We awoke to another beautiful morning and we noticed that the level of the river was quite a bit higher -Wil tells us that  these fluctuations are all controlled by the Glen Powell dam and to do with demand for electricity.  Quite fascinating! After an early breakfast of bacon, and scrambled eggs ( and not forgetting the pancakes)  washed down with coffee, we prepared our packed lunches again, and then we all helped load the boat.  Its amazing what and where everything fits and the crew have it down pat.  JJ wrapped my feet properly with duct tape and I hoped it would stay on as we had some hiking still to do later on. We had a couple of big rapids this morning and the water was cold! Quite a few of the team put their rain jackets on. Towards mid morning we stopped and tied up at this amazing rock feature, it looked volcanic but smooth at the same time. This ancient metamorphic rock is called Vishnu Schist and is a foundation rock of the Grand Canyon. We had to climb up this feature which was slightly technical and then down the other side to access a creek that was entering the main river.  We walked up the creek river bed for a while before we came to a beautiful little waterfall at the end.  We spent some time here before heading back to the boat.  Sadly our trip on the river was drawing to a close as we were nearing Shadow Ranch. There were new people that were going to start their river trip and continue down the Colorado right until the end which is Whitmore Wash.  We were very envious and said goodbye to our fantastic crew.  They really went out of their way to make our trip so comfortable and entirely memorable.  We collected our gear and trudged up to Phantom Ranch where we were to spend the night before our hike out the Bright Angel Trail the following morning.  I say trudge, as it was incredibly hot, hard to believe but we were told it was 130 degrees which is about 50 degree C!  Phantom Ranch is the only accommodation available at the bottom of the Canyon, aside from camping and one needs to reserve way in advance.  They have a restaurant and serve cold beer which is all that mattered at that moment!  Kirsty and I were in a woman dormitory whilst Kevin bunked down with the men.  Thank goodness the dorms were air-conditioned and after we had sorted our gear out for the next day, we met  our team in the restaurant for some ice cold lemonade and beer. The Wisconsin father and sons decided to go for a walk - we declined, far too hot and went for a snooze in our cool rooms.  Supper was staged in batches with our time being 6.30pm  Our group all sat at one table and we enjoyed a very tasty casserole dish with fresh salads and corn bread.  After supper we listened to a ranger talk on  how certain places in the Canyon got their names and then we retired for the night - there was to be an early start the following morning.

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