Grand Canyon
River Raft Adventure
July 19 to 27, 2008
another Love. Joy. Pardon adventure
Originaly Sold Out in one week
- few spaces now released -

Filmmakers Charles Vogl & Socheata Poeuv invite you and friends to join them rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon!  This is designed as an adventure retreat.

This adventure will include opportunities for friendship, community & bliss!  This is a life time experience.  There is only one Grand Canyon.

• Includes:
  • 6 days rafting on the Grand Canyon
  • Raft, paddle, life preserver provided
  • Sleeping gear on the river
  • Eating gear on the river
  • Transfer to the river and away from Canyon after hike out
  • Accomodations night before and night after rafting
  • Tranfer from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon both ways

• Itinerary:
  • Day 1 - July 19  Arrive in Las Vegas / Overnight in las Vegas (hotel not included)
  • Day 2 - July 20  Group travel to the Canyon - overnight at Marble Loge (included)
  • Day 3  - July 21  Departure for 6 day Upper Canyon paddle trip -  88 mile float
  • Day 4 - July 22  Rafting & exploring on the Colorado River
  • Day 5 - July 23  Rafting & exploring on the Colorado River
  • Day 6 - July 24  Rafting & exploring on the Colorado River
  • Day 7 - July 25  Rafting & exploring  on the Colorado River
  • Day 8 - July 26  Arrive at the foot of the Bright Angel Trail for the famous hike up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
    • Overnight in Grand Canyon National Park (if permit available)
  • Day 9 - July 27  transfer back to Las Vegas airport.

• Not Included:
  • Air from home to Las Vegas
  • Accomodation in Las Vegas  (Charles & Soch plan to home stay)
  • Travel Insurance
  • Back pack to pack out of the canyon

To Book:

Retail Package:$3150 per person
Group Rate: $2850 per person

Love Joy Pardon Limited Special:  $2535 per person  
           - originaly Sold out in 8 days /  now few new spaces released

Online Reserve: (for each person)

• http://celestialvoyagers.com/html/reservations.htm
• Destination: "River Raft 2008"
• Tour Name: ""LOVE JOY PARDON"
• Tour # 1935

• Confirmed Guests
• Socheata Poeuv - PBS Documentary Director
• Joe Raby - NYC Entrepreneur
• Andrew Ettinger
• Kat Ariano
• Dr. KG Bennet - Nuclear Medicine M.D.
• Kris Klie - Veterinarian 
• Elliot Mebane - Founder, Roguish Studios
• David Cleaves - British traveling guy
• Charles Vogl - Yale Divinity Student / Doc. Film Producer
• Jon San Juan - Feature Film Post-Production Consultant
• Kathryn Lucatelli - Non-Profit Exec. Director
• Larissa Yee - NY Marketing professional
• Eli Groenendyke - Sculptor & Artist
• David Chan - NY Finance, Redeemer member
• Joseph Varghese - Corporate Trainer & Success Coach
  

Adventure Description:

A professional crew will guide you through the Grand Canyon's booming rapids, lead explorations into hidden canyons and explain about the lives of the "ancient ones" who made the Canyon their home. As we contemplate the remains of their ancient dwellings we can imagine the struggle these pre-historic Americans endured. For a thousand years they roamed the Canyon, carving farm plots from rocky niches, hunting game on the rims above, building simple shelters from the elements.

The outside world knew virtually nothing of this place until 1869, when John Wesley Powell led the first exploration of this uncharted marvel, surveying the last remaining blank on the map of the United States.

This 6-day trip of the upper Grand Canyon will cover the 88 miles by river from Lees Ferry to Phantom Ranch and the ascent to the South Rim. The night before the trip begins we meet you for an orientation meeting at Marble Canyon Lodge.  The trip leaves Lees Ferry and floats into Marble Canyon named in 1869 by its first explorer, Major John Wesley Powell. It's polished limestone, layered with bands of sandstones and siltstones rises dramatically above the river with each mile passed, soaring thousands of feet to the rim. This same seemingly impervious limestone has allowed the river to scoop out the huge expanse of Red Wall Cavern at the river's edge, one of the many attractions in this stretch.

Your sleeping gear will be provided.  It consists of: a lightweight sleeping bag, a full-length pad, ground cloth, cloth sleeping bag liner, waterproof river bags, utensils, plate and a cup.

Underground springs gush from the fern-covered rock at Vasey's Paradise and side streams carve bowl-like pools at Silver Grotto, Saddle, and North Canyons. Nautilus fossils are readily viewed in the streambed of Nautiloid Canyon and ancient Anasazi granaries await the hiker high above the river at Nankoweap. Prehistoric Native American sites are spread throughout the Canyon and this section features many of the larger sites found along the river.

The sequence of rapids through this 88-mile float couldn't be better orchestrated. Beginning with the medium sized (Canyon Scale!) Badger, House Rock and Unkar rapids, the crescendo begins with Nevills rapid then builds quickly with Hance (the longest) and Sockdolager. Amplified by the imposing walls of the Upper Granite Gorge the grand finale hits its high notes at Grapevine and Zoroaster rapids, and the last few miles finish with a quiet serenade.

The final destination point for the river portion of this trip is the Pipe Creek Beach, one mile below Phantom Ranch, where the Bright Angel Trail meets the river.

The Bright Angel Trail is one of the most popular and beautiful hikes in the American southwest. It extends from South Rim Village of Grand Canyon National Park to Phantom Ranch. As the trail decents 5000 feet to the river it passes through climate zones starting from the Ponderosa forests on the rim, through the Pinon-Juniper scrub, to the Sonoran Desert below. Each turn of the trail affords stunning vistas and numerous photo opportunities.  It is about a 7 mile hike out of the Canyon.

This is where you start your journey back through geologic time, ascending first through the ancient bedrock up through the progressively younger layers that you were introduced to on the river. You should plan to spend the night at the South Rim where you can find a bed, hot shower and one last sunset view from the rim!

The hike is approximately nine miles long. At the mid-point lies the oasis of Indian Gardens where Garden Creek babbles below overhanging cottonwood trees. Below Indian Gardens the trail follows Garden Creek for a short distance before cutting through the layers that comprise some of the oldest exposed rock on earth. Upon reaching the river the trail parallels the Colorado River for a mile until it crosses and continues to either Phantom Ranch or the Boat Beach.