Photos from the 2023 Rafting the Grand Canyon Photography Expedition
How do I define the trip of a lifetime? For me, it's a trip through the Grand Canyon, rafting the Colorado River over 18 days and covering 225 miles. It's hanging on as the bow of the raft breaks through a wave in a rapid, and the water of the river briefly engulfs the boat. It's camping on sandy beaches, eating great food, and sleeping under the stars. It's hiking to hidden waterfalls deep in a slot canyon and watching the cliffs of the canyon glowing fiery orange and red in the early morning light.
A few months ago, my group, our river guides, Sally, and I shoved off from Lees Ferry, mile 0, on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. The photos below and on the following pages, of which there are four pages of photographs in total, are all from this year's trip. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did making them.
The Colorado River winds its way through the Grand Canyon and beneath the towering cliffs of the Palisades of the Desert.
Looking downstream through Conquistador Aisle along the Colorado River as sunlight breaks through a gap in the clouds. From Blacktail Canyon in the Grand Canyon.
Before Glen Canyon Dam was built, the river carried more sediment through the canyon resulting in many beaches along its banks. In the Spring of 2023,the Bureau of Reclamation conducted a High Flow Experiment (HFE) releasing water from Glen Canyon Dam at a rate of 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). The result was the formation of many new beaches. Later in the summer of 2023, the Bureau of Reclamation closed the tap and only released about 5,000 cfs through the canyon. The resulting low water revealed even more beaches.
A waterfall cascades into the darkness of a remote slot canyon in Grand Canyon National Park.
As you round the bend in the Colorado River at mile 32 just below Stantons Cave, you begin to hear the soft sound of water cascading across rocks. As the sound becomes more evident, you get your first view of the waterfall at Vaseys Paradise. Pouring out from a cave in the Redwall limestone high above the river, the waterfall delicately makes its way down the cliff face, passing through a hanging garden of helleborine orchid, Emery’s sedge, western redbud, narrowleaf bricklebush, coyote and Goodding’s willows, watercress, and red cardinal monkeyflower.
On his historic 1869 expedition down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, Major John Wesley Powell named it in honor of his friend and noted botanist, Dr. George W. Vasey, who was Curator of the U.S. National Herbarium and Botanist of the Department of Agriculture. Dr. Vasey never saw the springs that bear his name.
Deer Creek emerges from a slot canyon and plunges one hundred feet before finding its way to the Colorado River.
A trickle of water gently cascades down a pouroff into a dry creekbed. Papago Canyon near the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
There are many waterfalls in the Grand Canyon, but one of the most beautiful is Deer Creek Falls. This waterfall emerges from a crack 100 feet above and cascades into a pool. Deer Creek then winds its way along a short course before reaching the Colorado River.
This small waterfall in a slot canyon disappeared for many years after a flash flood filled the lower part of the canyon with rocks. Years later, the powerful waters of another flash flood cleared the rocks away, and this waterfall returned. Reaching this waterfall requires you to wade and sometimes swim in cold water below a large chockstone. On the day that I made this photo, the water was nearly up to my neck.
As a storm clears with clouds still clinging to the rim far above, the golden light on the cliffs reflects off the waters of the Colorado River in Marble Canyon.
Before Glen Canyon Dam was built, the river carried more sediment through the canyon resulting in many beaches along its banks. In the Spring of 2023, the Bureau of Reclamation conducted a High Flow Experiment (HFE) releasing water from Glen Canyon Dam at a rate of 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). The result was the formation of many new beaches. Later in the summer of 2023, the Bureau of Reclamation closed the tap and only released about 5,000 cfs through the canyon. The resulting low water revealed even more beaches.
Deer Creek emerges from a slot canyon and plunges one hundered feet to before finding its way to the Colorado River.
I have wanted to photograph this location for several years, but when the Colorado River is running at normal to high water levels, it is inaccessible. In 2023, I was on an 18-day river trip during which the water in the river was running very low, making it possible to access. Sunlight was piercing through a narrow gap in the canyon walls, falling upon a still pool of water upon which the canyon walls reflected.
A massive rock pilar glows in reflected light in Little Nankoweap Canyon, a side canyon to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
Life finds a way to survive. If you look closely, you can see a small cactus growing in a crack in the rock. From the Granite Gorge in Grand Canyon National Park.
In 1909, the Arizona Gazette published an article by "G.E. Kincaid," who shared his tale of rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. The Gazette ran two stories about Kincaid's trip, and in the second, he tells of how he discovered a cave entrance about 2,000 feet above the river and hiked up to explore where he claims to have found a treasure of Egyptian artifacts. He reported that he grabbed several relics and left, shipping them off to Washington - perhaps Kincaid was a distant relative of Indiana Jones?
Kincaid's story has led to many conspiracy theories about the "lost Egyptian cave of the Grand Canyon," with some people believing that the Smithsonian Museum is involved in a cover-up and that heavily armed guards protect the site.
When we saw this massive alcove high on a cliff above the river glowing in the low-angle light, I couldn't help but think of Kincaid's tall tale. Photo © Adam Schallau, All Rights Reserved.
Located some distance up the narrows of Clear Creek in the Grand Canyon is a beautiful waterfall with two cascades. Over time, the water has carved a sweeping channel in the rock that causes it to shoot out sideways.
The last light of the day falls upon the Palisades of the Desert and Peshlakai Point. From an overlook high above the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
This small waterfall in a slot canyon disappeared for many years after a flash flood filled the lower part of the canyon with rocks. Years later, the powerful waters of another flash flood cleared the rocks away, and this waterfall returned. Reaching this waterfall requires you to wade and sometimes swim in cold water below a large chockstone. On the day that I made this photo, the water was nearly up to my neck.
Located some distance up the narrows of Clear Creek in the Grand Canyon is a beautiful waterfall with two cascades. Over time, the water has carved a sweeping channel in the rock that causes it to shoot out sideways.
The full moon sets behind the cliffs of the Grand Canyon. From Granite Camp at river mile 94 in the Grand Canyon.
A trickle of water gently cascades down a pouroff into the reflecting pool in North Canyon, deep inside Grand Canyon National Park.
I have wanted to photograph this location for several years, but when the Colorado River is running at normal to high water levels, it is inaccessible. In 2023, I was on an 18-day river trip during which the water in the river was running very low, making it possible to access. Sunlight was piercing through a narrow gap in the canyon walls, falling upon a still pool of water upon which the canyon walls reflected.
The distant rim of the canyon glows in the late evening light. From 'Above Three Springs Camp' in the Grand Canyon.
Located at a large bend in the Colorado River within Marble Canyon, a massive natural amphitheater has been carved into a towering limestone wall. In August of 1869, Major John Wesley Powell and the men of his expedition camped here. In his journal, Powell, who was prone to exageration, estimated that 50,000 people could comfortably fit into the cavern, and while this may be a bit of an exageration, it illustrates how massive the cavern actually is. Redwall Cavern is located at river mile 33 in Grand Canyon National Park.
Located some distance up the narrows of Clear Creek in the Grand Canyon is a beautiful waterfall with two cascades. Over time, the water has carved a sweeping channel in the rock that causes it to shoot out sideways.
The Granite Gorge is a prominent section of the Grand Canyon, known for its rugged terrain and towering rock formations. Within this geological formation, the river has revealed ancient rocks, specifically the 1.7 billion-year-old Zoroaster Granite and Vishnu Schist. The Upper Granite Gorge, extending over a length of 41 miles, stretches from below Hance Rapid to Elves Chasm.
The sunlit cliffs of the Grand Canyon reflect in the cool waters of the Colorado River. From Hundred and Ninetysix Mile Creek in Grand Canyon National Park.
When the Powell Expedition floated through this area in 1869, John Wesley Powell wrote in his journal, "The limestone of this canyon is often polished, and makes a beautiful marble. Sometimes the rocks are of many colors – whites, gray, pink, and purple, with saffron tints."
Powell mistakenly identified the rock as marble when, in fact, this section of the canyon is mostly limestone, dolomite, and sandstone. Thus, the name 'Marble Canyon' is a misnomer as the canyon has no marble.
A trickle of water gently cascades down a pouroff into the reflectin pool in North Canyon, deep inside Grand Canyon National Park.
The warm glow of reflected light in Saddle Canyon, a side canyon to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
The Colorado River reflects the golden light bouncing off the cliffs of the Grand Canyon in Conquistador Aisle.
Looking downstream from river mile 40 on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. This location was to be the site of the first of three dams that the Bureau of Reclamation planned to build within the Grand Canyon. Thanks to the efforts of David Brower of the Sierra Club, this site, along with many miles of canyon upstream from here, were preserved.
Fine Art Prints
The photos above are available as large fine art prints. The prints are available as Classic Prints on Fine Art Paper, Epic Prints on a Metal Float Mount, and Luxe Prints with TruLife® acrylic. You can click most of the photographs above to view them large and learn more about ordering a fine art print.
Upcoming River Trips
We still have a couple of spots left on the 2024 Rafting the Grand Canyon 10-Day Photography Expedition & Workshop. Our group meets in Flagstaff on April 29th, and we put on the water the very next day. We come off the river on May 9th.
