# Grand Canyon Heat in July



## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

My first GC trip was a July trip. It was hot. The river isn't exactly inviting to jump into since it's so damn cold (especially for the first 150 miles or so).

We did get things moving earlier than we would have had it not been so hot. Cooks were in the kitchen before sunup, and we were trying to be on the water by 8:30 or so. We achieved this most days. We also spent a long time hiking and playing in side streams, to the point of not wanting to get to camp before about 5 or 6PM. We actually spent our mid-days hiking, but they were almost all wet hikes.

I recall still having ice at the end.

I slept on my boat every night. I pretty much only left my boat for 3 things- groover, food and side creeks. It's amazing how much the temps go up just 20 feet from the river. Much more comfortable on the boats. I did use a damp sheet some nights, even sleeping on the boat. Actually, it was a really lightweight material sarong that I had along- multi purpose!

I have set up a mister on my boat, for family trips where the little one would be too hot otherwise. It was just a little "Misty Mate" thing with one nozzle, so it wasn't all that great. It did well enough, though, that I want to get a more adequate system to permanently mount up on my bimini top.

Don't be afraid of the heat. It's all about expectations and preparation. If you expect it to be 115 it won't feel as bad as if you're expecting perfect temps. Also, the heat shapes the trip to stop in different places than you would on, say, a December trip. (wet hikes are no fun in Dec. while the Surprise Valley hike is no fun in July.)

Have fun!


----------



## Bongo (Sep 10, 2014)

Thanks - that is helpful. Did you ever get more specific on a design for the mister? Was it powered?

Did you do the Grand with a Bimini ? I did it with an umbrella that cranked up and down pretty quickly but it had to be down a lot due to the wind.


----------



## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

I didn't have a bimini for that Grand trip, but did have an umbrella, IIRC, which was nice, but also a PITA due to the wind. The bimini is a new addition, since we've got a kiddo now. It's totally awesome on the water, but it does make loading/unloading trickier. Still wouldn't leave it at home for a July GC trip though.

I didn't get deeper into the mister thing, but I think it's pretty available stuff: Mister Product

Maybe a weed sprayer type pressure reservoir and an adapter for the hose?


----------



## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

I have done a few summer Grand Canyon trips and it is hot, but you have options. I plan to spend more time in camp in the mornings and try to pick camps with morning shade. I don't sleep well on my boat so I use a cot and set it up close to the water. A shade tarp is a must for those times where you have to camp early or layover.
You will be limited on hikes, most people would rather be on the river in the mornings but it is an option, hike and then row. 
Stick to the wet hikes if possible.
You may be into the monsoon season, so plan for some storms.
It will be busy, so those shade camps go pretty quick, as the motor boats like them as well.
Try to shade up in the afternoon and get into camp later than normal. 
I find it starts to cool off about 1 in the morning. Don't walk around barefoot!


----------



## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Only have run it in Winter, but a compilation called the "Sun Dial" exists, which lists hours of sun for each campsite, by month of the year. It was an awesome resource for winter, and would probably be great to down load for a July trip as well. I believe the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association has it on there site. A google search should also find it for ya.
Enjoy!!


----------



## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Also get a copy of Tom Martins "Day Hikes from the River" Vishnu Temple Press, if you don't have it. Lots of info on Hikes, and what type of temperature to expect, as well as additional camp site Beta.


----------



## Wavester (Jul 2, 2010)

I have done several trips in Aug and July and I live in a cooler climate. Sleep on a river cot and you'll be just fine. Some use a bucket of water to cool down the area under their cot as needed...
Possibly there might be monsoon rains which will cool everything down.


----------



## Paco (Aug 3, 2007)

The heat really isn't that bad. 
Yes, the river is too cold to hang out in for most of the trip, but frequent dunks to wet yourself and your clothes really pay off. A long sleeve cotton shirt is key. It's also nice to have a bucket to splash down your boat during flatwater.
Definitely yes to sleeping on the boat. Always nice, but mandatory when it's really hot. That's where those rented 18 footers come in handy. Not too hard to sleep 4 on those suckers.
But I think the big thing is that your body acclimates and adjusts. It's my understanding that the human body can acclimate to elevated heat in ways that it can't to cold. 
When we got off the river, our shuttle driver told us that the heat had spiked at 115* during our trip. In hindsight, it was easy to figure out that that was the day that our cheese for mexican dinner had melted to liquid (in the shade.)
But that day didn't feel much hotter than the 100* days at the start of the trip.


----------



## Bongo (Sep 10, 2014)

ok -- that is all really helpful. I have done a fair share of hot river trips but not at the 105/110/115 ranges. It is good to hear that real people can in handle all that! Thanks! 

Also if anyone has a design for an on the boat mister, let's see it!


----------



## Gremlin (Jun 24, 2010)

I will be down in August this year for the first time and this is great information. I tried a mister system under my bimini on the San Juan in 100+ degree heat and it didn't hold up. My system was simple and I thought it would work great. I used the bulb from my hand washer (that has clear tubing with a couple nuts slipped onto the end for weight) that I set next to my foot in the Captain's bay of my cat. A couple pumps on it with my heal built enough pressure for it to spray and cool me off nicely. However, the silt was too much for the tiny sprayer orifice and it only lasted a day. I wasn't willing to sacrifice clean water in that heat so I never came up with a solution. I would love suggestions too. Maybe the rented filter will allow me the luxury of extra fresh water? I don't think it would use very much but I don't want to hold up the group trying to keep my misters going.


----------



## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

I wonder if just flocculating and settling with alum, without filtering, would remove enough?


----------



## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

climbdenali said:


> I wonder if just flocculating and settling with alum, without filtering, would remove enough?


I'll bet it would, I was kinda amazed how much stuff it settles out, pretty quick.
I got some from nuts.com

Bring your cotton to, wet cotton will strip a ton of heat of you, just be careful not to drop your core temperature to much if a swim is possible, depending on what it is it can make it hard to swim to safety as well, so use discretion.


----------



## UTMIKE (Nov 25, 2013)

no doubt it will be hot, we had 120s at phantom in late June and 127 at take out at Pearce Ferry on July 3. Sleep on the boat, Have a sarong (or two) and keep it wet. Umbrella/bimini for sure! We had a fair amount of ice left after the trip, be smart with the cooler (ie no warm beers go in). cool em in river first. Wet hikes were are we could bare. Enjoy! id go in that heat any day


----------

