Upper Rattlesnake to Zoroaster camp-11 miles
We packed up both the inflatables this morning in anticipation of the harder rapids ahead today, and Dan and Erin took the day off from kayaking as well, so I got back into a kayak.
This morning I was so keyed up about Hance rapid that I mistook a big riffle above Nevills for Nevills, and then thought we were at Hance when we got to Nevills. With the help of a commercial guide who was on the shore there, waiting for hikers from his party to return, we got that sorted out and continued on down to Hance, and the right bank scout. It looked, and was, gnarly, with rocks, holes, and waves everywhere, and a real pile-up of boats scouting and preparing to go, so we got to watch about 18 rafts run various lines and none flipped so we went ahead and ran it, right of the top rocks and trying to work left, took our licks, and all made it safely through. Some kayaks (Tim, and Jim), ran a left line, and got positioned at the bottom as safety. Michael led the way for the rafts and I ran sweep behind the rafts. Just below Hance, as we entered the first walls of schist and granite, the Precambrian rocks, there was a great flash of lightning and the rolling roar of thunder behind us upstream, as dark clouds boiled up over the distant S. Rim.
We scouted and ran Sockdolager without mishap, and celebrated in a rather giddy state with lunch on a tiny but beautiful beach against a granite/schist wall behind. We made it through Grapevine too, and passed our neighborly neighbors (Beckwith party) at Above Clear Cr. camp, and the Montana people at Below Clear Cr. camp. There are fewer camps to choose from in the Inner Gorge, but we kept on going hoping to find a good spot before nightfall.
We stopped for the night at a nice beach camp on river left a half mile above Zoroaster rapid. This puts us in a great position to reach our exchange tomorrow, 3 miles and 2 easy rapids to go to get there. Just over a fin of schist downstream of camp was a tiny cove with a pocket of beach, a perfect little bathing spot. We had a nice dinner of curried lentils and lamb, just as darkness fell.
On this one night, Erin or Dan spotted first, a tiny rattlesnake, (we were warned the little ones are very dangerous), then a tarantula, and finally a scorpion, all right in the immediate area of the kitchen. I think 2 things bring out the creepy crawly creatures: one is night and the other is heat, and though we have had plenty of night, this spot gets a lot of sun and the rocks and sand hold the heat well into the night. All of them went about their business and so did we, but a lot more carefully. Think I'll start wearing shoes in camp.Then sometime in the wee hours of the morning, a ringtail cat made its way through the camp. First spotted down on the rafts, then up among the tents, the ringtail actually climbed up onto David's feet as he was asleep on his cot, but scampered away when he kicked it off! Ringtails are not cats but related to raccoons, although much smaller. They are super agile and very intelligent and elusive. We found their tracks at at a lot of our camp sites, the morning after. There is nothing they can't and won't climb all over and explore, and they are one among many reasons why no speck of anything edible can be left out at night. Everything must be packed away, preferably in metal!
