Itinerary Tips
How Many River Miles To Row Per Day
Summer trips now have a maximum of 16 days to get to Diamond Creek at mile 226. With takeout times usually set for morning, this leaves a maximum of 15 days of river travel. To reach Diamond Creek in 15 river days means an average of 15 miles per day. If you take a couple of layovers, leaving you with 13 river days, you must average almost 18 miles per day. This may sound like a lot of miles, but it is not so hard. There are a few tricks that will help you set yourself up for fun. First of all, don’t get the idea that you’re going to go exactly the calculated average number of miles each day. The river has fast and slow sections, and parts that are full of side canyon attractions, while some sections are better for just floating along. And second, remain flexible. You could encounter stout headwinds, or flip a boat, and not make it as far as you had hoped. And you could have a good run through one of the inner gorges and make 35 miles in a day without even trying. Corny as it may sound, you just have to go with the flow.
Scouting Rapids
Extended scouting can completely stall out a group’s progress down the river. Set the precedent early for choosing when to scout, scouting efficiently, and running the rapids as one group. Don’t split up, especially not for running the biggest rapids. What if two boats go to run Lava together and they both flip? If no one else is down there, you have a crisis on your hands. Imagine six people swimming downstream with two flipped rafts, while the rest are scouting, nowhere near their boats and unable to help. Run rapids together, and you’ll be better prepared to react when something goes wrong. Anyone who has worked commercially on the river knows the value of sticking together.
Wind
Winds on the canyon floor start gently in the morning, increase through the day and die down at night. During the springtime, and when a front is blowing in, the winds can howl. Canyon winds usually blow upstream, making it difficult to progress downstream. Getting on the river in the morning will help you move downstream. The later in the afternoon you are on the water, the more head wind you can expect. The trick to avoiding wind is to get going early. If you're quick, you could be at camp by lunch!
Lunch
Stopping for lunch can cut into making miles. Consider having your group prepare lunch in the morning at breakfast - bring reusable lunch containers for everyone. This way people can have their lunch when they feel like it and the group can save time
The Fabled Early Start
This is easier said than done. Group culture gets established in the first few days. Do people get up, pack up, and go? Or do they lounge around in their tents and wait for the sun? Your job as the leader is to let the group know what is expected of them. A good time to bring things up is over dinner, after everyone is served and seated. Let them know if the next morning is a mandatory rise and shine, or an easy-going start. Most people are willing to help the boatmen if they hear that there is 30 miles of river to cover the next day. You don’t have to set off at dawn every day, but for a regular river day here’s an idea: ► Find the early riser on your trip that is willing to make the first pot of coffee at first light. ► The first pot of coffee is brewed and the wakeup signal is sent out. Everyone is expected to get up at that time and amble into the kitchen for a cup of their pleasure. ► Everyone, except the kitchen crew, heads back to their camp and packs up. ► The kitchen crew yells “breakfast is served” - everyone brings their dry bags to the boats, then sits to eat. ► The whole gang pitches in to clean up and pack up after breakfast, giving the cook crew a chance to pack their personal belongings. ► The dishes are finished, stoves and firepan are broken down, and the kitchen boxes are packed. ► Everyone helps carry the tables and boxes to the boats. ► The boatmen rig and everyone else helps by grabbing what the boatmen need next. If you get this pattern established early, it will happen daily without effort. Folks who are not naturally early risers may find this a little difficult. They will especially appreciate it when you announce one evening that everybody can sleep in the next day. A layover day, short river day, or a morning hike are good opportunities for folks to take it easy. Give them that chance occasionally and they’ll be more willing to rise and shine when needed for a long river day. If your group just won’t get going in the morning, you will probably find yourself struggling late in the day to get to camp, rowing against a headwind, tired and still not there. Late starts can double the amount of time and energy that you spend just getting downstream. We offer these tips in hopes that you won’t lose those special opportunities to explore side canyons or just relax and watch the light move in the canyon.
Last Camp and Takeout Day
The Hualapai Tribe does not permit anyone to have boats on the ramp between 7:00 and 10:00 AM. You are expected to be ready to load at the time specified for the PRO shuttle, so plan your pre-Diamond camp to allow you time to de-rig outside the hours of the Hualapai ban. Summer and monsoon season shuttle pickups usually occur at 6:30am, which leaves only 30 minutes to load. Landing at 5:30 will give you an hour to de-rig. This sounds very early but Arizona does not use daylight savings time and the ball of fire in the sky comes up before 5:30 AM in summer giving plenty of early light. There are camps at miles 225.5, 224.5, 223.5, 222, and 221, so camp as close as you can to Diamond to ease the morning rush. Camping at Diamond is doable, but not desirable and the tribe will charge you to camp there. If your trip is during the shoulder seasons or winter, the optimal takeout time is 11:00 am. You can arrive at the ramp at 10:00 am and have a leisurely hour to de-rig. The most popular last camp is the first of the three sites at 220 Mile. It takes 90 to 120 minutes to float from 220 to Diamond, depending on flow.
Sample Itineraries
These are three possible itineraries for varying lengths of Grand Canyon trips from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek. The mileages and names are represented on current river maps. Some itineraries have spare days in case of inclement weather. These itineraries are included only as a guide. There are no assigned camps in Grand Canyon and your best bet is to be flexible – there are no bad camps! There are only 12,056,833 more possibilities, so create your own itinerary if you like.