summer 03 / 16:2 - Grand Canyon River Guides

GTS River TripMy name is Joe Pollock and I’ve been a guidewith Arizona River Runners since 1999. I waspacking for our company training trip March10th when it came to my attention that Grand CanyonRiver Guides was looking for a trip leader for the onwaterportion of the Guides Training Seminar (gts). Italked with Lynn, quickly shifted gears and by the sametime the next day I was planning for that trip, launchingon the first of April. Over the next couple of weeks itbecame harder and harder for me to escape the fact thatI was to lead a trip launching on April Fool’s Day.The 2003 gts river trip was, however, an unqualifiedsuccess. Guides from nine different companies and theNational Park Service took down boats from five companiesand the Park along with more than adozen speakers. Oar boats, a paddle raft, acouple of kayaks, a duckie, and the mothership, Diamond’s motor boat, all made the twoweek seminar go by like, well, like a two weekon-the-water seminar ought to go like. We allundoubtedly learned at least one thing newabout the Canyon and about each other, someof which came out on the last night’s poetryslam.Geologists Ivo Luchitta and PeterHuntoon gave us rock solid interpretations ofthe Canyon’s most salient features, while biologistsClay Nelson, Fred Phillips and NikolleBrown informed us of snails, trees, and snakes,respectively. Chuck Higgins gave us the lowdownon the Norovirus and from on-high,Ken McMullin and Nick Miller showed ussound level monitoring of overflights andother interesting noise makers. MikeMcGinnis offered safety advice on evacs onthe upper half, and on the lower half AllysonMathis provided ways for us to interpret justwhat it was Ivo and Peter said about rocks andwalls. Abby Sullivan took pictures for theAdopt-a-Beach program and gave us reasons tosign up for a beach of our own, and KateThompson showed us not only a nice collectionof debris flow remnants, but that yoga inthe morning can be called stretching, too.Starting the yoga movement on the upper halfwas Abby Spotskey, who added ethics to ourunderstanding of showing others how to LeaveNo Trace. Thanks to Jen Dierker for theHualapai history and roasting feature demo, aswell as to Kelly Burke from the Grand CanyonWildlands Council for her cameo and introductionto island and corridor ecology. Wewere able to become aware of other ways of being anddoing with the help of Liz Sharp’s awareness of disabilities,and a big thanks goes to Brenton White, probablyone of the few Rangers who would relish putting up withour lot for the entire trip.The information dispensed by this group of speakerswill no doubt become part of how we relate to, andrelate others to, the Canyon. In time, we may forgetsome specifics of individual presentations and discussions(as happens for any trip), but one thread seemed to runthrough many of our speakers’ topics: relationships.Either by encouraging us to make a bond with our groupof passengers or co-workers, forming a personal connectionwith the Canyon or the environment where everOn a windy spring day this is the way to “row” the flatwater.Ivo Luccchita talks geology.page 16grand canyon river guides