Grand Canyon
Apr 22nd, 2012, 08:40 AM
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Grand Canyon
I'll be hiking through the Grand Canyon soon and I'd like to find some Canyon tales or short stories that I can load onto my ipod. Didn't find any on itunes. Amazon had only paper backs. Any suggestions? Also music that would be inspiring when the trail wears me down.
Apr 22nd, 2012, 12:54 PM
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We read Tony Hillerman stories before our western trips. One of them does have a GC twist, but I'm not sure which.
Look for some Native American tunes, you hear them as background in many videos, but I don't know any artist names, sorry.
Look for some Native American tunes, you hear them as background in many videos, but I don't know any artist names, sorry.
Apr 22nd, 2012, 04:28 PM
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John Wesley Powell's book is probably available for free download at Gutenberg or similar sites. He's the one-armed Civil War vet who led the first boating expedition down the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869 and even today it makes for great reading, especially while in the canyon (even more so while rafting it, but nevertheless ...).
While you probably won't have time for the entire book, there's a wonderful passage expressing their fears that starts when they are camped at Hance Rapids, eleven river-miles upstream (and 40 meandering trail miles on the Tonto) from where you'll be at Phantom Ranch. Hance rapids is where the granite first becomes exposed, leading to steeper narrow walls and, Powell fears, bigger rapids with more difficult passage around them (no one had ever been thru here in a boat before and they were lining the boats around rapids rather than running them). He was right, the rapids got much worse quickly and it was tough work from here out.
Can also learn how Bright Angel (creek and later trail) got its name from Powell ... when they hit a side-stream they always hoped the water was clear and drinkable; well-upstream in Utah they found a big creek and when asked if it were clear the first boatman said "No, it's a Dirty Devil" (still the name today). So when they finally found clear water they called it "Bright Angel" and the name stuck. They stayed here near the current day campground for a while before pressing on.
Anyway, reading Powell seems apt for an inner-canyon trip.
While you probably won't have time for the entire book, there's a wonderful passage expressing their fears that starts when they are camped at Hance Rapids, eleven river-miles upstream (and 40 meandering trail miles on the Tonto) from where you'll be at Phantom Ranch. Hance rapids is where the granite first becomes exposed, leading to steeper narrow walls and, Powell fears, bigger rapids with more difficult passage around them (no one had ever been thru here in a boat before and they were lining the boats around rapids rather than running them). He was right, the rapids got much worse quickly and it was tough work from here out.
Can also learn how Bright Angel (creek and later trail) got its name from Powell ... when they hit a side-stream they always hoped the water was clear and drinkable; well-upstream in Utah they found a big creek and when asked if it were clear the first boatman said "No, it's a Dirty Devil" (still the name today). So when they finally found clear water they called it "Bright Angel" and the name stuck. They stayed here near the current day campground for a while before pressing on.
Anyway, reading Powell seems apt for an inner-canyon trip.
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