The Colorado River in Grand Canyon. April, 1989. 18 days, 16 people, four rafts, numerous kayaks. We put in at Lee’s Ferry and 225 river-miles later, took out at Diamond Creek. There is only one way to go on this drift and that’s downstream. Luck was with us. We had green water the entire trip. . . and no one drowned.

Looking back, the 1989 trip will never be duplicated – some of the rapids, the monster Crystal in particular, don’t even exist anymore. The Colorado river is subject to the whim of every air conditioner from Las Vegas to San Diego and with decades of low snow pack, the huge spring run-off is mostly a memory. For an exquisite experience into the river’s past, pick up The Emerald Mile, by former Outside Magazine editor Kevin Fedarko. Who knew that engineers screwed marine-grade plywood to the top of Glen Canyon Dam to hold back the biggest run-off surge ever seen? Imagining what could have happened if that particular workaround didn’t work is science fiction. A wondrous read.

Drifting through the Grand Canyon day after day is to submerge yourself in the far past. The rocks are among the oldest to be seen, not dissimilar to Namibia’s Fish River Canyon. The side hiking is superb and the scenery breathtaking. Rapids are legendary even now. At Crystal we scouted for what seemed like forever,  seeing there was only one way to go – left of the evil raft-eating hole.  My feet felt like they weighed 100 pounds each, walking back to the raft. Sheer naked terror reigned. Yet despite one boat flipping there, in really the worst place to flip, everyone made it. Other rapids were somewhat less tense – Zoraster and Sockdolenger, Granite and Hermit – and big fun.

The water is ridiculously cold – it comes out of the very bottom of Lake Powell and hasn’t seen the light of day since the canyon was dammed. Instant ice-cream headache if your feet stayed in it. Personal hygiene was limited to bathing in side creeks like the Little Colorado – not warm but warm enough. Sandy beaches and rock cliffs made great campsites. We dream of going back;  it is the ultimate privilege to return to fabulous places, much like our return to Africa.