# Mid October Grand Trip



## mrbaum (Feb 20, 2015)

The big drops and skull are what your gonna want to scout


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

mrbaum said:


> The big drops and skull are what your gonna want to scout
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


I want some of what you're smoking.....


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## tteton (May 16, 2014)

carvedog said:


> I want some of what you're smoking.....


BAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHNNAAAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAH.


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## Swank (Jun 20, 2009)

Don't forget left then right at Yarmony also.

We are all talking about the same river after all.


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## whiskey_river (Mar 2, 2015)

Bring lots of beer and scantily clad women


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## mrbaum (Feb 20, 2015)

Yep that right there is the river of no return


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## shoenfeld13 (Aug 18, 2009)

Give us some information...how many days, take out, do you like to hike, experience level of other people, how many boats/people, etc. Help us help you!


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## Salidaboater (Nov 5, 2013)

MSW9,

The Grand is so Grand you just can't answer your question yet. How many days, where taking out, experience of the group is huge if your are the TL. Leading river trips and leading the Grand are two totally different things. What other river experience do you have? Kind of boats, food pac. The list is endless.


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## sledhooligan (Mar 12, 2009)

Salidaboater said:


> MSW9,
> 
> The Grand is so Grand you just can't answer your question yet. How many days, where taking out, experience of the group is huge if your are the TL. Leading river trips and leading the Grand are two totally different things. What other river experience do you have? Kind of boats, food pac. The list is endless.


For Christ's sake its the Grand Canyon not Shackletons expedition.


To the OP it probably seems like a daunting task but its just like doing any other multi day trip just longer. The things you need for the Grand are the same things you need for a two day westwater just more of it.
Get a feel for what your group wants to do. Do they want to hike, have short river days, make river miles and have lay over days?
Once you get that make a simple plan. Leave room in your plan for when shit don't go right like wind or someone all ready in the camp you want stuff like that. Let people know from the get go your expectations and division of labor. A lot of people get hung up the first few days with people not pulling there weight not making the miles and it usually comes to a head about day four with a coming to jesus talk from the TL.

Be flexable but in the end you are El Hefe.


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## dgoods (Jul 15, 2013)

Aside from all the logistical details of a Grand Trip, there is a lot to be said for the daily flow.
Carefully look at the river maps and think about which must do hikes you and your group want to hit up. 
Have a rough plan of the miles you'll make and where you want to stop and spend time. 

Establish rotation teams to be on cook crew, clean up, groover, water filtering, can crusher... Who ever has the kitchen box should maybe do a kitchen box orientation so that person doesn't get stuck with having to set up and break it down each day. 
Know your dish washing program: upstream to downstream.
Ensure people are tuned in to washing their hands often and especially prior to any food prep so as to avoid eating someone else's fecal funk and getting sick.

Also, at some of the "high consequence" rapids know your plan. First boats down should be your strongest rowers. If you have good kayakers, set safety.

Know what boat has what: who has the sat phone, who has wrap kits or come-a-longs...
Bring climbing hexes or nuts.. for tying up at Matkat and Havazoo...or flip recoveries.

Talk to your group about when you want to get off the beach each day.
When encountering other private or commercial groups I like to check in with them to see what their plans are so everyone gets along on the rio. 
Make sure your repair kits have good glue. 
Know who has any allergies
What's for plan if someone gets tagged by a centroidian scorpion or a rattler?
What kind of first aid skills does your group have?
For big-hike days when you'll be getting back to the boats late, try to ensure you'll have some camping options downstream so you're not caught on the river too late. In Oct your daylight fades out around 5:30. 

There's lots of other details, but those are some to consider.


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## Schutzie (Feb 5, 2013)

Holy Shit. how did we ever have fun on our Grand trips?

Out planning consisted of;
We take these boats, you know, cause it's whats available
We take these people cause they had the time and money and didn't piss us off too bad most days.
We take this food cause I ain't eatin no damn tofu shit; its meat or nothing.
We take as much beer as we can buy, beg, or steal, put it wherever it fits
Launch. Drink beer. camp. drink beer. eat. drink beer. sleep. drink beer. eat. drink beer. repeat.

I mean, how much more fun could we have had if we'd planned every second of every day, right down to the last crust of bread and the last bit of sunlight?
And I bet the experience would have been turbo charged if we had appointed a trip leader and provided them with a whip and large stick....................

For the dimwitted among us, this is sarcasm; the two extremes of planning a grand trip. Somewhere in between is the right answer for most of us most of the time.


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## jakebrown98 (Mar 4, 2008)

Since it's not lottery season you must have picked up a cancellation. Congrats. You are probably also not indentured to a bunch of other lottery applicants that you more or less get along with. Double Congrats! Pick your group well is what I will say. 

You've got an awesome launch date. You will probably want to pack some cold water protection for the couple of days with big rapids and most likely you won't put it on. You'll pass awesome camps and hikes without doing them but you'll do others, and it will be great. Don't sweat too many details and again, pick your group well. Having a mid-October permit and the ability to pick my own group is a fantasy I don't really see ever coming true. Albeit, I would like to have more than a month to get my group together. You might not get to be too choosy with your peeps. In that case try to at least pick folks with a laid back attitude that mostly pull their weight without bitching. 

Be clear about expectations before launch. The challenges of Grand Canyon are not in the whitewater but the social dynamic. If some folks want to party late every night and shove off the beach at noon, be sure that ALL folks want that.


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## BCJ (Mar 3, 2008)

What Schutzie said. GWTF


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## scooby450 (Dec 4, 2008)

What's your date? We put in on the 25th...


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## DanOrion (Jun 8, 2004)

Within the first few days of the trip, figure out what each person likes to do for group tasks and then let them fill that roll; some folks will just want to be entertainment for the trip; let them, others will gladly pick up the slack. 

Also, give your kayakers all the beer they can drink. 


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## MSW9 (May 1, 2008)

Thanks everyone! Just what I was expecting from this group of people. Our trip is 21 days taking out at Diamond. The group is very experienced, 3 of our 10 have been down before with the other group members having done numerous multi-day trips; Main, Middle, San Juan, Deso, Westwater etc. There will be 5 rafts and 1 dory and our food is being done by Moenkopi. I would love to hear some can't miss hikes or camps. Oh, and I was in the lottery. I have been sitting on this permit for a while.


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## sleighr (Nov 14, 2011)

Every side drainage presents a hike. Camp choices can be impacted by weather...October can be quite warm.... or windy and cold. Soooo.... my thoughts are mostly that I'm a little jealous of your launch date...keep track of where you are so you don't end up with a couple 40 mile days to make the take out but don't stress over much ... be prepared for weather from hot sun to a cold drizzle.


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## Jim S (May 26, 2015)

I'm pretty certain we crossed paths when watching your group run Upset and shared a camp with you at Fern. How'd the rest of your trip go?

Thanks for the brownies.


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## buckmanriver (Apr 2, 2008)

There is a great shelter at the put in! 

You can used it to make meals, sleep in (to avoid) putting up tents, and it is easy to park next to the night before you launch. 

-Oh and reading the regulations is good too.


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