July 3 - Grand Canyon - Granite Rapids

I woke up early, had some breakfast (oatmeal), filtered a couple of liters of water and headed out. It was only 2-4 miles to Granite Rapids, the next camp site. As hot as this camp site was I wanted to be near the river for the day. The ranger had really tried to steer me away from Granite Rapids as he said it was frequented by rafters. I didn't mind having the people around, especially if we were all remote. People in remote places treat each other differently than those in "civilization". If we could only translate that attitude into the civilized world we would all be better off.

	Two shots of the trail as I started towards the Granite Rapids camp site.
	A great early morning shot of the Colorado River. You can see the Tonto Trail and it heads over the ridge on the right.
	Some shots of Hermit Rapids from Tonto Trial. This is where I was the day before.
	The first shot is my first glimpse of the destination. I'm standing at the top of a cliff, so there is a lon walk up the canyon so the trail can descend a lower portion of the creek.
	A couple of shots of the monument at the top of Granite Canyon and a trail sign leading the way to Granite Rapids.
	The first shot of the beach I would basically have to myself for the next two days.
	A commercial rafter starting down the rapids.
	I sat in this spot at the top of the rapids and watched three or four rafts head down the rapids.
	Some shots of my camp site. Around lunch time a raft group of about 30 middle aged women (their description), stopped on the beach and gave me two sandwiches and filled up my water bottles. The water was better than the sandwiches since I was getting really tired of pumping water. Although the extra calories were much appreciated as well. A four nighter is hard to carry enough calories and also not get tired of the same old stuff I've been eating in the back country for over a month. Anyway, one of the women stopped in front of my camp site and said. "That really is idyllic". I tend to agree with her. This was paradise. Except for the scorpion that stung me (in the webbing on my left hand between my ring and pinkie fingers) in the middle of the night. I'm only guessing it was a scorpion because I could feel where it stung me (not see any wound) and half of my hand was numb for the rest of the next day. I also got bitten by a red ant in the morning, just behind the left elbow. Small price to pay for paradise. In my accounting I was rich and the payment (painment?) mere pennies.
	Didn't see any other rafters the rest of the day. I did briefly see the two guys who were camped in the previous night's camp ground, but they said they were camped at the bottom of the rapids and I never saw them again. I read, wrote in my journal, slept and jumped in the river when it got too hot. Which was often. You could only stand a few seconds in the freezing water, but it was perfect temperature as you emerged from the water to dry off in only a few minutes. Paradise!
	I took a ton of pictures at sunset and got some good ones of Dana Butte reflected in the glassy river. My campsite for the next night was on the other side of this Butte. I didn't take any more pictures of this spot even though I stayed there the entire next day. My next camp site (Horn Creek) was about 7 miles away (by my bad estimate, it was actually 10.1) and the water was not drinkable as it was radioactive because of a abandoned uranium mine above the canyon. So I decided to start in the evening to beat the heat. Sleep there, get up early and get to Indian Gardens to get water the next morning. At least that was the plan.

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