# GC - 50 Years Ago Floods Roared Down Crystal and Bright Angel Creeks



## David L (Feb 13, 2004)

Thanks Andy. I'm going to pass this on to others.


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## ciggyboy (Mar 7, 2008)

*Crystal at 30k!*

Thanks for that great article. The mighty C is awesome at 30k it's hard to fathom Crystal creek at 30k!


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## 90Duck (Nov 19, 2012)

"We all know that Crystal Creek Rapid was enlarged to become one of the “big three” rapids in Grand Canyon."

I'm trying to figure out which rapid the article is referring to as the the third rapid in the "the big three" trifecta. Hance? Hermit? Granite? Horn? I guess I'd vote in that order since Hance nearly ate me up last time down (so did Dubendorf, for that matter...)


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## David L (Feb 13, 2004)

One opinion is the "big three" are Granite, Hermit, and Crystal since they are so close together.


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## 90Duck (Nov 19, 2012)

Ahhh, that makes sense. I was having trouble condensing 280 miles of the Grand Canyon into three big rapids, but Granite/Hermit/Crystal all being basically one after another in one day fit that description.


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## trevko (Jul 7, 2008)

That is one opinion. 

For me it was all based on pucker factor- Hance, Crystal, Lava. Horn at low water gets added. 

The lateral at Crystal mellowed by the mid to late 90's you didn't really have to worry too much about getting surfed into the hole- but the penalty for failure is the rock garden. 


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


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## 90Duck (Nov 19, 2012)

I was just wondering how the author could reduce all the big boys over the entire 280-mile length of the Grand Canyon into an assumed consensus "big three". My thinking went: 1) Lava; 2) Crystal; 3) Take your pic of 1/2 dozen potential candidates, depending on flow. I just couldn't stop scratching my head wondering what the author thought #3 would be on the entire canyon. It makes more sense to me just in context of that magic stretch of the inner granite gorge with Granite, Hermit and Crystal lined up in short order.


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## restrac2000 (Mar 6, 2008)

Yeah, Big 3 is a really rough goal. Crystal and Lava seem obvious to me but the 3rd is a tie with a half dozen other rapids. Hance is my personal nemesis: wife low-sided first time going down the now-closed off left side which led to some tense moments; I botched entry on center run the second trip which led to a very long Plan D run though a few big features. That said, rapids like Bedrock offer horrible consequences for a fully loaded expedition rig and other unique rapids like Granite can throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans.

If Pearce was still in play it would trump even Lava.


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## David L (Feb 13, 2004)

If three rapids all in one short stretch are a Big Three, then we also have:

Hance, Sock, and Grapevine, and a few in the 20's, from about 23 to 25, are some big ones.


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

I thought Pierce ferry was the biggest thing on the river right now, has there been a new change?


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## 90Duck (Nov 19, 2012)

We walked down to look at the Pearce Ferry beast at the end of our trip in July last summer. Just standing on the unstable bank above it was probably the single most dangerous part of our entire 18 day trip. It is pretty nasty, and the calving sediment banks were a real menace.


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

At least as of last August Pierce was very much still a big thing, but since the takeout is above it now I think most would no longer consider it to be part of a Grand Canyon trip.

Maybe its just because it was the first big rapid, but I think the rapid I had the most trouble with on the whole trip was House Rock. I had an oar pop off the pin and got a closeup view of the hole at the bottom but came through unscathed. I wouldn't consider it one of the big three though.

At least at the flows we ran it (10-18k cfs out of the Dam plus whatever the tributarys added during monsoon season), Upset was probably the next "hardest" rapid outside of Lava. The rest of them were relatively straightforward. Even Crystal didn't feel particularly hard. I set up just right of center and ran it right down the middle with no problem. I suspect that we probably saw it at a very forgiving level though. Maybe I built it up too much and I honestly had a fabulous time, but I was a little underwhelmed by the rapids in comparison to my expectations. I don't even really feel like I had a close call. By the end of the trip I was aiming for bigger features. I do regret to some degree taking more conservative lines down a few rapids like Horn (we ran between the Horns and center left for the rest). Oh well, I guess there is always next time.

If not for any other reason then it being one of the longer rapids with hazards to avoid throughout, Hance is probably the one I'd designate as the third of the "Big Three".


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