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Grand Canyon in winter
A winter rafting and hiking trip along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park is a gamble with the elements. While the days can be pleasant, the nights can be below freezing and the water is deadly cold. But the rewards can be worth the risk. Outdoors editor Rich Landers followed a group of rafters with a winter permit (see story) for the first third of their 30-day trip in February 2014. These photos offer a glimpse of the expedition and the progression of the canyon. The trip starts at Lee's Ferry, a National Park Service site 16 miles downstream from Page, Ariz., and Lake Powell. Gradually the Colorado River carves deeper into time as the canyon walls get higher and the river and its fabled whitewater rapids become more remote and gnarly. Landers ultimately leaves the group at Phantom Ranch and hikes out the Bright Angel Trail, finishing on ice and snow at the South Rim as the rest of the rafters continue floating into Middle Granite Gorge toward some of the most challenging rapids in North America.
Section:Gallery
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Brian Burns of Boise drew a permit and organized a group of 10 on five rafts to float the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park during February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rock walls are not yet high above the Colorado River in its Marble Canyon section at Lee's Ferry, where raft trips launch for trips of at least 226 miles through the Grand Canyon to the first take out opportunity.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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By the time rafters get 88 miles downstream from Lee's Ferry, the Grand Canyon South Rim, where this photo was taken, is 4,500 feet above the Colorado river and the North River 10 miles in the distance is 5,600 feet higher than the river. North Rim facilities are snowbound and closed during winter.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafting groups must spread out gear so National Park Service ranger can make sure they have the required for safety and river corridor preservation before they can launch on trips into the Grand Canyon.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Cold rain greets the raft group on Jan. 31, 2014, as they don dry suits and leave the Lee's Ferry rafter's camp for their trip through the Grand Canyon.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Navajo Bridges just downstream from Lee's Ferry are the only vehicle bridges across the Colorado River for hundreds of miles downstream through the Grand Canyon. The first bridge was built in 1929, putting Lee's Ferry out of business. The canyon walls are 470 feet above the river here.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Brian Burns of Boise leads his private rafting group in the Marble Canyon section of the Colorado River on the second day of a 30-day trip through Grand Canyon National Park during February 2014. Most of the trip's 10 members are trained as river guides, including Michelle Carfagno, a Washington river guide at the oars in the background. In her bow is Pierre Finch of the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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An inscription made in 1889 marks where Frank Brown drown during a surveying expedition to see if his company could build a railroad along the Grand Canyon. Several such memorials for early pioneers are along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters scout House Rapids, one of 86 significant whitewater rapids they would face in their 281-mile float on the Colorado River in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Michelle Carfagno and Jen O'Neal scout House Rapids, one of 86 significant whitewater rapids they would face in their 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Brian Burns of Boise gets soaked in one of 86 significant whitewater rapids his 10-member group would navigate during their 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters spend the night at South Canyon Camp at River Mile 32 during their 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Dave Mohler and Jen O'Neal hike and climb toward the rim of the canyon on a layover day at South Canyon Camp during their 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters can check out numerous ancient petroglyphs during float trips on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rain water stands in a hole in the slickrock of South Canyon off the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Winter rafters on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park are allowed to collect drift wood for use in special fire pans until March 1.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters explore Redwall Cavern at River Mile 33 on the Colorado River during a winter float through Grand Canyon National Park. John Wesley Powell, who led the first expedition to navigate and map the river in 1869, estimated it could hold 50,000 people.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters explore Redwall Cavern at River Mile 33 on the Colorado River during a winter float through Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Fossils are common in the million years of geology exposed in the rock of the Grand Canyon. These fossils of ancient marine animals are along the Colorado River at Redwall Cavern at River Mile 33.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Fine displays of fossil chambered nautilus are found in the limestone of Nautiloid Creek at River Mile 35 along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rick Gadd deals a hand of poker as rafters take a layover day during their 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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During a layover day on a private float trip through the Grand Canyon in February 2014, Jen O'Neal and Dave Mohler of Bow, Wash., hiked and climbed from camp on the Colorado River to the rim of the canyon overlooking the river bend around Point Hansbrough. They were taking a layover day at Eminence Camp, River Mile 44.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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During a layover day on a private float trip through the Grand Canyon in February 2014, Jen O'Neal and Dave Mohler of Bow, Wash., hiked and climbed from camp on the Colorado River to the rim of the canyon overlooking the river bend around Point Hansbrough.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Outdoors editor Rich Landers poses on the rim of the Grand Canyon overlooking the Colorado River bend around Point Hansbrough after hiking up from Eminence Camp at River Mile 44
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters who devote days to hiking from the Colorado River to the rim of the Grand Canyon usually find tricky climbing and descending through the last steep cliffs at the top.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Cacti pose hazards to hikers along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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The Colorado River flows through a scenic stretch of Grand Canyon National Park past Nankoweap Camp near River Mile 53. The first 53 miles of the Colorado River from the launch at Lee's Ferry was named Marble Canyon by explorer John Wesley Powell in 1869. For rafters headed downstream, this stretch marks the official beginning of what he later named the Grand Canyon.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Granaries made of mud and rock in a cliff near Nankoweap Camp, River Mile 53, were used by Anasazi people 1,000 years ago. This is a popular hiking destination for rafters on the Colorado River.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Scott Somerville, a Washington rafting guide, does laundry at a layover camp during a 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Ravens patrol for food -- and they can open zippers to get it -around camps on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Cacti flourish along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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The wreckage of a wooden boat recalls memories of early adventurers on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park before the first rubber raft tested the rapids in 1951.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Calcium carbonate deposits cause the turquoise color -- resembling a glacial stream -- of the Little Colorado River, which flows into the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park at River Mile 62.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Jen O'Neal and Dave Mohler enjoy happy hour after a day of rafting at Carbon Camp, River Mile 65, during their 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Mule deer are found along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Snow covers areas on and below the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as Jen O'Neal and Dave Mohler hike from their camp during a 281-mile float on the Colorado River in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Many bushes and trees have thorns that stab and grab hikers along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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The dried flowering stem of yucca towers above its plant along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters, taking a break from the Colorado River near River Mile 71 in Grand Canyon, hike past Hill Top Ruin; Furnace Flats is in the background.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafters, taking a break from the Colorado River near River Mile 71 in Grand Canyon, hike the Hill Top Ruin Trail.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Rafter Michelle Carfagno, taking a break from the Colorado River near River Mile 71 in Grand Canyon, photographs Unkar Rapids from the Top Ruin Trail.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Taking a break from the Colorado River near River Mile 71 in Grand Canyon, rafters photograph Unkar Rapids from the Hill Top Ruin Trail.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Scott Somerville rows Ray Hummel through Hance Rapid during a 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Jen O'Neal puts all her strength into the oars as she tries to avoid a rock hidden in a pillow of water as Dave Mohler prepares for the jolt. The couple from Bow, Wash., were rafting the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Jen O'Neal rows her husband, Dave Mohler, on a bumpy run through Hance Rapid during a 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Jen O'Neal rows her husband, Dave Mohler, on a bumpy run through Hance Rapid during a 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Jen O'Neal rows her husband, Dave Mohler, on a bumpy run through Hance Rapid during a 281-mile float on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Making the transition from a warm day to a chilly night, Jen O'Neal dons insulated boots at camp during a winter rafting trip on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park in February 2014.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Packers lead mule teams over the Colorado River on the 440-foot-long Kaibab foot bridge that links trails between the south and north rims of the Grand Canyon at River Mile 88 near Phantom Ranch.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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Outdoors editor Rich Landers got this last look at the rafting group as they headed into Middle Granite Gorge toward Horn Rapid. He left the trip and was hiking out the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim Village of Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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The Bright Angel Trail runs 9.5 miles and gains 4,500 feet in elevation from the Colorado River to the South Rim Village of Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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In winter, slick ice often covers the top mile of the Bright Angel Trail, which runs 9.5 miles and gains 4,500 feet in elevation from the Colorado River to the South Rim Village of Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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In winter, slick ice often covers the top mile of the Bright Angel Trail, which runs 9.5 miles and gains 4,500 feet in elevation from the Colorado River to the South Rim Village of Grand Canyon National Park.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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While about 29,000 people raft the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park each year, most of the park's 4.4 million annual visitors enjoy the developed attractions based from the South and North Rim villages.
Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
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