The paddle boat in the midst of Hance Rapid.

Hance is a magnificant ride.  Long, rocky, with huge roaring pours as the river cascades through the shallows created by the rocks thrust into the Colorado by Red Canyon on river left, it makes a sound that gnaws at you all night long.  This is my second time on Hance, and while I respect it I no longer fear it.  But now, instead of riding along as cargo I am in the paddle boat, and I must steer the left side through the tumult.  We run the river, brilliantly, with few problems.  The only major issue is when one of the boats gets hung up on the rocks at the entrance and Doc Mike, clambors over from his boat to help out.  As the Fubar is freed and his boat begins to drift downstream, Doc makes a running leap, a Spiderman move to rejoin his boat.  The man knows no fear!

Down into the Schist and Gneiss, the dark blood red and black metamorphic rock that is the very heart of the Granite Gorge we go, each bend a towering V in the river as the hardness of the rock is slow to erode.  The rapids, larger, swifter, more difficult, come faster now.  Sockdolager.  Grapevine.  85 Mile.  We stop at Clear Creek, a pleasant respite from the constantcy of oaring and paddling.

We make our way to Cremation, the camp site on river left that is restricted to private parties such as ours.  However, we spurn Cremation for the "emergency beach" below the ferry cart that connects Phantom Ranch with the gauging station.   There we make camp, eat a sumptous dinner and then make our way to Phantom.  Ah, Phantom Ranch.  One of my favorite places on Earth.  Built alongside Bright Angel Creek, the ranch is a spectacular place to camp, take a cabin or just plain hang out.  We hit the lodge and drink ice (yes ICE! That magnificent creation!) in lemonade, make phone calls from the payphone, purchase souvenirs, a hat, a long sleeve shirt to ward off the sun, and relax in an air conditioned room.

In the dark we make our way back to camp, a chinese dragon of lights snaking along the trail back to where our boats are tied up.  I sleep on a boat, a surprisingly comfortable and cool location.  Before dawn the First Halfers pack up and go while the rest of us sleep in.

In Hance	Floating toward Phantom	Dinner at Emergency Beach