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.

While preparing for the trip, I looked at cases that would keep things dry and protect them from being crushed. I didn’t need such a case, but I looked. The obvious answer for me was the Pelican Case. In my job, associated with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Intel community, we use lots of Pelican cases. They are light, almost indestructible, and most models are water tight. What better container would one use on the rapids of the Colorado River?

Wrong.

None of the river guides used Pelican Cases. They all used old ammo cans. Here is one source for buying ammo cans. Ammo cans are metals cases that were made for carrying ammunition or “ammo.” To me, they aren’t cans, they are rectangular boxes, but I guess the name “can” comes from the metal that comprises their shell.

Everywhere I looked was an ammo can. Most of them had been painted white. I did see one that was still OD green and was stamped for 40mm shells (40mm shells are often used in aircraft cannons – they can cut a brick building in half).

Why ammo cans? Well, why not. They have a rubber seal in the lid, so they probably do a good job of keeping out water. They are not lightweight so hauling them about must be a pain. The big reason why the river guides use them is the price. Ammo cans sell for under $20 each. Pelican cases, well they cost at least twice as much. I guess the also don’t have the rugged Americana feel that the ammo cans have. There is something very Americana about working as a river guide, so I guess the ammo can fits the persona better. Still, this was a surprise.

By the way, the L.A. lawyer who carried a great Canon camera kept it packed in a small Pelican Case.