I recently spent a week on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I have visited Grand Canyon National Park several times and I have seen it from several perspectives. From the river the canyon took on a wholly different character.
My last two visits to the canyon were rim-to-rim hikes, traversing the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim; a kind of cross section of the canyon at one of its widest points. On this traverse, one starts at the top, descends through the rock strata to the inner gorge and the river, then ascends through the same rock strata on the opposite rim. One rim appears to mirror the other in that the rock strata progresses from youngest at the top to the oldest at river level.
Traveling the length of the canyon from Lees Ferry (Mile 0) to Diamond Creek (MIle 226) reveals the rock strata is a different way. Rock strata were exposed at river level and then rose as the river cut deeper into the Colorado Plateau. Just below Lees Ferry we saw Coconino Sandstone exposed at river level. Much farther down the river the Coconino is 3,000 feet above the river. The deeper we traveled in the canyon the more rock strata were revealed. In the Inner Gorge, or Granite Gorge, Vishnu schist and Zoraster marble towered above the river. These are the oldest rocks in the canyon; up to 1.8 billion years old.
The Grand Canyon is an awesome place from any perspective; but seeing it unfold mile after mile as I traveled downriver, made me even more aware of the geologic processes that created it. Following the river also set a pace that lent itself to times of reflection and action. To drift along still waters watching the canyon walls slip quietly by left one with a sense of peace. There is a spiritual quality to still waters. God instructs us through the psalmist, "Be still and know that I am God." Slipping by one billion year old rocks in quiet solitude brought me close to that ideal.
In other places the river provided us with a sense of its great power. Dropping several feet down a rapid gave one the sense of the eroding power of the river. Erosion and debris from side canyons and drainages create the rapids, and the river riffles, cascades and falls as it passes over the submerged rocks. In some places huge rocks block part of the river, leaving only a tight run to the left or the right. Uncertainty in these rapids can lead to disaster rather quickly. Our raft guides expertly negotiated the rapids, leaving us both thrilled and wet.
My time on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon proved to be a greater experience that I had anticipated. The river guides and my fellow river runners were excellent travel companions. Listening to the sound of the river at night was calming and produced restful sleep. The descending call of the canyon wrens in the evening is a sound I can still hear in my mind. Most of all the colors of the canyon, changing with morning and evening light, are my overriding memory. Film does not always catch the nuances of shadow and light; the canyon is meant to be seen and experienced.
I know I will return to the Grand Canyon another time. There is so much more of it to experience.
