Grand Canyon Adventure

It's Satuday June 30th (excerpted from an email I sent friends and family) and I am in Flagstaff at the Executive Suites Inn. I was injured in an accident on Thursday June 28th early afternoon running Lava Falls and have a broken right ankle. National Park Service helicoptered me out to South Canyon Village from Whitmore Wash at about Mile 187. The trip continued on without me, but I will be getting a ride in with the company crew July 3rd night or July 4th early moring to meet them at Pierce Ferry to drive home by way of Las Vegas.We hope to make it to Ely that evening and then on to Elko July 5th and hopefully home later that night.(Actually we made it all the way to Elko and Mike's wife Cindy had a fabulous dinner waiting for us!) I have a tibia/fibula break with crepitice. That means the bones are rubbing against each other. Glad it wasn't compound (sticking out of the skin.) Didn't know I was injured initially. We ran first at Lava and my friend Mike was rowing. He's an ex Grand Canyon guide in the 1980's and one of the best boatmen I've ever known. He's done 9 trips in a row the past few years and I'm confident in his skill. We've done tons of whitewater canoeing/kayaking together over the years. We made it past the entry ledge hole just slightly to the right and lined up for the V waves perfectly up the middle of the huge crasher but were tossed off right instead of left (bad place to be). Mike dug in with his left oar on that huge surging wave and I was high siding as that big monster wave rolled in on top of us; but he was ejected from the oars and I high sided more, flopping around like a rag doll. It was the most violent wave and water I've experienced before and that includes a couple of nasty swims out of my kayak from some huge holes on other rivers. Without a thought, I jumped into the rowing seat and flushed off the cheese grater rock wave chasing him in the river and got to shore and picked him up on river left. The current was really fast and not really an eddy so he had to grab the boat as I simply couldn't land it. Mike rowed us down to Tequila Beach ledges and when I went to take my wetsuit shoe off my right foot there was excruciatating pain. Those of you who know me well, know I'm pretty tough and it's rare for me to cry except at a very touching movie event or with joy over an accomplishment by my daughter or friends. Well, I was crying mightily. Still not sure what I hit as but the boat was so full of water we think my foot may have been momentarily caught under a box when I jumped in the rowing seat, or else I may have caught it in all the high siding big wave drama. In all the excitement and adrenalin working to prevent a flip and go retrieve him I didn't notice anything amiss until pulling off that shoe. The private trip following behind us was running as we were dealing with my injury. Their paddle boat flipped and there was a yard sale of paddles and miscellany so I yelled to our kayaker to get in his boat and help them out, please. They had three doctors on their trip (E.R. docs experienced in outdoor medicine, yeah!) When the other private trip got all their folks together their docs and even a veterinarian looked at my injury and felt certain it was a tib/fib break. They also said while it would be beneficial to get me out of the Canyon, it wasn't life threatening and even if I waited a week I'd be okay so long as it was splinted. So Lee and Mike went to work on that splint.And a good job they did, indeed. Well, after the accident things got a bit interesting. With two alpha males on our trip there was some bantering around about how my evacuation (if there was to be one) should be handled. In my court was Mike who is an EMT and Fire Dept. firefighter. I trust him implicitly. We discussed options of catching a ride out with a motor rig trip that would be arriving at Whitmore Wash heli pad later in the day and flying their clients to Las Vegas. Outstanding medical care and there was a high probability there would be room for me to helicopter out with the Hatch company guests and I could just pay them. Option two was call National Park Service on the satellite phone and ask for an evacuation for a broken ankle. This is what the Park Service also does very well. Alpha male number two was advocating immediate evac across the river and bringing in the calvary. It was somewhat amusing and annoying since only Mike had asked my opinion. I wanted to do the cheapest but healthiest way to leave and figure out how to meet up with Mike and Mark once they finished the trip. Egads, "I'm sitting right here, gang, and my brain is fine so how about allowing me some input into my evacuation?" It all worked out fine in the end. And it was Mark who reminded me and Mike that Moenkopi would be coming in to pick up the boats and gear we rented. So that was it--call the Park Service for the ride out. The only real benefit of the injury was I got to fly over the Grand Canyon and back over most of the river we'd just run. This is restricted air space, so I saw things virtually no one else does. It was reasonably clear and the views and flying just above the Canyon walls and even at eye level with some side canyons was truly spectacular. I've never actually been on the canyon rim ever so this was a nice way to see it. But I wouldn't recommend breaking an ankle or leg just to get the view! The battery on my cell phone was only one bar and I have a car charger so couldn't call friends or family to alert them to my dilemma. After the three hour hospital visit at Flagstaff Medical Center I was dumped on the street. Well, not exactly but I have a newfound appreciation for what is wrong with our medical system in America. I was a bit surprised they didn't keep me for overnight observation. In fact, they did a splint/soft cast and told me to go visit my own orthopedist when I got back to Boise. Imagine the homeless, a veteran with PTSD or an elderly person alone who has been injured and they have no friends or family close by. Maybe they have insurance or maybe they don't. I did, and recited it off time and time again like I was a prisoner of war reciting my name, birth and serial number to each doctor, paramedic, ambulance service etc. Fortunately for me, the National Park Service has an RN liason at the hospital that helps patients who have been injured in the park. Pamela was a wonderful caring human being who helped arrange lodging (credit card required as this is America,) and contacted Brady Black, the owner of Moenkopi Riverworks. Suffice to say this was not something I wanted as a part of my Grand Canyon trip adventure. Getting to the Flagstaff hopsital was more akin to a hitchhiking trip and a vision of Steve Martin hitching to the end of the fence row in The Jerk. It took a National Park Service helicopter ride to the South Canyon Rim and three ambulance handoffs to get there. As mentioned above NPS folks worked with me to find a place to stay and Brady Black who owns Moenkopi picked me up at the hospital and took me to get precription pain killers filled and to eat tacos at 11:30 at night before dropping me off at the Executive Suites Inn. The Executive Suites Inn was saving money by leaving all the doors open and no air conditioning in the lobby or hallways. The Europeans staying there didn't mind since this is the norm in Europe except at the most high end hotels. But this is not the norm in America. The room had nothing executive about it. It did have air conditioning and an ancient tube TV with Cable, so I watched the Olympic trials for swimming and track. I am not accustomed to having to ask for help. I had to contact the front desk for ice twice a day since I couldn't hobble around on crutches with an ice bucket. Apparently that is a life skill I missed out learning. I also couldn't juggle a cup of coffee or bowl of cereal at the same time. Why oh why was I never a waitress? Brady's manager Marilyn picked me up Sunday from the Executive Suites nightmare to go stay at the company guest house where I stayed for two nights until going with the crew to Pierce Ferry under the full moon night of July 3rd. The night at Pierce Ferry under the full moon was yet another adventure of sorts. John, a crew member, and I drove from Flagstaff leaving about 6:30 p.m. in temperatures of 74 degrees F. By the time we reached Pierce Ferry four hours later it was 95 degrees F. The moon was up, some clouds in the sky and we threw our Paco Pads on the boat trailer and a sheet each and I tried to find some personal gear to craft a pillow for my head and elevate my right leg. It was a fitful sleep due to the heat and no ice for my leg, but some ibuprofen and codeine took the edge off. Imagine my surprise to wake up at 6:30 to Mike walking across the parking lot. My group had just arrived from their 30 mile night float under the full moon. I'm doing okay now, but I was kind of lonely and bored out of my mind. Thankfully I had a good book called The Book Thief, that I finished up while in "solitary confinement." And Amanda, a crew member for Moenkopi rescued me and took me to dinner at the Himalayan Grill in Flagstaff where I had my first good meal since leaving the river and was surrounded by adoring Nepalese men and got to practice my very dusty Nepali language skills I acquired some 25 years ago. After the long drive to Elko via Las Vegas and Ely, NV I'm back home in Boise with my daughter, who got her drivers license days before I got back. We went grocery shopping at WINCO yesterday but their two motorized shopping carts were both in use, so I had to hobble around on my crutches. Wow, I was really tired from that when we got home standing on one leg most of the time. She gets to be my chauffer for a while until I get a new improved cast on Monday when I get to visit a local orthopedist.I haven't downloaded my photos yet but will try to post some of them in the next blog spot. Obviously I have no photos of Lava Falls so you'll just have to use your imagination. The other private trip videotaped our runs and may post to youtube so I'll post a link if it shows up. Thanks for the well wishes from John and Susun and the Goatherder among others. If it hadn't been so hot at Cornville, I might have opted for Goatherder to come retrieve me from Flagstaff. Hopefully this heals quickly as I have another river trip on the Main Salmon in September!