# Diamond Down Highlights



## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPMyf6PAT00

I'm not sure what I did in the 1st post but maybe this time it will work.


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## tanderson (Mar 26, 2010)

Great post. Thank you. I've been interested in doing this stretch. Where is the put in? Where is the take out? How hard is it to get camping permits from the Halauapi? Can you bring dogs? How many days? I'm reading 5 days???

Thanks,

tda


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

Diamond Creek is the put in and the take out is Pearce Ferry. This is essentially the last part of the Grand Canyon. Most people who run it are doing it as part of their Grand Canyon trip.

The National Park goes a ways down past Diamond, so if you camp on the river right bank you don't need permits. You'll need to pay the Hualapai fee to drive down the road to Diamond Creek put in though. If you are paying the fee to get your vehicles down, I'm sure you can pay to use camps on river left still too. Take out is a public boat ramp.

You can do it in as little as 2 days if you night float, but if you are putting in at Diamond you'll want to slow down and enjoy it more.

I'll be honest, the first 3/4 of this run is fun...the last 1/4 blows chunks. Once you come around the corner of Quartermaster there are constant low flying Helicopters buzzing the canyon (like every 90 seconds). Depending on what time of year, the Hualapai have either Jet Boats or motor powered inflatable pontoon boats.

There are some fun rapids for the first 1/3 of the trip but it mellows out into solid flatwater for the rest of the trip. 

Its a very pretty trip and you are in the last part of the Grand Canyon and you can tell. Lots of historical and natural places to check out and enjoy. The solitude and wildnerness feel is almost, but not completely ruined by Quartermaster canyon and the Hualapai tourist area but its still worth going. The biggest challenge it seems is dealing with getting to the put in and the combination of a rough road and the significant fees involved.


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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

Electric-Mayhem said:


> Diamond Creek is the put in and the take out is Pearce Ferry. This is essentially the last part of the Grand Canyon. Most people who run it are doing it as part of their Grand Canyon trip.
> 
> The National Park goes a ways down past Diamond, so if you camp on the river right bank you don't need permits. You'll need to pay the Hualapai fee to drive down the road to Diamond Creek put in though. If you are paying the fee to get your vehicles down, I'm sure you can pay to use camps on river left still too. Take out is a public boat ramp.
> 
> ...


 


Thank you. I couldn't have said it better myself. The road is next to or in a wash so rain, flash flooding, or a washed out road can easily become an issue. It was raining pretty good the day of our launch as a matter of fact upon arrival we were told the road was closed and we would not be allowed to launch. After a couple hours trying to decide between 12 people how to spend what time we had left, the rain let up for a bit an with some persuasion we were told our escort was on his way. The second we walked out the door to jump in the vehicles the rain was beginning to fall again so we decided to wait for our escort with our tires on the road rather than in the parking lot. With the escort in site we started down the road before he could change his mind. The rain and low cloud cover made for a breathtaking drive down to the river.

All the rapids are early in the trip, camps are limited and a few of those were under water or washed away by the recent high flow experiment. It was cold, it was rainy, it was great but you must be prepared for some flat slow water with tall unstable silt banks at the end of the trip. I believe we did about 30 miles on our longest day but with the weather everyone wanted to row to stay warm. With our late start and camping a mile from the take out we only did 3 nights.


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## tanderson (Mar 26, 2010)

Great beta. Thank you! 
I am starting to plan my river season based on how many permit apps I loose. Am I reading it right...they charge per person + vehicle? So I should run my shuttle with only two people and two cars? 64.00 per car and person would be around 256.00? Does this sound correct? Also, what about the dogs?


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## atg200 (Apr 24, 2007)

I'm sure dogs aren't allowed since you are still in the national park at the beginning.

I think this section is well worth doing as part of a Grand Canyon trip, but not worth the hassle and expense to do on its own. On the plus side, Travertine Canyon is one of the best short hikes in the Grand Canyon, Killer Fang is an intimidating rapid, and there are a few other fun rapids.

I much prefer Cataract as my struck out on permits backup.


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## Rick A (Apr 15, 2016)

To my knowledge dogs are not allowed. You will want to run your shuttle as light as possible. You're numbers on the fees seem about right but I believe they charge per boat and trailer as well. I guide kayaks in Black Canyon below Hoover Dam and this was a training trip so the company covered most of the cost.


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