in a cutthroat. He is the other winner.

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