Grand Canyon 2022

I had the absolute pleasure of paddling the Grand Canyon for most of April 2022. This trip was extremely special in so many ways; two specific highlights:

Got engaged to the love of my life, the beautiful Kansas Peacock
Got to experience the canyon with not only my parents, but also my little brother

It is hard to put into words what a Grand Canyon trip is like. The duration of the trip creates an environment that is difficult to describe. Normal river trips last between 5-7 days and feel like brief escapes from reality. 20 days on the Grand feels like reality. After 7-10 days of repetition - wake up, break down camp, boat, make camp, sleep - you get into the groove and can just bask in the glory of life on the river. This is not to imply that this life is not without its highs and lows; the beauty of this journey is the emotional spectrum that you experience throughout.

20 days of memories is impossible to even begin to convey - here are some pictures from the trip that make me happy.

Wade in ‘da duck It has been many years since I’ve been on a river trip with my brother and it was such a special experience to share the common joy of floating down some big water. Wade ran all the hard shit in the canyon in the duck without having paddled for many years prior - ‘easy-peazy, extremely steezy’ — Wade in ‘da duck
It has been many years since I’ve been on a river trip with my brother and it was such a special experience to share the common joy of floating down some big water. Wade ran all the hard shit in the canyon in the duck without having paddled for many years prior - ‘easy-peazy, extremely steezy’

Trip Dic(k)tator This picture pretty perfectly conveys my dad in a nutshell - kicking the kitchen crew while they are down. We <3 Brett. — Trip Dic(k)tator
This picture pretty perfectly conveys my dad in a nutshell - kicking the kitchen crew while they are down. We <3 Brett.

The Gang Rows the Grand This was a super special moment for me - the majority of our group went on a hike and would finish a few miles downstream. My parents, brother, and I all shuttled the boats - so cool being in our own little MC^2 armada — The Gang Rows the Grand
This was a super special moment for me - the majority of our group went on a hike and would finish a few miles downstream. My parents, brother, and I all shuttled the boats - so cool being in our own little MC^2 armada

Disco Night aka No Sober Kitchens As usual, much was learned in the kitchen. Cooking for 16 people is a challenge by itself; cooking for 16 people with a relatively spartan kitchen amplifies this. There were ups and downs but we by the end I was able to cook a full meal without throwing a pissy fit 🤪 — Disco Night aka No Sober Kitchens
As usual, much was learned in the kitchen. Cooking for 16 people is a challenge by itself; cooking for 16 people with a relatively spartan kitchen amplifies this. There were ups and downs but we by the end I was able to cook a full meal without throwing a pissy fit 🤪

Omar saying ‘Hola USGS’
There was a USGS team surveying the profile of this section of the canyon to establish a baseline for measuring sediment deposition over time. Part of this involved using LiDAR above the surface. Somewhere, Omar is part of this dataset.

Ba ba Omar It is pretty common to leave small gifts for friends and family at specific locations along the canyon if they are coming there soon. In this case Karl is leaving a smirnoff ice and Omar for some ‘friends’ of hers — Ba ba Omar
It is pretty common to leave small gifts for friends and family at specific locations along the canyon if they are coming there soon. In this case Karl is leaving a smirnoff ice and Omar for some ‘friends’ of hers

Proposal at Elves Chasm aka Falling in love; both literally and figuratively