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.

The dominant topic of conversation in the Grand Canyon is water. There is either a lot of water or no water.

The canyon was created by water. Millions or years, billions of years, I don’t know how long, but over a long period water washed away the dirt and left the canyon.

Every day, we would look 40 or 50 feet up the canyon wall to see a log or a bunch of sticks perched on a ledge. That wood was placed on its perch by a flood of the river a hundred or so years ago. It was sitting there before people used telephones or flew in airplanes.

The wood doesn’t rot. Rot needs moisture. Sure it rains in the canyon, now and then, a little bit. There isn’t, however, enough rain to do anything to a log perched safely above the river. Instead, the sun bakes the wood. I don’t know what you call that process or what really happens to wood when it bakes, but that is what happens in the Grand Canyon.

Then in another hundred years, after the man-made dams deteriorate and disappear, there will be a rainstorm, a flood, and some other logs will be placed way up there on the canyon wall to bake for a few centuries. The water will reshape everything.

There is the mud. Well, there are the rocks that look like mud. We would walk along and see a large boulder with one side caked with dirt. That dirt covered the rock when a rainstorm washed a few tons of mud down the wall some centuries ago. That was centuries ago, but there hasn’t been much rain since then. Instead, the sun baked the mud and turned it into rock. It looked like dried mud to me; it looked like I could scratch off some mud, but I couldn’t. I was rock hard.

This is hard for me to understand, i.e., the stretch of time between when something is wet. A rainstorm washes mud down the wall a bit. Another rainstorm happens a thousand years later. There are no rainstorms between, no other rainstorms in the intervening thousand years. Water formed the boulder and the absence of water made the form permanent.

This is truly hard for me to understand, but that is part of the wonder of the canyon.

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.

One thing often leads to another. Such was the case of chasing the poem with the line “three cheers for the bureau boys.” Instead of writing the name of the book that contained that poem, I figured that I would just find it quickly on the Internet. I didn’t find it quickly. I had to search several times before I found it.

While searching, I stumbled across Edward Abbey.

Wikipedia has a good article on the deceased Abbey. He wrote books and essays about the area around the Grand Canyon. He worked part-time for many years for the National Park Service. Those years and experiences influenced his writing.

Famous works by Abbey:

• The Brave Cowboy – fiction – Published in 1956, this became a movie titled Lonely are the Brave that starred Kirk Douglas. I’ve seen that movie on TV several times. I always thought it to be the best film ever made about a cowboy in the 20th century.
• Desert Solitaire – non-fiction – a collection of writing by Abbey on the southwest.
• The Monkey Wrench Gang – fiction (at least so far it is fiction as no one is yet to do these things, I repeat yet) – a gang of misfits blows up man-made things out in nature. I’ve read that in 2010 or 2011 someone will make this into a movie. I hope so.

I am reading “The Monkey Wrench Gang” chapter by chapter when I find myself in the library with a few spare moments. I love it.

Abbey writes like Mark Twain. I guess most people call it irreverent. He makes fun of things that you are not supposed to make fun of. He is a bit crude, but I find him funny. Sort of like me. For example, I went to the Grand Canyon on a glorious trip, but I took photos of the porta-potty that we used. Oh well.

Read Abbey. You may enjoy him.

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.

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.

Yes, I made a phone call from the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

No, you are not supposed to talk on the phone while on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. You are supposed to get away from it all.

We pulled up onto a beach near several other rafts. There were people milling about. Too many people. This was odd. The river guides told us we could get off the raft for a while, walk around, and even fill our water bottles from a faucet. I was confused.

I learned that we were next to (let me get all the names wrong) the Phantom Ranch, at the end of the Bright Angel Trail,  next to the Bright Angel Campground. The one thing I am sure about is that this spot is where lots of people stop when they hike down from either rim of the canyon to the bottom. There are several foot bridges that allow you to cross the Colorado River.

My spirits lifted as I walked about. Maybe I should be ashamed at that. You take a rafting trip to get away from people and things and buildings, but I was happiest around these people and things and buildings. I wanted to see how they built buildings down here, how they built bridges, how they piped drinking water, how they made signs, how they made all sort of things that they made.

Then I saw what looked like a pay telephone. I grew up without cell phones; I have used pay phones many times in my life. Something pulled me to the phone and I lifted the receiver. A dial tone! I quickly figured that this phone was for collect calls only. I also know what a collect call is. I called my wife and talked with her. I had a pretty good excuse. When we left Reston, Virginia for Las Vegas she didn’t know if she was to stay in Reston or visit the female relatives in Louisiana. She stayed in Reston; I enjoyed the chat. I haven’t received the bill yet to see how much this collect call cost me. Perhaps I won’t be so happy then.

The experience taught me something about myself. I enjoyed looking at the small buildings in the base of the canyon than I did looking at the canyon itself. I am an engineer, a builder and problem solver. I enjoy learning from how others engineer, build, and solve. That is me.

Learning about myself is one of the reasons I go to places like the Grand Canyon. The canyon taught me much of myself, and for that I am grateful.

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.

We saw a lot of wildlife from the raft. I think that our guide Andy was surprised at how much wildlife we saw. We saw maybe a dozen mountain goats or rams or I’m not sure what they are called, but we saw them. I have the impression that on most river trips Andy spots the wildlife and not the people in the raft. There were two exceptions on this trip.

(1) My nephew-in-law was on the raft. He grew up hunting deer in Mississippi and has a keen eye for wildlife.

(2) I was on the raft. I didn’t grow up hunting deer, but used some basic logic about where wildlife would be standing.

It really is pretty simple. We were on a river, there is water in the river, and the animals have to drink water every day.

• There was no use looking on the shore where a sheer rock plunged into the water as the animals couldn’t walk down the side of sheer rock.
• There was no use looking on the sunny side of the river. Animals go to the water in the shade. They are smart enough to avoid the hot sun. Only mad dogs and Englishmen and people on a raft in the Colorado River go out in the hot sun.
• Hence, I concentrated on the shady side of the river, the beaches, and the shade. The wildlife was there most of the time. The rest of the time the wildlife was approaching the beaches on the shady side of the river.

I was surprised at how much wildlife there was in the canyon. It is a desert with sparse greenery for food. Still, there is a large river running through the middle of the canyon, and wildlife gathers about water.

Oh, and then there was the deer that we could have patted on the head. We were at the part of the canyon where hikers come down from one rim, walk across a foot bridge, and head up to the other rim (after a night of camping). A deer was sitting in the shade under a tree. We stood on the walkway three feet away. There was something interesting but not satisfying about that. It was as if we were supposed to be feeding this deer or something.

Photos? No, I didn’t take any photos of the wildlife. I didn’t have a suitable camera. Search the net for “grand canyon wildlife.” There are plenty of photos of what we saw.

by Dwayne Phillips

There are many processes available to solving problems and and working situations. Despite all our advances in methods and processes, still the best method in many cases is to focus on the problem, commit resources, and solve it.

Here’s the secret step to solving any problem:

Solve it

I was reminded of this insight today as I learned that the Commodore Amiga computer is 25 years old this week. The Amiga had great graphics performance – unmatched in its age, unmatched for years. How did they provide great graphics? The put a second processor in the box devoted to graphics.

They solved the problem by solving it

They put resources to the problem. They put a processor in the box for graphics, put engineers on the task to make it work, and they made it work. They recognized the problem, paid it the attention it deserved, and solved it.

About six months ago at work we were trying to learn how to respond to a request from a customer. We had received a request, sent a response, and received the equivalent of a “yuck” response from the customer. My boss asked my to look at what happened and try again. What we did wrong was simple. A couple of young engineers had taken 20 minutes out of their busy days to conjure a response to the customer. My boss took 20 minutes out of his busy day to review their work and pass it on to the customer. I revised the answer via two hours of concentrated work. The revised answer was much better. Why? Because I was so much smarter? No. It was simple,

I answered the customer’s question

I was allowed to work on the problem. I was given sufficient, uninterrupted time.

I solved the problem by solving it

One more illustration. Years ago in a seminar on team working, we had an exercise. There were four of us on a team, one piece of paper, two pencils. Each team member had to write their name in the four corners of the paper. We passed the pencils, turned the paper this way and that, and eventually wrote each of our names in the four corners.

Unknown to us, the seminar facilitator had timed us. Now he asked us to do that same faster. We talked a while about what process we would use to go faster. I suggested we merely repeat the exercise but just go faster. We tried that method; it worked. We focused on a problem: write faster. We wrote faster, i.e., we solved the problem by solving it. Focus, apply resources, do it.

We solved the problem by solving it

Yes, there are methods and processes that work better than others. There are situations when it is good to analyze the problem, analyze the method used, analyze alternatives, and select another process.

There are many other situations when “all we have to do” is focus on the problem, commit resources, and solve it.

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.

I own a pretty good digital camera. Actually, it is a really good, small digital camera (this model by Panasonic). Before the trip, my father-in-law asked me if I was going to bring that camera and be sort of be the “official photographer” of the trip. I declined. I had given it much thought before he asked. I was afraid to bring my camera – afraid of what the elements might do to it. Mistake on my part.

Instead of a good camera, I brought my iPhone 3G. It has a camera built into it, but only a so so camera. The photos I have put on these posts are from that iPhone camera.

Given it has a small lens and a small sensor, I didn’t attempt the grand Grand Canyon vista photos. Two reasons: (1) there are many great photos of the Grand Canyon online already. Go to bing.com/images (for one) and search for Grand Canyon and Grand Canyon Rafting and Little Colorado River and Redwall Cavern and so on. Also go to flickr.com and search there as well. (2) L.A. lawyer #2 brought a great Canon camera with him. He promised to post them somewhere on the web. Jake took everyone’s email and will one day (real soon new I hope) send them to us so I can find the photos.

Instead of the grand vistas, I took photos of the camp, the hand-washing station, the crew cooking dinner, the raft, people sitting in chairs in the evening, and such. These are the little things that happen on a rafting trip; the little things that aren’t in everyone’s grand photos of the Grand Canyon. Those are the things that catch my eye and cause me to write several dozen blog posts about five days and five nights on the Colorado River with 30 people.

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.

We slept on cots in the open air – “under the stars” as they kept telling us. I was tired, and I didn’t sleep well most of the week. It was just too plain hot to sleep for the first half of the night.

We were camping in a canyon – an obvious statement. This meant that on both sides of us were steep canyon walls. One thing the canyon walls did at night was block the sight of the moon. The moon was only visible about half the night. That was a surprising blessing.

Each night, except the night of rain, the moon would appear about midnight and stay in view for several hours. I knew this because the moon woke me. The moon was as large and bright as a street light. I couldn’t sleep on my back facing up. I had to roll onto my side and turn away from the moon. If I didn’t, the moon light would keep me awake.

I am not sure why the moon appeared so bright in the night sky of the canyon. Maybe my eyes were too tired after a day in the sun. Maybe there is little if any dust in the night air of the canyon. Maybe I was just so tired that anything and everything disturbed my sleep.

Regardless of the cause of its brightness, my first reaction to the moon appearing in the middle of the night was to ask someone to turn off their flashlight.

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.

This was a rafting trip, so let’s finally talk about being on the raft.

The Raft as Seen from the Front

These are impressive machines. The foundation is a 40-foot raft. Somehow attached to the rubber (I think neoprene is the proper term, but rubber expresses the idea) raft is a steel floor. In the middle of that floor sits all the camping supplies (cots, chairs, kitchen, duffel bags, ice chests). This pile is covered by white tarps and held in place by straps.

Strapped to the top of the sides of the raft are large rubber tubes. These extra tubes make the raft practically impossible to capsize and sink. These tubes also provide the young and young at heart a place to straddle and ride the rapids like untamed horses.

The first first photo here was taken from the front of the raft looking back (click to enlarge). Prominent in the photo are the white tubes strapped to the tops of the sides of the raft. The people in the center of the photo are sitting on the supplies. In the photo are left to right brother-in-law #1, nephew #1, nephew-in-law, nephew #2, Andy, and Scott.

The second photo shows the Tour West rafts pulled up to the shore for a night of camping. This photo gives a different view of the base raft (light blue) and the large white tubes strapped to the raft.

We spent about six hours a day on the raft. I sat near the rear. Actually, I sat on the porta-potty all day. I liked the seat as I was facing forward. Had I been sitting on one of the large white tubes, I would have had a sore neck from turning to look forward.

The Tour West Rafts

While on the raft, we couldn’t access the majority of our possessions. They were stored in a waterproof duffel bag in the center of the raft. We did each have a bag made of clear but thick plastic. That bag was pretty much water-proof. In it I kept my camera (iPhone), Tylenol, Altoids, bandannas, sun block, aloe vera, and other such sundries. I also kept my water bottle with me. We had one ten-gallon cooler of water and one ten-gallon cooler of lemonade strapped to the front of the raft. That was a great thing to have and kept us from dehydrating.

Most of the rafting was in calm water. The Colorado is a large river – larger than I expected – and that makes for smooth water. The water was clear – another surprise. All the films I had seen of white water in the Colorado is marked with dark red, brown muddy water – the kind we have in Louisiana. The water we experienced was clear – like the water in the Bahamas (I lived in the Bahamas for two years, it was tough ;-).

Then there are the rapids. This is why many people come on this trip. They want the rush and excitement of splashing through the rapids. I won’t say that the rapids are dangerous, although they are perilous and can bring a river runner a lot of grief. It was exciting to splash through a rapid. The water was really cold. My sons and nephews had great fun being soaked by the rapids. They probably wished for more rapids; I wished for fewer rapids. The canyon provided a good balance.

Our rafts had an outboard motor. I was surprised as I expected the motor to be larger. We only went four or five miles an hour faster than the river flowed. The motor allowed for steering of the large raft. It also allowed us to not do any rowing.

No one fell into the river on accident. We all wore life jackets all the time. We did not wear helmets because the river is deep enough that the chance of hitting your head on a rock is near zero. I addressed clothing in another blog post.

Fun? Yes, it was fun to ride a raft all day. I could think of creature comforts to add to the raft, but that would probably ruin much of the experience.

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.

One of the main activities of rafting through the Grand Canyon is hiking. That didn’t make much sense to me, but that is the reality. We usually took two hikes a day inland off the river.

I wasn’t prepared for this. In my mind, I knew that we were to see streams, waterfalls, rivers, caves, and other canyons leading into the Grand Canyon. I, however, thought that these things would be right there. Step off the raft, step into the side canyon, and viola’ you were there.

I was prepared for this. I run half an hour a day some three or four days a week. I can walk horizontally great distances. I climb eight flights of stairs in the office building where I work two times a day. I can move vertically great distances.

I wasn’t prepared for this. I wore sandals so that my feet could be doused by the river and then dry quickly in the hot dry air. My sandals are some 20 years old. They are good sandals, but the tread is worn and the soles are pealing in several places. My step would slip a bit on sandy rock, and there is a lot of sandy rock in the Grand Canyon.

I was prepared for this. I was prepared for anything and everything. This was, after all, a vacation and I was ready to exert and relax and deal with just about anything.

The first hike was touted as “a mile and a quarter.”  I am a pretty good judge of distance in walking as I once walked 1,100 miles from Reston, Virginia to New Orleans, Louisiana (see the Taking a Walk blog). This hike was at least two miles horizontally and several hundred feet vertically. At the end of the trail was a small waterfall. The sun was hot (at least 100 degrees F), the terrain was rough, the trail was tiny in places, and we had people from age 8 to 75 in the group. I have to commend the Tour West crew for their efforts. They did everything they could to ensure that everyone could make the hike.

I didn’t think the hike was worth the destination. Then again, I am the type of person who anticipates the destination. Other people love the hike as the destination. The trip is the destination. What is at the end of the trip is only one step. To each his own. I learned to enjoy the trip more through the week.

Several of the hikes were described as “rock scrambles.” This meant that you were moving vertically much more than horizontally and the trail was solid rock. I liked rock scrambles. I had to concentrate on each step and the next one. Several times I had to put my left foot forward on the first step because if I put my right foot forward first, I wouldn’t be able to make the second step. The scrambles could be that challenging mentally. I hated the rock scrambles. My sandals were not suitable for the task. I turned back on a couple of the scrambles as I was slipping too much.

My favorite hike was at the Little Colorado River. The water was right there and it was beautiful. That hike had a destination – playing in the relatively warm water. Everything was just to my liking.

We did see some impressive waterfalls on the hikes. I am thankful for that. I am thankful for the experiences on the hikes. Those hikes helped me to understand why we were hiking. You see, I have to have a reason for doing something. We were hiking to get off the boat and burn some time. This was to be a five-day and five-night trip. We could have easily covered the river in four days and ruined it. We also hiked to burn some energy. I liked the hikes for the exercise. I like to exercise and, given the fine meals we were eating, I needed the exercise.

And we hiked to see the Grand Canyon. In addition to loving the river, our guides loved  the canyon. While we drifted down the river, Andy would share with Scott how he had hiked to this spot or that spot that we saw along the way. These guys love to leave the water, scramble up what appears to be an impassable canyon wall, and go inside or above or around a place in the wall that shouldn’t be there. These shouldn’t-be-there places are everywhere in the Grand Canyon. These are the nooks that the canyon has smashed between the “normal” features of the terrain. Yes, we hiked to see these shouldn’t-be-there streams, springs, caverns, and passage ways that make the canyon what is it – a wonder to visit.