We launch our boats. March 31 - Phantom Ranch . The Little Colorado River, when we passed it, was a huge blue lagoon stretching up out of sight around the corner. Hance Rapid was big but roomy, the inner gorge a seething mass of swirling waters. Sedimentologists are busy at Eminence Break and Carbon Canyon, repeatedly surveying the river bottom to document gain or loss in sand.
Fisheries scientists track the movements of the endangered humpback chub.
Although most beaches are still underwater, to see the Colorado muddy is enough to make your heart swell. April 3 - 122 Mile Canyon. It's an exciting moment as the river begins to drop. Fascinated, we watch new bars being born, stand on their fresh surfaces, make first tracks along their smooth faces. April 6 - Diamond Creek takeout.