The Important Places: Photos from the Film

Forest Woodward, director of The Important Places, shares photos and memories from the Grand Canyon trip that inspired his powerful film.

Upset Rapid || Jeff was one of the more skilled oarsmen in our party, and earned himself the nick name Captain Calm for the ease with which he piloted his craft. About a half second after I snapped this frame was probably the closest Captain Calm came to losing his cool on this trip; to his credit, he still managed to do a high side dance, surf the boat out of the hole, and pickup his somewhat water logged passenger, Dr. Al, a few hundred feet downstream.

Phantom Ranch || Somewhere between the silence of what lies downstream, and echoes of cascades through canyons past, there is peace in the fully now, the wholly here.

Lazy Morning Rigging || As the water rose from 7k to 37k CFS on our second day on the river, we took extra precautions with the rigging to make sure everything was tightly strapped down; we could only guess at what we would encounter downstream with the experimental high flow release.

Welcome Sun || Life on the river emulates the waters on which we float – calm and steady for the most part, with enough moments of chaos and turbulence sprinkled in to keep things interesting. The hardest thing to get used to was the darkness. We had some of the shortest days of the year while we were in the canyon, and if you combine that with the fact that we were at times a mile deep in a giant ditch…well, you get the picture. Not much light. When we did find patches of sun like this, oars were often shipped, beers cracked, and the sunlight soaked and savored.

Lava Falls || Morgan and Brigid (our all women team!) sticking their line at Lava Falls.

Drying Out || Life on the river often takes on a rhythm of welcome chores, tasks that without the distractions of the outside world become almost welcome: drying out gear, lightening the rafts of their beer supply, crushing cans, gathering firewood, checking boots for scorpions, making pretty girls laugh…

Disconnecting || Dr. Al (our resident ER doctor and strong outdoors woman) taking time to disconnect and sketch the wonders of the inner workings of the greatest canyon of them all.

Granite || Despite the beauty of our camp and the full moon peaking over the canyon rim, morale was low. Our shortest river day yet, with Horn rapid and a dislocated shoulder to blame, the group split in various directions – some addressing the situation with tequila and fire dances, others with sleep and solitude. Twenty eight days in close proximity with fifteen different personalities to weigh in on group decisions, and stress and skill levels varying widely, evenings like this come as no surprise. What was a surprise to me was the resiliency, perspective and growing sense of camaraderie with which folks came back together after each setback.

After the Rains || After three cold days of white dustings on the rim above and rain on the river below, we gratefully took a rest day to dry out and celebrate the return of the winter sun. We bathed in the river, hung clothes out to dry, and as David cooked up lavish heaps of bacon and French toast, another passing party (whose pinned raft we had helped to free upstream) gifted us a bottle of spirits and replenished our toilet paper supply. For the time being at least, all seemed right in the world.

Dad || Dad churning downstream, leaving us in his wake.

Explorations || Brendan and Ray pulling over for a bit of mid-river bouldering.

Red Wall Cavern || Last of the winter light.

Downstream || Like the river, time passes, flowing somewhere we cannot follow. And like the canyon we, too, are shaped by the passing of the river. Yet unlike the canyon, we have the ability to choose where we stand in relation to the river; to sit on the shore and watch, to spin circles in the flotsam eddies, or to cast ourselves into the currents that shape us and discover what lies downstream.

Day 22 || Hands.

The Diamond || As the canyon’s walls began to shrink and the river left them behind, the diamond rose downstream, signifying the end of the trip for some of our party.

Now and Then || Lava Falls.

Now and Then || Dad at 77 and 34.

Now and Then || House Rock at high water (left) and at low water (right). In the right hand photo Kenton Grua and the gang setting up camp near House Rock. At the time this photo was taken there were very few regulations on where or how one camped in the canyon. Passing this same spot last November, the cave was completely submerged under the waters of an experimental high flow release of 38k CFS.