We are trying to reduce costs as much as possible with the Outfitter and won’t get a final cost until I speak to him over in Flagstaff and we decide on a few final options-we can discuss this in Flagstaff when we are all together on December 30th. However at the moment it looks like the cost per person is more like €725 and not €650 so please prepare for this and have access to the extra iin US$….SORRY!!

On a more positive note we have the shuttle from Phoenix Airport to Flagstaff arranged for around 11pm local time on December 29th so the later arrivals can also get up to Flagstaff that night and not have to pay for a hotel for the night in Phoenix, as we did last year; so at least that cost is negated. Also the shuttle cost (from Brady) is a little less than what we had to pay as an extra last year!!

For latest news check here and here…amongst other places…

Read this letter from the BA CEO about this and keep tuned here for updates on this issue…with a lot of luck our flights will not be affected…and with even more luck the strike will be called off and not one single passenger will have their Christmas plans disrupted / wrecked.

Only 2 weeks until we fly out to Phoenix and onto Flagstaff… time  seems to be ticking along at an ever increasing pace….

…some important stuff to do:

• check this post and follow up on anything appopriate
• go to manage your booking on BA and input advance passenger information and if relevant follow the link for ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation); anyone hoping to enter the US needs to apply here…

For Your Information…Grand Canyon Weather Patterns for January….including average temperatures, precipitation and daylight hours…

In plain English: Sunrise: Jan 3rd-Jan 10th approx 7.40 am, Jan 17th 7.38 am; Sunset: Jan 3rd 5.27pm, Jan 10th 5.33 pm, Jan 17th 5.40 pm!

Also if you get a chance check the Grand Canyon sub pages for the non commercial trip regulations and please read them…a lot of stuff there we have to cover…some useful info for first times on stuff like washing up, toilet systems etc etc! Everyone is also expected to watch the NPS trip regulation DVD which basically goes through these regulations. Those of us who are returning have seen this, for those who haven’t please try to check it out so we can, in all honesty, say we have all seen it when the Park Ranger asks us the question!

Remember this is a large volume river and because there are two major dams, one upstream on the Grand Canyon at Lake Powell and one downstream of the Grand Canyon at Lake Mead water levels fluctuate throughout the day, with peak flows scheduled for daytime release; obvioulsy due to the length of the Canyon once we are downstream of Lake Powell there is a considerable time lag between flow releases and experienced flows.

The latest info from the Bureau of Reclamation with regards to projected flows in Janaury is: Currently, it is projected that the release volume for January will be scheduled to be 955,000 acre-feet. At this volume, it is estimated that the hourly release rates during January would peak during daylight hours to approximately 19,000 cfs and decrease during early morning hours to approximately 11,000 cfs.

To work out peak flows where we are, which will impact where we tether rafts and how far we need to drag kayaks away from the river at the end of each day, we need to divide the river mile by 5 and add to the Lees Ferry peak time. Lsst year peak flow was at 9pm at Lees Ferry during the week and 6pm over the weekend; the Park Ranger will confirm this with us in our pre-launch orientation. For example, using last years figures if we camp at RM 88 to find out when peak flow is we divide 88 by 5 to get 17.6 hours and add this to the Lees Ferry peak time of 9pm during the week, giving us a peak flow time (forecast to be 19000 cfs) of 9pm + 17.6 hours = approx 2.40pm at that spot, meaning flow is dropping after 2.40 pm but will start rising again around 2.40am to peak at 240pm again. This means if we pulled into camp around this time, flows would be at their highest, so we would need to tie off the rafts with enough slack in the ropes so when the water dropped the rafts would not be left high and dry…this is a complete pain in the proverbial!! Whereas if we camped at RM 120 then 120/5 = 24 which means peak flow is going to be at 9pm that night then it is going to drop over night until around 9am when it will be at it’s lowest, which will roughly be when we are looking to launch.