Camden's and Lathum's Excellent Adventure
Day 5 — Bigger Rapids, Lots'a Fun
August 2016
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The donut had a pinhole leak from the time we put in,
and it slowly got worse as we went along.
I patched and repatched but the hole just migrated around,
always to a place on a glued seam.
I decided to try a new tack on boat repair.
Instead of patching over the spot,
I applied some silicone marine repair material,
then sucked the boat chamber dry to try and draw some of the material into the leak.
It worked,
but then the boat just blew out somewhere else.
As the guy at the Watermaster facility told me when I had him try to fix it last year,
"It's past the end of its useful life..."
I guess from now on it would be smart to only use it at home down at the swimming hole,
where serious leaks have only minor consequences.
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| Sucking the Donut to Draw Glue down a Seam |
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| Steve Studying the Map |
Kitchen |
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| Lathum helping Camden with a Swim Lesson |
After a while Camden was ready for some paddling lessons.
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| Joni and Camden |
It was hot and the water was slow;
and eventually Camden got tired or bored and fell asleep.
As the song goes, "Lazy days..."
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Photo by Diana
or at least someone other than Joni with Joni's camera |
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Camden, Steve and Diana
Photo by Joni |
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| Debris Pile |
Both Randy and Joni had guided on the Green in Desolation and Gray canyons,
and Steve has run it numerous times.
The water level was low and we ran everything except Wire Fence and Three Fords without scouting.
Joni made the mistake of heading into one rapid with the second paddle still in the ducky.
She lost it in a hole,
but managed to retrieve it.
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| Joni in the Ducky |
Retrieving a Lost Paddle |
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| Paddle Retrieved |
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| Joni and Camden |
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| Cottonwood In Rock |
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| Arch |
We stopped to have lunch where we could scout Wire Fence and Three Fords rapids,
mostly because it seemed as good a place as any to have lunch.
The main thing we accomplished was that Steve got to collect a few extra rocks
during our walk along the sand.
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| Wire Fence Rapid |
Camden working on Lunch |
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| Randy and Lathum in Wire Fence |
When Steve and the Big Banana went into the hole at the top of Wire Fence,
they started to slip back into it,
but then they came out ok.
I don't think it could have flipped them if they tried.
I've never paid much attention to how rafts behave when they go through a hole;
maybe it's common to slip back before getting spit out.
After all, you are going up hill...
I do know that when my kayak starts slipping back
I need to start doing something in a hurry or I'm going to end up
either upside down or sideways being maytagged.
But it takes a pretty big hole to do something like that to a loaded raft.
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| Steve, Diana and Camden in Wire Fence |
Slipping Back... |
Then it was Joni's turn in the ducky.
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| Joni in Wire Fence |
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| Steve, Diana and Camden |
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| Where's Joni? |
There she is! |
Then it was more great scenery, warm water and water fights until we made camp.
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| Water Fight |
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More Rabbit Ears |
Next: Exploring School Section Canyon
