Julius jubilant

Julius survived his fourth Grand Canyon trip unscathed, through little fault of my own. I missed a few runs, slopped through a few others, but came out right-side-up and smiling. I was a training boat and blabbermouth on Arizona Raft Adventures's annual "Dories and Stories" trip. Last year I took down the Edith--my replica of the 1911 Kolb boat, for its 100th anniversary. This year I took Julius to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Holmstrom's solo run of 1937. (Next year it'll be a Nevills replica, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of that historic style.)

I shot a lot of video footage, although most of it was unremarkable. I'll post a few amusing ones. Here is Hance, where Alan and I violated each others' personal space for the entire run:
High res YouTube link

Sockdolager, where I tore an oarlock out and bent it:
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Here we are hauling the potty to lunch, in lieu of the poo boat who had headed downriver early to exchange hikers. Buzz would be proud.

Horn Creek, where I actually made the run:
High res YouTube link

And a pause for beauty at Trinity Canyon:

Granite Falls: push hard left, get swept right anyhow--my standard run, but it seems to work:

High-res YouTube link

Down the left wall at Crystal:

High-res YouTube link

Another wander up Specter Chasm:

And one of the worst runs I've made at Bedrock since I was a greenhorn in the mid-70s. Angle, Brad. Angle! For the love of god, angle!

High-res YouTube link

An ouzel posing at Deer Creek:

And what was most likely the most spectacular run, down the right at Lava Falls, hot on the heels of an upside-down dory--a huge ride, complete with a high-speed chase through Lower Lava, nearly flipping in pursuit of a runaway dory oar... and the danged video cam ran out of gas before we even got to the rapid. Ah well... have to do it again.

A consolation shot at Pumpkin Spring and a few closeups Julius's suntanned Port Orford Cedar glowing in the late afternoon light. 'T'was a fine expedition.