# MatMan Home Soon



## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

*Great photo.*

Matman is definitely rigged for river fun and excitement. You have to love his bye bye boat survival pack, secured to his chest, like if you float away without me, I'm packing enough, to get me down to where ever you are. The counter weights, duck taped by his oar handles are great too. Sometimes we would duck tape five to eight pounds of lead bars, by our 14 ft. apitong oar handles for counter weights too. Then duck some foam rubber near the oar blades so if one droped into the river the blade end would float to the surface. I'm sure Matman is having to much fun and thinking about the rest of us stuck back at the barn.


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## lilbillm (Mar 15, 2013)

Tom/raymo---just want to be clear:he's solo?how many days to where?look forward to his story/vids.


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

I don't think he was doing it Solo unless his buddies fell through. He invited me along but I had already used my once per year allocation. I think it was 4 guys 3 rafts on a 21 day trip...so he should be getting of the river today or tomorrow. I really wanted to go, but rules are rules. 

It feels like this is the time of year that people should be able to go again if they want to. Probably a lot more crowded if that was allowed though.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

*Lilbilm*



lilbillm said:


> Tom/raymo---just want to be clear:he's solo?how many days to where?look forward to his story/vids.


Lilbilm I don't know matman personally I was just commenting on the cool photo Tom posted of him. That photo speaks, of a great adventure ahead.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Hey, I'm Famous!
You know it's gonna be a great trip when you meet the guy that wrote your river and hiking guide, at the put in!
Not solo, but a small group. We had a wonderful trip, with the friendliest weather you could hope for in mid winter, water was FREAKISHLY clear, super fun, forgiving level. All stayed black side down. I think Granite was the most fun I have ever had in boating, ( OK, Horn and Hermit were pretty awesome to!) The Little Colorado was stunningly blue, would have liked to have spent more time there, but is about the coldest spot in the canyon. 

So happy not to be watching helicopters installing a tram there, the Havasu tribe is right to consider it a sacred place, can't help but be in awe floating through that part of the river.

We did talk to the solo duckier down at Bass, that launched the day after us, he was in fine spirits and having a great trip, said he was swimming a lot, but didn't seem to mind, get the idea the guy has gills. His second trip duckying the Grand solo, more nerve than I got, I hate swimming rapids! Good on him though. Would love to hear how his trip turned out.

I would reccommend making your kitchen BOMB PROOF everynite, it will save you time. Put all your dishes away, along with your drying rack, pack up your stove if it has holes like the Partners do, otherwise cute furry little shit bandits (mice) will poop everywhere!! Don't know how something so small can poop so much, but is our own fault if we fail to practice leave no trace, and spend half an hour cleaning poo out of our kitchen every morning. They LOVE to chew on soft plastic and rubber, this could include your dry suite, even if it is right next to where you sleep.
Both Sepperation and Surprise Canyons have blown out really nicely from flash floods, encouraging that the river is slowly trying to recover, both are still campable, Surprise looked really good from the river, a large group was camping there with no problem. Afterwords it's still slim pickin's. 
As bad as it sucks to see the Colorado so messed up down there from Mead, it is kinda fascinating. Much of the lower silt layers are totally turning into sandstone, it's like watching Geology taking place, though artificially. My guess is that someday, near both Glen Canyon and Boulder Dams, there will be a couple hundred feet of new sandstone along the new river course. Wish I could come back someday to see what nature does with it. I believe the Colorado did a great deal of it's cutting through it's sandstone while it was fresh and soft, but I was not there.

The thing in the front of my boat is my wrap kit, with my spare PFD strapped around the outside of it. Was only wearing a normal NRS rescue PFD, so no special survival gear on me. I do really like my ankle weight counterbalances on my oars, got to keep things at least kinda geto!!

Sure wish you could have gone Electric Mayhem! Will have to get on the river some time before full on summer hits, a WW or Gunny run in a while sounds awfully good after starting the boating withdrawal!

Hope Ya'll had a good Xmas and new year, now I'm dealing with the hard, hard, re-entry back into "normal" life and society. Sleeping in my own bed, and not being able to see the stars was really difficult. Reminders that life could be so much better than the mundane world we often let ourselves end back up in.

I will try to post some picks to the photo gallery.

All the best,
Matt


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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

Glad to hear you had a great trip. I will also be rowing my ankle weight counter balanced oars down there in a week. I grew up in/near Detroit so I feel at home with things a little ghetto. Lol

What size boat did you row?


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

I took my 14'er again. Did not feel quite as small this time with the lower flows ( got 19,500 last time for Adrenaline Alley). There were still plenty of things to eat a smaller boat, but lots of BIG fun waves as well!!


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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

Nice, I will be rowing my 14 as well. I can't wait. Little boat big water. Should be quite the ride.


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

I was fortunate to join a group that had already rented 18' boats and was able to take my 14' boat when I went. It was a blast because I wasn't overloaded and could run sneak lines on lots of the major rapids, but on lots the smaller ones, I got fantastic rides. Dumptrucked on Sapphire, flipped on Lava, had a rip-roaring time on everything else. 

Have fun!

-AH


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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

So cool. I am the small boat of our trip, we have my 14', (3) 16', (1) 18, and a 20' but I will still be pretty loaded. I don't think overloaded but I'm not sure as I have never loaded that much on it before. I ran Deso pretty heavy this year but I think I'll be heavier this tripI have changed my setup and have less group gear to carry but more personal gear and beer.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Lava in my 14'er is a big part of why I believe in shear luck being a part of the equation.
I think I would also have been upside down a lot more times, if it was not for the Iron cross going straight into a highside, move. It has saved my ass so many times when I ran something bigger then I meant to. Submerge, then pop out the other side with a huge shit eating grin!! 
Amazing how much boat control you get down there in a 14'er with a little body weight movement timed with your strokes, so you ride up and over, or crush it when you need to, sorta like being a kayaker.

Was really heavy my first trip, but lost weight early on, and my boat was handling just about right by the time I got down to the bigger stuff.

Have a great trip, it will be awesome!!


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## almortal (Jun 22, 2014)

mattman said:


> Lava in my 14'er is a big part of why I believe in shear luck being a part of the equation.


This summer Lava was nasty to us (me). We had a guy in a skinny 14'er who flawlessly threaded the needle on a left sneak line there was no way a big loaded gear boat could have done. I was the sweep boat expecting to pick up his pieces... well my boat had a perfect line I just wasn't in it. Talk about luck, I have rewatched the go pro footie a million times, I swear my line and every oar stroke was on point but an messy surge and failure to let go of the oar meant I got to watch my girlfriend tube lava and then row son of lava from the passenger seat while I was in the water.
1st rule of the boat, stay in the boat.


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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

I didn't think it was possible to get more excited about the trip but reading about your trip is getting me even more pumped up.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

mattman said:


> ...got 19,500 last time for Adrenaline Alley


Curious what you are calling Adrenaline Alley. We had 19,000 out of the dam at high tide in August last year. I didn't keep track of the days we hit rapids at their highest but some days definitely felt BIG. Also found a HUGE hole in the bottom of Tanner that was NOT expected!


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Horn, Granite, Hermit, Crystal. I ran the sneak lines on all of those at higher water, but did the traditional horn split at Horn, and the normal lines at Granite, Hermit this last time. Still went far right at Crystal. My friends in an 18' went right at Horn this last time and had one BIG ride!


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

Gremlin said:


> Curious what you are calling Adrenaline Alley. We had 19,000 out of the dam at high tide in August last year. I didn't keep track of the days we hit rapids at their highest but some days definitely felt BIG. Also found a HUGE hole in the bottom of Tanner that was NOT expected!


Slight side convo - If anyone has good pics of Tanner rapid, I would love to see them. Our 3yr old is named Tanner, and he would be so pumped to see a rapid named the same as him. I know it's not a monster rapid, but still.


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## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

Not a great photo of Tanner Rapid but it was taken from our sweep boat the moment I was about to get walloped. The next photo in the series, there is no boat visible directly in front of the cat. This was the last picture of me in the Grand with my left bicep muscle tendon still attached to the radius. Boo.


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks Gremlin! Sorry about your arm muscle.


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