September 2023
White Water Rafting and Camping in the Grand Canyon with Wilderness River Adventures
One of the bucket list adventures in the world ranked with activities such as visiting Antarctica, seeing Petra in Jordan, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, climbing Kilimanjaro safari, is White Water Rafting and Camping in the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world that receives 5 million visitors a year. Yet only a fraction of those visitors – somewhere near 0.4% – get to actually complete the bucket list adventure of rafting and camping in the Grand Canyon.
After an incredible trip to Banff with my cousin last year, we wanted to keep this momentum going and my cousin wanted to check a big one off her bucket list – a multi-day white water rafting down the Colorado River and camping in the Grand Canyon. After a bit of research, we found a flash sale through Wilderness River Adventures and booked a five day trip. I have never camped before in my life but the company provides all the camp gear and food which felt like a large majority of the logistics to plan for. The company also arranged for transportation at the end of the trip. I was hoping this trip could be as zen for me as storm chasing but I have to say, as it got closer, my nerves continued to climb. I had no idea what to expect – I knew we were sleeping outside and that bathroom situation would be different, but I had no idea what the day to day would look like which while that is an exciting prospect for others, that is not me. Being disconnected from the whole for five days is truly the best way to be on vacation but once we left, there was no turning back!
Day 0
We had to arrange for ourselves to get to the meeting point and were instructed to arrive the day before the trip started. Our adventure started on a Friday at 6AM at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (Grand Canyon Village) so we had to get there Thursday. We left on the first flight in the morning out to Las Vegas airport. We had the option of booking a four hour shuttle or a one hour plane ride to get to the South Rim. There was not much of a price difference (both were expensive) so we opted to take the plane to have more time to relax. Once at the Vegas airport, we boarded a shuttle to Boulder City airport a half hour away. The plane here was a small 19 person plane so we had to weigh our bags and ourselves to get our assigned seats. After a short wait, we were given our seat assignments aboard the plane. The cool thing about this transport is it was a scenic flight with headphones that gave information as we flew over sites such as the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River. The unfortunate thing is that we were all nauseated half way through the flight – we are not quite sure if it was turbulence or the pilots but we were all not ok getting off the plane.
Our hotel for the evening was at the Grand Canyon Village and we were instructed to call for a cab which transported us fifteen minutes to the Village. One of the first things Wilderness River Adventures recommends is booking a hotel for the night before the trip as accommodations in the village are limited. We booked at Maswick Lodge and I think we made a good choice that was also one of the only ones left when we booked months ahead of this trip. Our room was ready early so we checked in and dropped our stuff before exploring.
The first thing we wanted to check off the list was purchased food and snacks for the hike in the morning – food included on the trip started a lunch time once we got to the boat launch. The cafeteria at the Maswick had everything we needed – granola bars, bagels, packed sandwiches, drinks – it worked perfectly. While it was certainly priced with a convenience surcharge, we needed it. We also stopped in the gift shop which has an impressive selection of high quality souvenirs. We returned to the room to drop off and continued with our sightseeing.
The Village is really awesome and I can see how people spend their trip visiting the Grand Canyon here. There are several bus routes that transport people and much is also walkable. We decided to hop onto the blue line and make our way closer the to the rim. Along the way, we passed the mule barn and I feel like seeing the Grand Canyon by mule is a really cool way to enhance the experience. The Grand Canyon Railway spot is also located here and if our schedules worked out, that would have been an awesome way to get to the South Rim.
We got off the bus and walked to the El Tovar Hotel and were immediately taken aback by the surroundings – it was so beautiful here and after walking to get a closer look at the hotel, we got a glimpse of the rim. This took our attention instantly.
The view from here was spectacular! The way the sun was hitting portions of the rocks was stunning – it really did not look real as the haze sets in over the distance. The scale was hard to really comprehend. We tried to find the trail that we were embarking on in the morning but it was impossible to even see hints of a trail. After admiring the view, we walk through Verkamp’s Visitor Center before boarding back onto the Blue line and returning to the Maswick Hotel. What is nice about the Village is there are many options for dining here and we ended back at our hotel at Maswik Pizza Pub and I have to say, it exceeded expectations – they had a wood burning oven! This was a great spot to unwind, enjoy some food and watch some sports ball. As we left the main lodge to return to our room, it poured for fifteen minutes before revealing an insane full double rainbow – hopefully a good sign for the trip ahead.
We had a very early walk up call so we headed to bed and enjoyed our last night of sleep in a bed with a roof over our head.
Day 1
Our alarm went off shortly after 4AM which was not so bad with the jet lag traveling from the east coast. We all took our last showers and bathroom visits before spending a decent amount of time repacking our bags and food up for the long hike ahead. We did not want to be late to the meeting point so we gave ourselves plenty of time and it worked out well for us.
We departed our sweet home of Maswick Lodge at 545AM to walk ten minutes to our meeting point inside the Bright Angel Lodge from our 6AM start time. There, we met a Wilderness River Adventures guide who checked us in and would be hiking down to the boat launch spot with us. We were permitted to go at whatever pace we wanted and he would be the caboose – as long as we were in front of him, we were moving at a good pace and would be on time. After a few minutes of orienting to the trail, we set forth at 615AM on the Bright Angel Trail and on our rafting adventure.
Read about the hike on the Bright Angel Trail to Phantom Ranch – the most intense and best trail at the Grand Canyon – here!
We were elated to cross the suspension bridge to Phantom Ranch. The boat launch was just to the right opposite the ranch. Unfortunately, we did not have time to check out the ranch as we were immediately greeted by our Wilderness crew. Our guides Kody and Cam (drivers), and Castro and Holly (swampers) introduced themselves and showed us our prize for the hike – lunch – chicken cesaer salad wraps. After q quick bite, we were taught how to pack up the bags. We were given two large 24 x 24 dry bags. One was for our sleeping bag, sheet, and tarp that was provided, the second was for the items we packed. These two bags are not accessible during the day and only available when camped. We were also given a dry bag that is used during the day for items you want to easily access – such as sunscreen – and an ammo can for anything that may be squished which is accessible most of the day. We did not put anything in the ammo can and instead just used the day dry bag, carabiner’ed to the boat and then had easy access all day.
With the hike over, my nerves started to boil up again. I can’t quite place why the bag situation was giving me a hard time and I was not hungry for lunch. But knowing this was it for food, I took a few bites then wrangled with repacking the bags situation. Perhaps it was because there felt like a time crunch here but we were in no way rushed or forced to hurry up – I think it was a self imposed time frame that felt like I was behind. Looking back, it was probably the reality of knowing this was the point of no return. Once the bags were packed up, we brought them to the boats for said bye to our hiking shoes, We met the rest of the travelers – some of which hiked down ans some of which continued on from the Upper Canyon Rafting portion – everyone was so nice.
With everything loaded onto the raft, we hopped on with Captain Kody and Holly as we pushed away from the shore and under the suspension bridge we were so eager to cross just hours earlier.
As we pushed away from the beach, there was no turning back. This was life for the next few days – full of nerves and excitement! We spent five days going from Mile 88.1 Phantom Ranch Boat Beach to Mile 187.4 Whitemore Helipad.
Read about Day 1 – Mile 88.1 Phantom Ranch Boat Beach to Mile 93.9 Granite Rapid
Read about Day 2 – Mile 93.9 Granite Rapid to Mile 127 127 Mile Rapid
Read about Day 3 – Mile 127 127 Mile Rapid to 168.6 Fern Glen Rapid
Read about Day 4 – Mile 168.6 Fern GlenRapid to 187.4 Whitemore Helipad
Day 5
Our wake up call this morning was early in order to get everything in order before the helicopter arrived around 730AM. The coffee call was at 530AM and everyone started to stir shortly after. Breakfast was also set up and we were asked to eat early so they could break down the kitchen early. This morning was continental style – bagels, cereal, yogurt, and some toppings for fixings.
We packed up our backpacks and returned the dry bags to the crew, along with the packed up cots and chairs. The group formed the last bag line of the trip and loaded everything on. The crew had to continue down the river after we all got on the helicopter so it was important that we had the rafts packed and ready to go before our pick up.
Promptly at 730AM, we heard the roar of the helicopter blades as it gently perched atop the helipad. The staff member got out and approached the group giving us the details on what to do and not do when getting onto the helicopter. This was not our first time in a helicopter, but common sense is to listen to every word they tell you to avoid getting your head chopped off. Since helicopters are very weight dependent, each of us and our bags separately were weighed. We were divided into groups of 6 to go into the helicopter for our seven minute ride up and out of the Grand Canyon.
We went up in the second group to fly out and luckily I got to ride in the front with the pilot. It was amazing how quick everything happens once the helicopter lands – it is a quick in and then up and out we went. The journey quickly lifted us off the ground and over the canyon, giving us some incredible views. It was a bittersweet moment – it felt like we were being rescued out of a survivor reality TV show, but then it also felt like we were being taken away from something so pure and magical.
The ride was stunning and as quickly as we saw the Colorado River below us, it was gone and we were scratching the surface of the rim to Bar 10 Ranch. Seven minutes elapsed from the time we took off from the helipad to the time we landed on the ranch property. We were met by a staff member who welcomed us back to civilization and oriented us to the property. We grabbed our bags and ran to the ranch for the biggest treat – bathrooms and showers. Everyone scurried and enjoyed the basic amenities to the fullest, emerging from the other side new people. What a gift a toilet that flushes and a hot shower are!
We got our flight information from the chillest airline check in counter we have ever seen. Our flight was at 11AM so we had a little down time to relax, including browsing the gift shop. The Bar 10 Ranch is . Before our flight, we had our last lunch – none other than lunch meat sandwiches, of course – the perfect send off – before grabbing our bags and hoping into the van for our two minute drive to the air strip.
Our flight back to Boulder City Airport was much more enjoyable this time – perhaps it was the pilots, perhaps we had less turbulence, perhaps the nerves of the trip we had one day 1 impacted the flight, but this time it was a smooth, enjoyable experience. We had some wonderful scenic views that we appreciated far more than we did coming here.
And with that, we reversed our way back home. While they had a shuttle back to the Las Vegas Airport, we landed far earlier than we anticipated and lucky for us, the first notification we got when our service came back was that our flight was delayed and United gave us the option of changing flights for free – so we moved up to a much earlier flight. We grabbed a salad from California Pizza Kitchen – much needed greens – and had an easy ride home.
What a wild trip – I hardly believe I actually did it if not for the tan lines on my feet. There were highs and lows that made this entire experience a beautiful one. On our flight home from our most recent adventure to the Grand Canyon, I watched The Greatest Showman for the first time. During the movie, P.T. Barnum. exclaims “comfort is the enemy of progress” and that hit me as a timely summary of this trip.
Overall, our white water rafting and camping trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon for five days was magical, epic, and wild. We got to see and experience the Grand Canyon in a way so few people get to do. But there were moments of discomfort for me – I have never been camping before in my life and this was the most extreme version of it. Being disconnected from the world was a gift – I highly recommend everyone take a “disconnect” vacation at least once a year. But other moments – sleeping outside without a tent, navigating in the dark, the simple task of using the bathroom, bathing in cold river water, and all the bugs, and critters – made moments very uncomfortable for me.
And there was no way out of this situation – you are stuck at the bottom of the Grand Canyon… oh yeah, and I paid for this experience! That being said, when you are forced to be uncomfortable, once you do something and it becomes familiar, the discomfort starts to melt away. In fact, the dreaded bathroom experience was really no different than a port-a-potty. So while I may not be running to poop in a bucket again any time soon, I conquered many uncertainties and discomforts on this trip. And in exchange for the temporary discomfort came an incredible adventure that few people get to experience and memories that will last a lifetime. Feeling that uneasiness and pushing through to the other side has immense benefits. Traveling this way allows you to grow and return home with a new set of skills and appreciation that will change you for the better. This trip is not for everyone, but if it entices you and you want to truly have a bucketlist adventure, I highly encourage you to book this trip and I hope my experience helps prepare you for it. The views from the bottom of the Grand Canyon are unlike anything you will see from the top. The rapids were incredibly fun, the scenery was just unbelievable, and the memories will last a lifetime.