{"id":28127,"date":"2022-12-23T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T18:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=28127"},"modified":"2022-12-27T10:14:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T18:14:14","slug":"a-canadian-take-on-an-american-classic-the-grand-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2022\/12\/23\/a-canadian-take-on-an-american-classic-the-grand-canyon\/","title":{"rendered":"A Canadian Take on an American Classic: The Grand Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Admittedly, in the years leading up to this trip, I felt a sense of trepidation. In my mind, \u201cadventure\u201d had always meant a journey through a place where few have gone in recent time. Where I\u2019m from, wilderness is vast, undeveloped, and seldom travelled. So, in winning a permit to paddle the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, the most iconic American Classic and likely one of the busiest rivers in North America, I felt torn.<\/p>\n

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It gave me pause to think about dedicating a sizeable chunk of time to paddle a river that statistics say 20,000 people have paddled before us this year alone. It just didn\u2019t fit with my idea of \u201cadventure\u201d\u2014and I feared paddling through a Disney world of sorts\u2014strewn with drunken debauchery and river trash.<\/p>\n

Eight days and 230 kilometres into what would be a 450-kilometre, 12-day journey, my preconceived ideas and trepidations about the Grand Canyon were so very wrong.<\/p>\n

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In the midst of a slow morning here at camp, we are waiting for the sun to crest the canyon rim and provide us with a warmth we will welcome with open arms. We are camped at \u2018Keyhole\u2019 for our second layover day of the trip, the second layover day of our paddling careers. The layover day, we were told, is part of the canyon experience, and like direct sunlight, we have learned to embrace this tradition wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re on our third round of coffee this morning, drying our feet by driftwood fire, surrounded by red canyon walls. Accompanying today\u2019s freeze-dried breakfast, we\u2019ll each have the luxury of a fresh naval orange, our first fresh fruit since departing Lees Ferry. These are the kinds of luxuries you can\u2019t afford to pack on a 12-day self-supported kayak trip, but the kind of luxuries gifted to us by a generous group of rafters from Montana.<\/p>\n