Thoughts from Mikah Meyer-Travel Blogger, Speaker & Advocate
River trips are my favorite form of travel.
Getting on the water, for days at a time.
Nothing to do but focus on beautiful nature while disconnecting from the digital world.
Woooooo!
Sign, Me, Up!
I love multi-day river trips so much, that when the outdoors brand Eddie Bauer offered that I could make a documentary about any type of outdoor adventure, I chose a river trip. And brought my closest friends and confidants to take on this experience so they could feel the love I’ve had for river trips since my first trip down the Grand Canyon in 2017.
Since that inaugural voyage, I’ve traveled down eight different rivers canyon on nine trips.
So for my 10th trip, I went back to where it all started.
The Grand Canyon.
And after two past motor trips, joined AZRA for my first ever oar journey down this most famous of river canyons.
My two favorite parts of this oar experience vs. a motor one, were:
- Getting to ride through the Grand Canyon’s epic rapids in a much smaller, more nimble and wild raft.
- The slower pace. Instead of doing the full canyon on an 8-day motor trip, I took 9 days just to do the Lower Canyon Classic Adventure. These more days on less river miles led to longer times in each canyon side stop, and provided a more relaxing and intimate time with the Canyon than my past overview tours.
These two highlights were punctuated by AZRA’s 4 Guiding Principles that aid their Mission Statement “To share the experience of a lifetime by providing exceptional and participatory Grand Canyon raft adventures that invite a sense of wonder in our lives and wild places.”
Exemplified by 4 distinct experiences during my 9-Day Adventure!
COMPETENCY
Upon nearing the end of my 7.5 mile sunrise hike from the South Rim of Grand Canyon Village to the bottom of Grand Canyon at Pipe Creek, I was greeted by a familiar face.
“Mikah!” my Trip Leader, Tyler, shouted with exuberance as my friend and I rounded the corner to meet her eyes.
“Tyler!” I exclaimed back. “What are the odds?”
Tyler had been my Guide on a river trip down Cataract Canyon three years earlier, and we were both thrilled for the chance to adventure on the water together again.
As I caught up with my river friend, it was apparent why she was chosen to Trip Lead our expedition. Her many years guiding on the water, both in the Grand Canyon and on other rivers, was exactly what I needed to be reminded of as I put my life in her and her team’s hands to traverse the Colorado River.
Tyler spoke of the many reasons why she guides for AZRA, and it was clear that AZRA has a reputation for hiring guides with lots of experience.
That was evident as I made sure to ride on all the guide’s boats. Both in the river tales and wisdom they were able to share with me and other guests, and also the confidence they exhibited when facing even the toughest of rapids in the Grand Canyon.
Including Lava Falls, rated 10 out of 10 for most difficult rapid in the Grand Canyon, and guided by Landon in this video seen here:
CARING
The youngest member of our 21 guest “River Family” was 13, and the eldest was 74. That range may sound extreme for a 226-mile sojourn down a river known for it gnarly rapids. But just as I did during my years as an educator for schools with the ethos of “cura personalis” (Care for the Whole Person), so too did the AZRA staff make sure no matter the age or ability of a River Family member, their needs were met.
From providing opportunities for the more agile members to go at a fast pace or tackle additional challenges, to making sure those wanting extra assistance always had a hand to hold or an easier path so they could still participate in the group side trips, the AZRA staff guided us with a cura personalis care.
Sometimes this meant letting guests “bull ride” the front of the boat, swim alongside it, or slide off sleeping pads into the river, and other times showed by making sure a guide was always the last person to arrive at a destination behind all guests, helping set up tents, or encouraging group activities that people of all abilities could participate in.
Whatever the moment, every member of our River Family felt like they belonged and were able to be part of the group.
And as someone with years of experience leading groups myself, that is not easy to do.
But the AZRA Guides made River Family Fun a constant.
PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCE
On day 1 of my 9 on the water, there was one member of our River Family who I genuinely couldn’t tell if they were a Guide or a guest, because of the way they participated in every aspect of river life.
From derigging rafts, to setting up the kitchen, to tying up boats at a side hike, the AZRA guides allowed us to do as much—or as little—as we wanted.
And in the case of this one enthusiastic person–after learning they were a guest and not a Guide—I said, “You enjoy this so much you better become a Guide after this trip!”
But the inclusion into activities isn’t just for camp life.
From being 1 of 6 paddlers needed to navigate the paddle boat down rapids, to taking turns rowing the oar boats along the Colorado River, this trip wasn’t just a show to watch.
It was an adventure to take part in!
That ability to lean-in to the adventure of river life helped blur the line between Guide and guest in a respectful way that allowed safe, fun exploration of river adventures, with the assurance that the AZRA Guides were always looking out for our well-being along the way.
SENSE OF WONDER
Waking up in the middle of the night to get out of my tent and use the bathroom is probably one of my least favorite experiences about camping.
…until I’m alone with the universe at 3am in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, gazing up at the multitude of heavenly stars as they bathe the campground in a soft light that makes my skin shine with an earie yet comforting glow that for a moment makes me wonder if I’m living in reality, or a ghost floating along the glistening, rippling water on some foreign planet.
Those awe-some experiences are never ending on river trips.
Whether something as common as glancing up at the canyon walls, or as unique as being caught in the middle of a canyon monsoon and seeing waterfalls created around me or witnessing the biggest wasp I’ve ever seen fly past and having a teenager tell me that “Tarantula Hawk Wasp” was made famous on their favorite YouTube channel.
These moments of childlike wonder are harder to come by in a world where I can see any point around the globe via the smartphone in my palm. But in the canyon…they are abundant.
As I told my traveling companion, “What I love about these trips is they feel like Summer Camp for adults. The Guides are the counselors, making sure you’re safe and fed and sheltered while at the same time giving you the freedom to play and explore. And the guests are your fellow campers. People from all different locations, religions, political parties, and ages, who become fast friends just like are made during a week at sleepaway camp as a kid.”
That opportunity.
That ability to feel like a kid again and experience a sense of wonder, which so easily becomes grinded out of us as adults by the daily stresses of mortgages, car payments, bosses, and deadlines…
To leave that all behind, even if just for a week, is one of the most magical gifts the river can give.
And to have not only a staff to guide you along that way, but strangers turned River Family to share it with you.
“Woooooo!” as I said at the beginning of this blog.
That’s one of the most magical experiences you can have in outdoor adventure, or I believe, in any form of travel.
—
If I haven’t yet convinced you to embark on this experience yourself. And if my short documentary hasn’t made you want to feel the rush of the water on your own skin. Let me leave you with this one parting thought:
There’s no way to fully describe the difference between “Rim Life” and spending a moment of your life down in the canyon.
But if you can give yourself a moment to take that leap, that step beyond the rim and beyond the ordinary to taste something that can’t be replicated amongst the bustling pace of regular life, you’ll be rewarded with something you never knew you needed until you had it.
Mikah Meyer holds the World Record for being the first person to visit all 400+ National Park Service sites in a single journey. Founder of Outside Safe Space, he is an avid adventurer, inspirational speaker, and champion for inclusion in the outdoors. Learn more at: https://www.mikahmeyer.com/