John Wise

Just about finished packing for our journey down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Yes, we still have a few weeks to go, but anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with this trip. Looking at nearly everything that I will be responsible for and that will be needed for 18 days, I am surprised at how little it really is. Of course, there is no food, water, or toilet paper in the photo as those essential items are being supplied by O.A.R.S., our outfitter. Also missing from this photo are my camera equipment and some other things that will show up in a blog post soon.

Pictured in the inventory photo are the following: two pairs of quick-dry convertible pants, three quick-dry shirts, three pairs of quick-dry underwear, three pairs of wool socks, two pairs of silk sock liners, a pair of swim shorts, a nightshirt (the Hello Kitty shirt is Caroline’s). In the gold bag are one long-sleeved synthetic long-underwear top, one pair of synthetic long underwear bottoms, a fleece top, and a bottom. In the blue and gray dry sack are our waterproof tops and bottoms; in front of the drysack is my quick-dry towel. Next to the gold bag is our toiletry bag with Dr. Bonner’s soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, contact lenses, portable clothesline for drying clothes, unbreakable mirror, first aid kit, extra boot laces, etc. The bottom left is my neoprene wetsuit booties for trying to keep my feet warm in 47-degree water. To the right of those are Bathing Wipes; hopefully, these will be the next best thing to a shower. Then the river shoes, a sleeping mat in the gray and orange bag, my empty daypack, and a river hat sit on top of that. On the far left are my tripod, my trekking poles, assorted flavored drink mixes, and 2 Nalgene 1-liter bottles with carabiners to attach to the boat. Most of this gear will be packed into a dry sack prior to departing. Missing from the photo are my hiking boots.

We will be packing our sleeping bags into compression sacks that will, in turn, be packed into a dry sack along with our sleeping mat, a sheet, and a pillow. My camera equipment, CPAP, batteries, memory, and writing materials will all be packed into a Pelican case, but as I said, that photo will be posted soon.

On June 18, 2010, I posted a photo here of Caroline standing in the icy waters of the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry; back then, we had 124 days left until the start of our boating adventure through the Grand Canyon. Today, we are a shade over 30 days before a load of gear is packed into the car, and we take off for an overnight in Flagstaff before an early morning drive to Lee’s Ferry to board the waiting dories.

A day does not go by that I am not thinking of the Colorado. There is a large box sitting in our living room into which we have placed a long list of equipment and essentials that will be needed for the 18 days we’ll be in the Canyon and on the river. I have empty notebooks, pens, 128GB of memory for my camera, seven battery packs, plus three lenses and my tripod to make sure I am well equipped to capture my impressions of this monumental journey.

There has been little time from week to week to find blogging material for my site. My thoughts are forever floating through the dreams of what this trip holds in store for us. From maps of where the river cuts through the canyon to an in-depth historic geographical look at how the canyon was formed, I have been reading the best materials I can find about the route we will travel on. A book about day hikes from the river has given me insight into 100 of the potential dozen or more trails we will have the opportunity to hike while we are not on the river. Each day, we are supposed to be on the river for 3 to 5 hours with the boatmen who will be our guides. From the ranks of these famous guides, I have read “There’s this River…” an excellent thrill-a-minute ride along with some of the more amazing episodes that have happened on the river over the years. “Downcanyon” by naturalist Ann Zwinger gave me a perspective of the biodiversity that lives riverside in the canyon. The newest book in my collection is “The Grand,” a photo journey starting at Mile Zero, also known as Lee’s Ferry, to just 10 miles past our take-out point at Diamond Creek, Mile 226.

By early this coming week, we will begin the 30-day countdown. Butterflies, anxiety, nervousness, excitement, anticipation, and a palpitating heart grab my attention all too frequently as the river comes into view. Today, our embarkation point is 261 miles from where I sit at this very moment. Forty weeks ago, we wrote the deposit check that secured our positions on this river trip, and now, in 31 days, 19 hours, and 22 minutes, we’ll be gone. I will be counting down each and every one of the 45,800 minutes remaining.