Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

From June 28th through July 3rd, I had the privilege of being on a raft on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. This was part of a family trip “for the guys.” On a trip put together by my father-in-law Allan, his two sons, me (a son in law), my three sons, two other grandsons, one grandson-in-law, and one great grandson spent five days and five nights on the Colorado River. These blog posts are part of the story.

Question: What was the one phrase that the guides said more than any other?

Input on the Left, Output on the Right, Foot Pump in the Middle

Answer: Wash your hands

No, it wasn’t, “careful in the rapids” or “hang on, this is a big one” or “watch out for snakes” or “don’t take any rocks home with you” or any of the other things I would have guessed. It was

Wash your hands.

It seems that several years ago, someone on one of these rafting trips caught a form of the stomach flu. The crowding of 30 people on two rafts every day and one small campground every night made an excellent spreading ground. Within a day, everyone on the rafting trip had a form of the stomach flu. You know, nausea, diarrhea, cramps, a little fever, general misery, hope for death.

Sections of the rafting trip were uncomfortable with everyone healthy. I don’t know what it would be like with everyone ill. I don’t want to know.

Hence, we heard, “wash your hands” half a dozen times a day. When coffee was ready in the morning, “wash your hands.” When breakfast was ready 15 minutes later, “wash your hands.” When people used the toilet, “wash your hands.” When…well, you get the idea.

In the photo is the hand-washing station provided by Tour West (click to enlarge). The left bucket held water and some sort of cleaning solution. In the middle of the line between the two buckets is a little squeeze pump. We pumped that with a foot while holding our hands under the “faucet” clipped to the right bucket. We put soap on our hands to wash in the spray. After that, we put the disinfectant cleanser on our hands. One additional safety step, our hands air dried instead of sharing a damp towel.

I doubt that my hands have ever been cleaner for one week of my life.

That was okay. No one was sick.