take out

River Trip (Day 5)

For the first time all trip, I woke up before anyone else. I took the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise and see if the new waterproof camera could do justice to the beautiful colors popping out in the rocks. The early morning sun brought out the reds in the canyon walls, the green in the leaves, and the blue in the sky. The pools we'd seen the evening before mirrored the sunrise-kissed rocks. Not too bad for a camera that can swim and take a beating. Both of which it had done earlier on the trip. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, it woke the others up. By the time I returned to camp, the coffee was brewing. After breakfast, we quickly broke up camp and packed the boats. The slowest part of the river lie ahead, and with it the promise of some paddling. As we began our last day on the river, the canyon walls seemed to gleam in the sun. The colors were incredible against the brilliant blue sky. The rain and dreariness of the last few days had been forgotten. As we continued on our way, we realized the river wasn't as slow as we had anticipated. The flows were still up, and we had plenty of time to stop at a sand bar in the middle of the river for lunch. The quicksand bar became a playground for us as we enjoyed our PB&Js, cheese doodles and beer. Silly photos of people stuck up to their thighs, leaning too far forward, backward. One last group photo. And then it was time to go. We continued along. The duckies faster than the raft. So we grabbed each other's boats and floated down the river talking. Laughing. Making fun of the guys in the raft trying to use a tarp as a sail. As the canyon walls loomed less and less high above the river, we knew the take out was close. Just around the bend. I was a little sad to see the red clay hills. Another fantastic river trip had come to an end. All that was left was the work. As we began taking all of the boats out, I had to snap a picture of my favorite sign. The one that tells you to not proceed. There's a waterfall ahead. Everyone quickly unloaded and deflated all of the boats, and we waited for our shuttles back. Back to civilization. Back to reality. The ride back was quiet. After five days of constant banter, everyone seemed content to just watch the desert landscape pass by. Once we were back, we grabbed a milkshake and began the tedious work of unpacking the shuttles, cleaning everything, and repacking for the drive home the next day. After dinner and a shower I fell into bed, exhausted. Partly wishing the trip did not have to end. ****** You can see larger versions of the images by clicking on them.