Perhaps it is just because we were more than a week into the trip, but day 8 really felt a little less eventful than any of the previous days. We got our usual start in the morning and hopped on the rafts. This day didn’t have any serious whitewater, so we had quite a relaxing day floating along the canyon. It was a pretty trip though with plenty more tight canyon walls all around us.
We made steady progress over the day towards our destination for the evening, Above Lava Camp. Once there we had some time to enjoy the direct sun, a rare treat thus far. I also walked down to scout Lava Falls a couple of times, which looked both impressive and fun. I was excited to run it the next day.
The walk down to lava falls also showed a good example of the debris flow that shapes so much of this river. Most of the rapids on the river are formed by debris fans created by the many, many side canyons. The debris creates a constriction that forces the water to run faster, creating the whitewater. Lava Falls’ debris fan had clearly been eroding for many years as smaller flows came out of the side canyon. You could see how the water had cut through these layers, revealing the rocks and gravel that were caught up in all of those previous flows.
That evening was a calm before the (Lava) storm. We all relaxed around the fire and enjoyed the usual sunset light show that happened every evening. A fitting end to a calming day.
Taken 11/3/21
