Day 2 Saturday August 29, 2009

At 5:00 I was awakened by the ignition of a very large propane burner. It almost sounded like a hot air balloon taking off. That was soon followed by a wonderful smell of fried onions and the aromas of breakfast being prepared. At 6:00 a booming, “GOOOOD MORRRRNING CAMPERS.”, came from Tyler. It was our call to start moving, breakfast was ready. That call would be our daily early morning greeting for the remainder of the trip.

There was always hand soap and water available for washing our hands. Amber emphasized the importance of keeping our hands washed in a group this size. Next to the soap were two buckets, one full of clean water and the other to receive waste water. A small tube ran from the clean bucket to a small foot pump to a small hooked metal tube clipped to the side of the waste bucket. Pumping with your foot provided pressurized water for rinsing; a very simple but affective set up.

We were all responsible for washing our own dishes twice, once before and once after each use. That way we couldn’t blame anyone else for a dirty or contaminated plate. For washing there was always a series of 6 buckets. One empty and the others filled with hot water and a brush. The first was for scraps, the second for the initial rinse. The third and fourth had really hot soapy water and the fifth and six where for the final rinse. There would be an additional two containers on the end to receive the clean utensils and plates.

Tyler was at the grill taking orders for eggs any way we wanted them, including omelets. In addition, Matt had managed to catch enough trout to round out the morning menu.

After breakfast we broke camp and started the reverse flow of gear back to the rafts. We would be starting out much cooler than the day before. The sun was still low in the sky and leaving much of the canyon in shade.