This was the day when we hit several Class III-IV rapids: Unkar, Nevills, Hance, Sockdolager, Grapevine and Zoroaster. (The Grand Canyon has its own sui generis 1-10 rating system, but the Colorado River's rapids do not exceed Class IV on the standard VI-level scale.) We got out of the raft and scouted Hance Rapids, ostensibly because one of the crew members had never run this rapid by himself before (he was handling a big ol' baggage raft, which has its own difficulties, but does not jeopardize the lives of the vacationing rafters).
We also visited an archaeological site, but there wasn't much to take pictures of. In other words, you have to know a lot about archaeology to get excited about what we saw there. Our guides didn't really seem to know enough to make the foundation stones and pottery shards come alive.
We set up camp around mile 87.
Andrew, who had been anxious about the big rapids* but helped everyone get through by yelling "Forward! Forward! Forward!", took the opportunity to relax with crew member Heather:
FN* Reportedly, this deeply-rooted anxiety had to do with one of the guides flipping him off on the first or second day of the trip. Andrew indicated a certain trepidation that our seemingly mild-mannered guide, Phil, would also flip him off. I think we should all cut Andrew some slack. He's a sensitive boy from the NY/CT area, so he probably hasn't encountered much in the way of foul language or gestures before.
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