jrplefty Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I know this is a long shot, and there might be better forums to throw this out, but I'm curious if any of you cats have rafted the Grand Canyon. I have been invited to undertake this adventure of a lifetime and will be accepting said invitation. I would like a guitar accompany me, so I'm reaching out hoping that someone here can share their experiences. Thanks in advance, JRPLefty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Get a little martin backpacker ... and enjoy your trip... I bet that will be fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Rainsong. Or some sort of small carbon fiber box. Never been on a whitewater raft. Live right smack in the middle of lots of opportunities, but never had the hankerin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I rowed it about seven years ago. The greatest float in the lower 48. Don't miss it for anything. Hopefully you have about three weeks, at least, on the river. I think I'd take one of the little Taylor travel sized guitars or look for a cheap laminated Recording King 0 or 00, or the like. Carbon fiber is great if you want to spend the bread on the eve of a river trip. I took a little Alvarez all solid wood travel guitar I owned at the time. It had a great, well fitted hardshell case and I put it in a roll top type Bill's Bag. The prospect of flipping the boat you are in is HIGH so just count on it happening unless you are floating with a commercial outfit in one of those giant boloney boats. The main enemy down there is the sand. It is super fine and gets into every tiny crevice you can imagine. It trashes all electronics that aren't waterproof. I don't think you want to have any electronics on the guitar because of this. What month are you going and are there any openings on the permit? I'd do anything to get another trip down the Grand. You will have the time of your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Those Martin backpackers make great paddles. Get two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livemusic Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I rowed it about seven years ago. The greatest float in the lower 48. Don't miss it for anything. Hopefully you have about three weeks, at least, on the river. I think I'd take one of the little Taylor travel sized guitars or look for a cheap laminated Recording King 0 or 00, or the like. Carbon fiber is great if you want to spend the bread on the eve of a river trip. I took a little Alvarez all solid wood travel guitar I owned at the time. It had a great, well fitted hardshell case and I put it in a roll top type Bill's Bag. The prospect of flipping the boat you are in is HIGH so just count on it happening unless you are floating with a commercial outfit in one of those giant boloney boats. The main enemy down there is the sand. It is super fine and gets into every tiny crevice you can imagine. It trashes all electronics that aren't waterproof. I don't think you want to have any electronics on the guitar because of this. What month are you going and are there any openings on the permit? I'd do anything to get another trip down the Grand. You will have the time of your life. Three weeks? That's a long time! Curious, could you describe your trip and how this works? Did you go alone? I guess you made camp each night? What were the positives/negatives? What kind of boat did you take/rent? What is the process? Three weeks is a long time, did it take that long to float it? What town did you put in and what town come out (to view this on google)? A writeup on your trip and why it was so special would be cool to read. Never done but would like to. I would like to observe the geology and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 livemusic-It's a long story. I got a call from a friend that had been asked to row on a person's permit. That person had waited 15 years for her "turn". When she was selected (the process is different nowadays) she couldn't get anyone she knew to take her down the river. The Park Service put her in touch with my friend as he had rowed the river five or six times and knew what he was doing. Myself and a friend from Crested Butte were invited to go with the proviso that we rent a bigger raft than we owned (we ended up with a 20 footer with 20 inch tubes) so we could carry more of the communal gear. The party turned out to be about ten people in the upper river and then some left at Phantom Ranch and more hiked down to join us for the lower part of the canyon; making the party around 13 if memory serves. At the beginning of the trip I only knew my friend from CB and by the end we were all brothers and sisters. We did it hurriedly in thirteen days and that was only by hitting the river early and getting the miles in while we hit all the most amazing places along the river throughout each day. Plus we had no layover days for rest. Being early October the days are shorter too and the canyon is so deep you don't get much sun anyway. If we'd had more days we could've seen even more sights off river that we would have had the time to hike to. I'd say 21 days, from my experience, is the minimum and the only negative for the trip was the 13 days. The process otherwise is fairly well established and can be read about in many places I suppose. We did the whole trip, from Lees Ferry to the indian reservation. I've rowed most of the rivers of the American southwest and most of the great salmon rivers that drain into Bristol Bay in western Alaska and there is just nothing like the Grand. The magical sense of the place can only be experienced. If I could I'd live out what remaining years I have left at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Some food and a guitar and someone to bring new strings once in awhile is about all I think I'd need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 The Grand Canyon is a great adventure, whether hiking or rafting. I went to high school in Arizona, and hiked down to the inner canyon every summer. Whatever guitar you take had better be considered sacrificial. A carbon fiber travel guitar such as the Composite Acoustics Cargo has the great combination of ruggedness, water resistance, and good sound. But it's a big investment at around $1000. In addition to the Cargo, I also have a little Martin Backpacker, but they really are just "campfire" guitars, with little tonal quality and mediocre playability. They are also solid wood, and would probably be damaged if they got really wet, which is a high probability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Sounds like a job for a uke. Small enough to fit in your waterproof duffel bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 A uke is a great idea! Then you could have a Polyamnesian theme night(s) where all the girls have to dress in grass skirts and everyone could get drunk and crazy on rum or tequila and let nature take its course. Don't let drunks near your instrument and don't fall in the river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrplefty Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 I appreciate the feedback from all of you. Fortunately I have a few months to collect my thoughts and figure out how to arrange all of this, but I wanted to get ahead of this situation and start problem solving it now. I will launch Dec 23 and spend Christmas and New Year's in the Canyon, so I'm definitely stoked. JRPLefty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcorner Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 If you are going to have a campfire singalong, a Martin backpacker won't have enough volume. The little Taylor is a better choice, but a uke will tolerate the abuse of the river better than a small guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Yeah. You know, thinking about it, I bet the acoustics in some spots deep in the canyon must be incredible. Might be worth it to bang up a baby taylor or something just to have a real six string guitar to play in some of those spots. A flute or recorder would probably reverberate for ages in some places down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Yeah. You know, thinking about it, I bet the acoustics in some spots deep in the canyon must be incredible. Might be worth it to bang up a baby taylor or something just to have a real six string guitar to play in some of those spots. A flute or recorder would probably reverberate for ages in some places down there. Except that the sound of the river might drown it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrplefty Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Yeah. You know, thinking about it, I bet the acoustics in some spots deep in the canyon must be incredible. Might be worth it to bang up a baby taylor or something just to have a real six string guitar to play in some of those spots. A flute or recorder would probably reverberate for ages in some places down there. I'm really leaning towards a real six string for the reasons you mentioned, Jerry. Now just begins the research process. It's a shame I have to go play a handful of different guitars to see which one deserves the honor of going to one of the wonders of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickB Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 JRPLefty, I've taken the "big baloney boat" float down the canyon and it was one of the highlights of my life. The alternating quiet serenity and the wild rides through the rapids (102 of them!) were amazing. One thing you will find is that it is impossible to keep anything dry unless you take a lot of special precautions, so I wouldn't take any instrument that I wouldn't mind being damaged from water and/or being thrown around in the rapids. Another thing, depending on the group you're with, there might not be a good vibe from some people about hearing a guitar and singing every night. The nights along the river are magical, with mostly quiet talk and listening to the rush of the current or a nearby rapid. At least that was my experience; your group might be different, but I would think again about taking anything bigger or louder or more expensive than a harmonica. **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I understand there are narrow side canyons and cavern-like spots where playing would probably be like Paul Horn in the Taj Mahal. It would be worth trashing a baby taylor (though not a Gibson!) just to play for a little while in such a place. I don't know if these raft trips really get into any side explorations... On the other side yeah it might be quite a drag to be on a long trip like that and be with somebody who brought a loud instrument but sucks on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrplefty Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Jerry, there are definitely a lot of side canyons to explore, and from my understanding there is time built in to our itinerary to explore these areas, and I'm with you 100%. I think it would be very surreal to haul a wooden box back in there and just take it all in. DickB, thanks for the feedback. The guitar will be in a dry bag as an extra measure, but I know that nothing is guaranteed when I end up upside down. I haven't met the entire group yet, so I don't have feel for the dynamic or personal preferences. I figure it's easier to plan on bringing a guitar and back out at the last minute if necessary as opposed to not planning on bringing one and missing the opportunity if it was available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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