When I was 15 I took a trip down the Grand Canyon in a raft with my Ma, my sister, and her boyfriend. I returned to my senior year of high school with a straw hat on my head and big stupid grin. Those were really the best 2 weeks of my life. 10 years later I had the opportunity to do it again – this time as a “work your way,” which basically means, help pack the boats, cook some meals, clean up, and what not. Most people drop thousands of dollars and wait on 10 year waiting lists to do this trip, I was really fortunate to have a friend who runs these trips for a living. So following Renn Fayr, I got a plane to Phoenix, and then a bus to Flagstaff, Arizona.

Every commercial trip starts at the warehouse. The day before you leave for your trip, you’ll spend a solid day there packing coolers full of frozen meat and fresh fruit and vegetables among other things. You’re packing food and drink for 20+ people for two weeks onto 6-7 rubber rafts in a desert climate.

The Colorado River will take us 225 miles from Lee’s Ferry to Diamond Creek and over this territory there are no roads reaching the river, little signs of human life, and only one place to hike out. If you get sick or injured and you cannot hike, you are evacuated by helicopter – a trip that will cost you a couple grand or more. this happened to a German woman on my first trip, she got severely dehydrated and couldn’t hold down food or water.

Kyle