Having done numerous kayaking trips in the UK and Europe, and mainly in low volume creeks, it was about time to broaden our horizons and see what other parts of the world have to offer. So in May, me & Gill, joined the WaterByNature trip on the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon to find out what big volume paddling is all about..
We paddled 226 miles over 14 days, and hiked through many of the side canyons to explore the tributaries, waterfalls and absolutely amazing scenery.
A typical day was to get up when the sun came up, have a big American breakfast, paddle about 10 miles, stop for a 2 hour hike, have lunch, paddle another 10 miles, put up camp eat the fantastic fresh food cooked by the guides, have a few beers, margaritas, wine in the evening and crash out under the stars on a beach by the river when the sun has gone down.

There is a lot of flat water, but there are also a lot of rapids ranging from grade II to grade IV+. If you didn't fancy a rapid you could always portage or climb onto one of the gear rafts (similarly if you didn't fancy the flat water!). Some days you could float for hours without rapids, other days you were getting big, and I mean really BIG, volume wave trains every half a mile. 20ft waves, rafting eating holes, big boils, whirlpools, and rafts were the main hazards on the water. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, red ants and the sun, where the hazards off the water
Travelling with our own boats couldn’t have been easier. No problems on the BMI flight from Manchester to Las Vegas, or on the shuttle bus from las vegas airport to the hire car centre, and our hire a car was big enough to fit 2 creek boats in the back!