ArcaMax

“The best part is seeing people disconnect,” said our expedition leader, Ben Bressler, who has been a river guide with Western Expeditions since he was in college, for more than two decades. “Politics and COVID are overwhelming people,” observed Bressler. He reminded us the first day that we are bringing 36 different perspectives with us. “There is no need to get political,” he urged. “Be patient, kind and respect one another.”

Some, like the Evans family — parents and three grown kids — had booked a year ago to celebrate Dave Evans’ retirement from Delta Airlines. “We have to plan far ahead to get time off together,” explained Jessica Evans, 29, a pilot, like her brother and sister.

More in the group — including us — took advantage of last-minute availability when those who were booked had their trips canceled by the pandemic, rebooking for next year. Nearly a third of the group had rafted the Canyon before — some several times. “It is different every time,” said Larry England, from Watsonville, California. Some, including England, camp without their partners.

That’s unusual too as for many, this trip is not only a first time rafting trip but a first time camping trip, said Brian Merrill, president of the family-owned Western River Expeditions ( Read my interview with Merrill and the daily travel diaries from our time on the river.)

Thankfully, there haven’t been any COVID cases on Grand Canyon River trips and on our trip, the 32 rafters didn’t mind the mitigations — extra hand washing, mask-wearing through the food lines. It seemed a small price to pay for enjoying a bucket list trip at a relatively affordable cost (a little over $3K, plus well-deserved tips for our hardworking guides.)

I last rafted the Grand Canyon 40 years ago on a trip where we paddled, following the guide’s shouted directions. We hiked into the canyon — as many rafters still do. Others hike out. This trip, on patented motorized rigs, enabled us to see the entire Grand Canyon, rather than half and without the arduous hike.

Be forewarned that most of 2021 is already booked, though there is availability for shorter trips, which welcome kids as young as nine. On week-long trips, kids must be at least 12.

We were a disparate group from across the country — Washington, D.C., to Ohio, Texas to Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, California and Colorado. We ranged in age from 18-year-old Emily Cleary to J.J. Johnston, 75, a retired restaurateur from Napa, singles and couples in their thirties; a brother-sister duo in their forties, others older, some traveling without their partners. We included five pilots. h two doctors, nurses, postal employees, others working for government agencies, for nonprofits and the tech industry.

All of us were ready to do without creature comforts for a week for this unique experience. “There is so much magic … places that you can’t experience, unless you go down the river,” said guide Stephanie Devisser, who drove the second raft and is an eight-year veteran.

“I wish I could stay a month,” said Dr. Harold Pine, an ENT surgeon from Houston on his fifth trip. We get up with the sun and go to sleep after dark outdoors in cots (too warm for tents; too many stars to see! We bathe and pee in the 50-degree river water and use an outdoor toilet strategically placed not only for privacy, but views. There is little privacy where we camp on the riverfront.

...continued

(c) 2020 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.