Upstream Into Evening
Sunset light dances with the clouds as we look upstream into evening along the brightly reflecting, sinuous curves of the Paria River, Paria Wilderness, Arizona. From this spot, the traveler is 8 miles upstream from the confluence of the Paria and the Colorado Rivers, at Lees Ferry.
Arriving at this particular bend in the river, and staying here for when the evening light burst forth, was the result of two related turns of event. First, our group of 6 had been leap-frogging all day long with another group of 9 who had come to the canyon from San Francisco for a repeat journey. The kids in their group were all older and stronger than my youngest, so the group leader graciously offered us our choice of campsite, since there aren't many with access to spring water, and it's easiest to coordinate cooperatively with those with whom one is sharing the experience. So I asked my youngest whether he would rather walk an 8 mile day today and another 8 mile day out and back to the car after that, or whether he'd prefer to cut it short to 6 miles today, if he was tired, and have 10 miles to make it out to the car on the morrow. He thought for awhile, and then opted for the first scenario, as he was feeling pretty good, and he didn't fancy walking 10 miles in the shadeless inferno of the wide latter reaches of the drainage. So, we cranked out a couple more miles as the light crept toward later afternoon, and found ourselves at the established campsite right about at dinner time.
Second, upon cursory inspection, it was clear that the established campsite was unusable if one desired any sort of relaxation or comfort. Numerous, great Harvester Ant mounds were scattered about, and situated unfortunately proximal to the best cooking and sleeping areas. After a brief discussion, we left the ants to their ministrations, and continued downstream to a nearby sandbar. We rolled out sleeping bags on a tarp, the boys caught singing toads in the shallow water of the river while hollering once in awhile about quicksand, and I made spaghetti bolognese using home-dried tomato sauce leather and freeze-dried ground beef. Then, the clouds began, and I let my dinner get cold.
Upstream Into Evening
Sunset light dances with the clouds as we look upstream into evening along the brightly reflecting, sinuous curves of the Paria River, Paria Wilderness, Arizona. From this spot, the traveler is 8 miles upstream from the confluence of the Paria and the Colorado Rivers, at Lees Ferry.
Arriving at this particular bend in the river, and staying here for when the evening light burst forth, was the result of two related turns of event. First, our group of 6 had been leap-frogging all day long with another group of 9 who had come to the canyon from San Francisco for a repeat journey. The kids in their group were all older and stronger than my youngest, so the group leader graciously offered us our choice of campsite, since there aren't many with access to spring water, and it's easiest to coordinate cooperatively with those with whom one is sharing the experience. So I asked my youngest whether he would rather walk an 8 mile day today and another 8 mile day out and back to the car after that, or whether he'd prefer to cut it short to 6 miles today, if he was tired, and have 10 miles to make it out to the car on the morrow. He thought for awhile, and then opted for the first scenario, as he was feeling pretty good, and he didn't fancy walking 10 miles in the shadeless inferno of the wide latter reaches of the drainage. So, we cranked out a couple more miles as the light crept toward later afternoon, and found ourselves at the established campsite right about at dinner time.
Second, upon cursory inspection, it was clear that the established campsite was unusable if one desired any sort of relaxation or comfort. Numerous, great Harvester Ant mounds were scattered about, and situated unfortunately proximal to the best cooking and sleeping areas. After a brief discussion, we left the ants to their ministrations, and continued downstream to a nearby sandbar. We rolled out sleeping bags on a tarp, the boys caught singing toads in the shallow water of the river while hollering once in awhile about quicksand, and I made spaghetti bolognese using home-dried tomato sauce leather and freeze-dried ground beef. Then, the clouds began, and I let my dinner get cold.