We were on day 5 of our trip down the Colorado River and it was Jim’s 60th birthday. One of the reasons we went on a Grand Canyon rafting trip was to celebrate that we both turned 60 in 2024. To make it a bit more special, we planned the trip around Jim’s birthday.

*Disclaimer…we have tried to accurately identify the river rapids, but writing notes in a river raft was nearly impossible. We have had to rely on our river guide book and the notes we wrote at the end of each day*

Packed for the day…we were getting good at our morning routine. Breakfast was usually around 5:30 am, so you had to be up, packed, and ready to go. We had brought along small battery chargers for our phones. There is no cellular service in the canyon, but we used the phones to take pictures and boy did we take pictures…almost 7000 between the two of us.

Every morning as we left camp, the ravens would show up, waiting for us to leave so they could scavenger the camp.

Our first adventure of the day was 110 mile Rapid

The calm parts of the river were so nice and relaxing…we just enjoyed the ever-changing scenery.

We had a morning stop at Elves Chasm. It was a short hike from the river but involved traversing a few boulders. The view looking across the canyon was amazing. At the waterfall, you could climb the rocks and jump into the pool.

Back on the boat, we noticed that the topography of the canyon was changing.

Just to keep us on our toes, we had a series of rapids, such as Blacktail, Forster, and Fossil. In one of them, we got stuck in the eddy and bumped the rock a couple of times. It made for a good laugh after…

Specter Rapid…

Our lunch stop was at Stone Creek Waterfalls. It was a much easier walk up to the waterfalls than the morning hike to Eleves Chasm.

The waterfalls was a nice refreshing “shower” since we hadn’t been able to do that in the muddy Colorado River. And a kiss in a waterfalls to finish the hike.

Lunch was waiting for us after our hike…and then pictures on the beach for the birthday boy!!

After lunch, we reached Mile 136, which is the narrowest part of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon at 76 feet wide.

It is also where you could do some cliff jumping. JP tied a rope with a buoy on the back of his boat so that the “jumpers” could easily come back up the river. Everyone was required to wear a life jacket.

Jim decided to do the lower jump to celebrate his birthday.

When he got to the boat, his life jacket slipped off and it took several people to get him out of the water…lol

Next up was Deer Creek Waterfalls…it was a very powerful waterfalls. The goal was to try to walk under it and touch the back wall.

It took some effort, but we did it!!!

On our way back to the boat, we saw that Matt and JP were filtering water. Jim helped carry the containers to the boat.

We then had 3 rapids left for the day, the first being Doris Rapid

139 Mile Rapid…

And we ended the day with Fishtail Rapid…

We then had abit of time of just chillin’ on the river enjoying the view

We camped for the night at Hell’s Kitchen, which was appropriately named as it was extremely hot. The canyon walls retain the heat from the sun and radiate it, so it was hot all night. Most of our group slept outside of their tents, but there were a lot of tarantulas in the area, so we decided to sleep in our tent.

Each night, before dinner, a variety of appetizers were served. Jim’s birthday dinner was pork medallions, baked beans, jalapeno corn, stuffing, coleslaw, and apple sauce.

The other boat guide, JP, baked a chocolate cake for Jim. They even had candles and everyone sang Happy Birthday. For a cake that was cooked on the river, it was delicious!!

What an epic way to celebrate Jim’s 60th birthday!!!