Back in December I drew a Grand Canyon river permit.  I’d been trying for three years, putting in for the annual lottery, as well as for the winter cancellation permits, and after around 10 total applications (including three waves of cancellations permits in late 2023) luck was on my side.  I’ve been planning for this one all the while, in that odd mix of the hypothetical and the hyper specific with which big game hunters will be all to familiar.  When you draw a long anticipated permit your control is, with respect to the broad strokes, remote.  You get what you get when you get it, and that timing may not be the most conventient, with respect to either the month or the year.

Over the past decade I’ve built a veneration for first experiences, and had thus decided long ago that I didn’t want to a traditional Lees to Diamond float for the my first significant stretch floating the canyon.  Things got a bit weird here, as my launch date was February 16th, and as I discussed my intentions with the river office (who were very accommodating once I established direct email communication with a ranger) they wanted me to put in, at my non-traditional point, on the day I might pass it during a traditional, 21 day itinerary.  Which means I will be headed south in a few days for a March 3rd briefing, start hiking later that day, and aim to put in at the mouth of Parashant Canyon on March 6th.

Up until I drew my intention for this trip was to do a loop from Jacobs Lake; ski in to the Nankoweep trail, float to Kanab, and hike and ski back.  It took a day of pondering this actually happening for me to change plans.  Nankoweep, along with the float itself, would have been the only part of that loop new to me, and while I’ve not floated any of the rapids on that stretch, I’ve been down or near river level on foot just about every place you can without ropes.  Whereas I’ve never been anywhere west of Toroweap, which got me looking, and quickly settled on a loop from the north side of Grand Wash Bay, hiking over the Shivwits and down Parashant, and floating the ~80 miles of river and lake back.  Today, with just about everything packed, I’m the kind of nervous which tells me I made the right choice.

[A dodgy forecast ~72 hours from go time has me reconsidering the drive in to Tassi Ranch, where I have never been, and where I fear I might find gumbo.  So I’m pivoting to Pearce Ferry as a TH, and planning to hike Pearce Canyon up to the top of the Grand Wash cliffs.  LOTS of driving, but as M is flying into Vegas for our own little vacation after, not so bad.]

Early on there were some questions, mainly that I’ll be exchanging most of the whitewater for some lake miles and near-term sediment desolation, along with the helicopter-dense stretch near the skywalk.  The ghosts of Mead, along with some less descript looking low and high desert walking, actually brings a lot of appeal for this trip.  Novelty, and historical interest, along with appreciation for the more scrubby and less spectacular parts of canyon country which I’ve lately been able to fully embrace.

For the most part equipment is conventional, though looking at the forecast has me thinking I’ll be opting heavy on sleeping bag insulation, and perhaps adding a pound using a mid rather than a tarp.  Boating gear is heavy, with a drysuit, fancy new carbon paddle, and the Caribou.  This last as I spent all last year growing more and more enamored with the self-bailer, and can’t see the ‘bou paddling worse than the old Yak on the Grand (and really anywhere save tight and steep creeks).  I also trust the new cargo fly zip to be less troublesome than the now 9 year old yak.  Converting said yak to a self-bailer is high on the project list.

Report to come.