Epic USA – Canyoneering in Arizona
3 day/2 night
Canyoneering Adventure
Table of contents
Introduction
Page 3
Brief itinerary
Page 4
The destination
Page 5
Your guide
Page 10
Your accommodations
Page 11
Detailed itinerary
Page 13
Additional information
Page 16
Recommended reading
Page 17
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Introduction
If you have already been to the Grand Canyon you have an idea of the magnitude of one of the worlds true natural wonders. Now imagine you are
peering over the edge of 9 mile canyon preparing to rappel down to the Colorado River. Canyoneering is the art of exploring some of the most
magnificent terrain on earth and you will see that first hand on this 3 day, 2 night adventure into the heart of the Southwest.
It is often said that standing at the top of the Grand Canyon is a sight you will
never forget, simply because the vast enormity of this natural wonder is
impossible to capture on film. After we admire the canyon for ourselves, we clip
into our rope, gaze over the edge one last time, and begin our descent. After
assisting the rest of our team down a series of rappels to the canyon floor, we
will load into our kayaks and float down the picturesque Colorado River.
Our paddle will showcase the unique petroglyphs from the natives who
inhabited this land hundreds of years prior. With a welcomed relaxing kayak
journey through stunning narrow passages we will explore this region in
complete tranquillity.
The adventure does not stop there.
After our epic descent of the Grand
Canyon we are now ready for the stunning and unique Waterhole Canyon. This
will be a challenging all day affair where we will work as a team to rappel, hike,
and possibly swim our way through the narrow mazes of sandstone.
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Brief itinerary
DAY
LOCATION
1
Arrive Page, Arizona and explore Matchbox Canyon
2
Rappel Tapestry Canyon and kayak the Colorado River
3
Kayak the Colorado River to Lee’s Ferry and return to Page
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The destination
ABOUT THE COLORADO PLATEAU
The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateaus Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centred on the
Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 sq km (130,000 sq mi) within western Colorado,
northwestern New Mexico, southeastern Utah, and northern Arizona. About 90% of the area is drained by the Colorado River and its main tributaries;
the Green, San Juan and Little Colorado.
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GEOGRAPHY
The province is bounded by the Rocky Mountains, Uinta
Mountains, Wasatch Mountains, Rio Grande Rift, Mogollon Rim
and the Basin and Range.
Isolated ranges of the Southern
Rocky Mountains, such as the San Juan Mountains in Colorado
and the La Sal Mountains in Utah, intermix into the central and
southern parts of the Colorado Plateau.
Development of the province has in large part been
influenced by structural features in its oldest rocks. Part of the
Wasatch Line and its various faults form the western edge of
the province. Faults that run parallel to the Wasatch Fault, that
lies along the Wasatch Range, form the boundaries between
the plateaus in the High Plateaus Section.
The Uinta Basin,
Uncompahgre Uplift, and the Paradox Basin were also created
by movement along structural weaknesses in the region's
oldest rock.
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The mostly flat-lying sedimentary rock units that make up these plateaus are
found in component plateaus that are between 1,500 m (5,000 ft) to over 3,350 m
(11,000 ft) above sea level. A super sequence of these rocks is exposed in the
various cliffs and canyons (including the Grand Canyon) that make up the Grand
Staircase. Increasingly younger east-west trending escarpments of the Grand
Staircase extend north of the Grand Canyon and are named for their colour.
The Grand Staircase refers to an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers
that stretch south from Bryce Canyon National Park, through Zion National Park
and into the Grand Canyon.
In the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton first
conceptualized this region as a huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of
the Grand Canyon northward, with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant
steps.
Dutton divided this layer cake of Earth history into five steps from the
youngest (uppermost) rocks.
ABOUT THE GRAND CANYON
Longstanding scientific consensus has been that the canyon was created by the Colorado River over a six million year period. The canyon is 277 miles
(446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29 km) and attains a depth of over a mile (1.83 km or 6,000 feet). Nearly two billion years of the
Earth's history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado
Plateau was uplifted.
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Prior to European emigration, the area was inhabited by Native Americans who
built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people
considered the Grand Canyon ("Ongtupqa" in Hopi language) a holy site and
made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand
Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540. In
1869, Major John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran, made the first
recorded journey through the canyon on the Colorado River.
GEOLOGY
The principal consensus among geologists is that the Colorado River basin (of
which the Grand Canyon is a part) has developed in the past 40 million years. A
recent study places the origins of the canyon beginning some 17 million years
ago. The result of all this erosion is one of the most complete geologic columns
on the planet.
The major geologic exposures in the Grand Canyon range in age from the 2 billion year old Vishnu Schist at the bottom of the Inner Gorge to the 230
million year old Kaibab Limestone on the Rim. Interestingly, there is a gap of about one billion years between the stratum that is about 500 million years
old and the lower level, which is about 1.5 billion years old. That indicates a period of erosion between two periods of deposition. The great depth of
the Grand Canyon and especially the height of its strata (most of which formed below sea level) can be attributed to 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1,500 to
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3,000 m) of uplift of the Colorado Plateau, starting about 65 million years ago. This uplift has steepened the stream gradient of the Colorado River and
its tributaries, which in turn has increased their speed and thus their ability to cut through rock.
Weather conditions during the ice ages also increased the amount of water in the Colorado River drainage system. The ancestral Colorado River
responded by cutting its channel faster and deeper.
The base level and course of the Colorado River (or its ancestral equivalent) changed 5.3 million years ago when the Gulf of California opened and
lowered the river's base level (its lowest point). This increased the rate of erosion and cut nearly all of the Grand Canyon's current depth by 1.2 million
years ago. The terraced walls of the canyon were created by differential erosion. About one million years ago, volcanic activity deposited ash and
lava over the area, which at times completely obstructed the river. These volcanic rocks are the youngest in the canyon.
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Your guide
KEVIN JACKSON
Kevin has led many worldwide expeditions, including multiple ascents of Aconcagua in
Argentina (the highest peak in the Americas), and Mt Whitney (the highest mountain in the
continental United States).
Kevin is an expert on Patagonia, Chile; Aspen, Colorado; Anchorage, Alaska; the canyons of
Arizona, and Vancouver Island, British Colombia.
Kevin is a NOLS certified Wilderness First Responder and is ACE Certified in First Aid and CPR. He
also holds a Wilderness Health and First Aid Certification from the Red Cross.
Kevin holds an MBA in operations management and is responsible for the logistics and operations
of all North and South American programmes.
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Accommodation
MARRIOTT COURTYARD PAGE AT LAKE POWELL – Overlooking Arizona's
breathtaking Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the pristine
waters of Lake Powell, Courtyard Page at Lake Powell offers 153 deluxe
South-western style guest rooms. The accommodation is spacious, fully
air-conditioned and includes complimentary wireless high-speed internet
access.
The hotel is well-located, surrounded by the Lake Powell National Golf
Course, and is within minutes of Glen Canyon Dam. Marriott Courtyard
Page is the premier base for all of your canyon explorations and
activities.
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CAMPSITE – COLORADO RIVER
One night is spent camping at your own private site, on the banks of the
Colorado River. The set up is comfortable, in twin share tents, with a
support boat utilised to allow for a few special touches.
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Detailed itinerary
DAY 1 – ARRIVE PAGE, ARIZONA AND EXPLORE MATCHBOX CANYON
Upon arrival into Page, Arizona, you will be met by your Epic Private Journeys guides, including
Kevin Jackson, and transferred to the starting point of your adventure.
En route, you will be fully briefed on the programme ahead.
This will also give you the
opportunity to learn some more background information about the areas we will be exploring,
and ask any questions in relation to your adventure.
Upon arrival at the top of the canyon rim we will conduct a full gear review and present a
physical introduction to canyoneering.
We will proceed to navigate through Matchbox
Canyon with a variety of rappels and hiking sections. We will exit the canyon with an hour hike
up and over the canyon rim while we make our way back to the vehicle.
Following today's adventure we are transferred to our accommodations.
Overnight – Marriott Courtyard Page at Lake Powell – Twin share – Full board basis excluding
alcoholic beverages
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DAY 2 – RAPPEL TAPESTRY CANYON AND KAYAK THE COLORADO RIVER
Starting early, we commence the day with a full brief of the day’s activities.
Following this, we will transfer to the canyon entrance and stop to peer over 300
m (1,000 ft) into the canyon below.
After a short hike we reach a series of rappels affording magnificent photo
opportunities. Our aim is to work our way to the floor using a series of two and
three hundred foot rappels.
Our last rappel is 46 m (150 ft) and brings us to the Colorado River. Here we
marry up with our inflatable kayaks and enjoy a short float amidst spectacular
scenery, to our awaiting camp.
Overnight – Camp on Colorado River – Twin share – Full board basis, including
select alcoholic beverages
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DAY 3 – KAYAK THE COLORADO RIVER AND RETURN TO PAGE
After a warm breakfast at camp, and time to enjoy the morning, we will paddle the last 13
km (8 miles) enjoying the unique beauty of our surrounds. Various narrow passageways
have exceptionally pretty rock formations with the curved, delicately coloured rocks,
characteristic of this region, illuminated by the penetrating sunlight.
Lunch will be enjoyed at a riverside beach.
We plan to be off the river by 2.00 – 3.00 pm to allow all participants time to travel to their
onward destinations. The logistics of these connections will be tailored to suit.
END OF ARRANGEMENTS
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Additional information
WEATHER
GEAR
North Rim
We will bring all technical gear, including ropes, harnesses, helmet,
The North Rim is closed to vehicular travel from about mid-October to
rappel devices, etc.
mid-May because of snow. Because the North Rim is 1500 feet (450
metres) higher than the south rim, most of the precipitation there falls in
Items to Bring:
the form of snow and it is not uncommon for it to exceed 100 inches

Daypack with hydrator
(250 centimetres) in a season. Summer days at the north rim are

Solid hiking shoes
delightfully clear and cool except for the occasional thunderstorms in

Trekking shorts
July and August.

Trekking shirts
Inner Canyon

Lightweight trekking socks (2 pair)
The inner canyon is a desert environment and should never be taken

Old work gloves (Not required but help hands for rappels)
lightly. It is not uncommon for temperatures during the summer (May-

Comfortable pants and top for the evenings
September) to exceed 38°C/100°F. There is very little shade in the inner

Head lamp
canyon. Most of the rain that falls occurs during the months of July and

Sunscreen (30+ Waterproof)
August.

Sunglasses
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Recommended reading
A report on the history of Lee's Ferry, Arizona – C. Gregory Crampton (1965)
Lees Ferry: Desert River Crossing – W.L. Rusho (June 1998)
Lee's Ferry: From Mormon Crossing to National Park – P. T. Reilly (July 1999)
Grand Canyon Geology – Stanley S. Beus and Michael Morales (July 2002)
Canyoneering: How to Explore the Canyons of the Great Southwest – John Annerino (March 1999)
Havasupai Legends: Religion and Mythology of the Havasupai Indians of the Grand Canyon – Robert C Euler (January 2002)
The Fourth World of the Hopis: The Epic Story of the Hopi Indians as Preserved in Their Legends and Traditions – Harold Courlander and Enrico Arno
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