Flows in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon are dictated by Glen Canyon Dam, and influenced by storm runoff in tributaries. Glen Canyon dam is located almost 16 miles upstream from Lee’s Ferry. Dam management considers a variety of influences—from peak power needs in Los Angeles to the reproductive cycle of the Humpback Chub—in planning the flow pattern. Before launching consult the web and the information board at Lee’s Ferry to see what the flows have been and what the managers are predicting. Unfortunately there is no definitive info on predicted flows, so you will need to be on your toes and watching the river for your entire trip.
The Usual Pattern
Barring an experimental flow or monsoon rains, most trips experience “load following” releases, meaning the dam ramps up power production (thus water releases) on weekdays in the daytime, and ramps down at night and on weekends. The lowest water of the week is on Sundays. “Sunday water” is the main reason to check a calendar during a Grand Canyon trip. The pulses of water from daytime releases take time to travel downstream, and move at 3-5 miles per hour. This figure is approximate because the timing of the pulses depends on the size of the release and on how much water is already in the riverbed. If there is a higher base flow, a pulse will fill a pool and move through it faster. If the river has been running very low, then an additional release takes longer to fill the pools and move downstream. A word of encouragement: You will get the hang of it. When you land in camp, or stop for lunch, put a stick in the sand near the water line and see what it’s doing. As you move on downstream, keep track in your head of when the water last began to rise and fall, and then just add an hour or two to anticipate what is next. Sunday releases often cause no perceptible increase in flows, and the water may gradually fall for up to 24 hours as all the pools drain out. At Lee's Ferry the water will fall in the evening, and when you waken in the morning the boats will be beached UNLESS someone takes the time to push them out at night while the water is falling. The water at Lee’s rises mid-morning, so if you are not planning on an early start, you can just LET them get beached expecting that the water will be up again by the time you are ready to leave (unless the next day’s water to hit will be low “Sunday water”). At your next camp, the water will fall a little later, say in the wee hours, and rise later, say around lunchtime.
Tide Chart
River Mile | Place | Hours Delay@ 4mph <=15K | High Water Begins | Low Water Begins |
---|---|---|---|---|
-15 | Glen Canyon Dam | 0 | 7:00 AM | 7:00 PM |
0 | Lees Ferry | 3.75 | 10:45 AM | 10:45 PM |
8 | Badger Camp | 5.75 | 12:45 PM | 12:45 AM |
12 | Brown's Inscription | 6.75 | 1:45 PM | 1:45 AM |
16.5 | Hot Na Na | 7.88 | 2:45 PM | 2:45 AM |
20.5 | North Canyon | 8.88 | 3:52 PM | 3:52 AM |
24.5 | 24.5 Camp | 9.88 | 4:52 PM | 4:52 AM |
29 | Shinumo Wash/Silver Gto | 11 | 6:00 PM | 6:00 AM |
35 | Nautiloid Camp | 12.5 | 7:30 PM | 7:30 AM |
44 | Pres Harding | 14.75 | 9:45 PM | 9:45 AM |
52 | Little Nanko | 16.75 | 11:45 PM | 11:45 AM |
53 | Nankoweap Camps | 17 | 12:00 AM | 12:00 PM |
61.5 | Little Colorado | 19.13 | 2:07 AM | 2:07 PM |
65.5 | Lava Canyon | 20.13 | 3:07 AM | 3:07 PM |
71 | Cardenas Camp | 21.5 | 4:30 AM | 4:30 PM |
76.6 | Hance Camp | 22.9 | 5:54 AM | 5:54 PM |
81 | Grapevine Camp | 24 | 7:00 AM | 7:00 PM |
87.5 | Phantom Ranch | 25.63 | 8:37 AM | 8:37 PM |
90.2 | Horn Creek | 26.3 | 9:18 AM | 9:18 PM |
94.3 | Granite Camp | 27.33 | 10:19 AM | 10:19 PM |
98 | Upper Crystal Camp | 28.25 | 11:15 AM | 11:15 PM |
103.8 | New Shady Grove | 29.7 | 12:42 PM | 12:42 AM |
108.3 | Lower Bass Camp | 30.83 | 1:49 PM | 1:49 AM |
116.5 | Elves Chasm | 32.88 | 3:52 PM | 3:52 AM |
120 | Blacktail Camps | 33.75 | 4:45 PM | 4:45 AM |
126.4 | Randy's Rock | 35.35 | 6:21 PM | 6:21 AM |
131.7 | Dubendorf Rapid | 36.68 | 7:40 PM | 7:40 AM |
131.8 | Stone Creek | 36.7 | 7:42 PM | 7:42 AM |
133.5 | Racetrack (Tapeats) | 37.13 | 8:07 PM | 8:07 AM |
137.1 | Deer Creek | 38.03 | 9:01 PM | 9:01 AM |
145.5 | Olo Camp | 40.13 | 11:07 PM | 11:07 AM |
151.5 | Ledges Camp | 41.63 | 12:37 AM | 12:37 PM |
156.7 | Havasu Canyon | 42.93 | 1:55 AM | 1:55 PM |
164.5 | Tuckup Camp | 44.88 | 3:52 AM | 3:52 PM |
168 | Fern Glen Camp | 45.75 | 4:45 AM | 4:45 PM |
174.2 | Upper Cove Camp | 47.3 | 6:18 AM | 6:18 PM |
177.7 | Above Anvil | 48.18 | 7:10 AM | 7:10 PM |
185.3 | 185.5 Camp | 50.08 | 9:04 AM | 9:04 PM |
188 | Whitmore Camp | 50.75 | 9:45 AM | 9:45 PM |
196.5 | Below Frogy | 52.88 | 11:52 AM | 11:52 PM |
202 | Lower 202 | 54.25 | 1:15 PM | 1:15 AM |
206 | Indian Canyon | 55.25 | 2:15 PM | 2:15 AM |
212.9 | Pumpkin Spring | 56.98 | 3:58 PM | 3:58 AM |
219 | 220 Mile Camps | 58.5 | 5:30 PM | 5:30 AM |
223.4 | 224 Mile Camp | 59.6 | 6:36 PM | 6:36 AM |
Setting Camp For Changing Water Levels
If you have been keeping track and you KNOW that the water will fall in the night, it pays to pick a camp with a good deep eddy. If you don’t have a deep eddy and the water falls, you could very well have beached boats by dawn.
When you camp at low water and expect it to rise, set the kitchen up on high ground, and have someone sleep in, or lower than, the kitchen - just in case. If the release pattern has been consistent for any length of time, the high water mark should be easy to read on the beach.
Keep An Eye (Or More) On The Boats
A good strategy is to have boatmen sleep on or near the boats. Boatmen are RESPONSIBLE for keeping their craft from getting beached, damaged, or washed downstream on increasing flows. One light sleeper might agree to waken the rest of the boatmen for any nighttime boat-rearranging sessions.
Ropework
It helps a LOT if boatmen know how to rig their bow lines for adjustability. When you know the line will have to be let out, set up your anchor so that you have extra line to let out. When you know the water is rising and your boat is going to float, pull it up as far as you can and tie the bow line tight. Be prepared to check on it and tighten up the system further as the water rises.
Since you’re on a Painless Private, you have a 100-foot Security Line that you can use to create an anchor close to the boats. Tie one end to a tree or rock that’s not going anywhere, and run the entire length down to the boats. Tie a loop (that you will be able to untie) in the location that you want another anchor.
It is a lot easier to keep control of all the boats if they are firmly attached to each other. Cinch your boats together frame to frame at night. If you have many boats, you may choose to attach some boats BEHIND the row that is against the beach. That way, there are fewer boats bouncing against the shore trying to rub holes in themselves.
In active eddies it is also useful to have “directional anchors” that keep the boats from swinging back and forth. As water rises or falls, sometimes the local flow will completely reverse. If you can prevent your boats from swinging in either direction with ropes, you have a better chance of waking up with boats still there.
Sand Stakes
These nifty tools are not to be trusted for holding your boat overnight. They’re great for a lunch stop, or for a backup, stabilizing or directional anchor. If the water rises they will pull right out of the sand. Always place them above the high water mark to limit this possibility. And use a second anchor at night, in addition to attaching to other boats.
Un-Beaching A Boat
There’s a trick to it. When a boat is out of the water but on smooth wet sand, you can slide it back in. You will need a team of people, perhaps the whole trip if it’s a big heavy boat. First, get everyone in position and have someone calling out the actions so you are synchronized. What you want to do is rotate the boat out of the ruts it has made in the sand, and then slide it into the water before it gloms back onto the sand. Once you break the suction and get it to move at all, you can probably move it the whole way in one big shove. Sometimes it helps to push UP or lift one end of the boat to get it out of the ruts.
If you have a boat beached on gravel or rocks, sliding it is considerably more risky. If you slide it across the wrong rock, you could pop or rip the boat. In this case you might choose to go for a hike and wait for the water to come up, or to partially de-rig the boat to lighten it enough that you can move it without risking the tubes.