eNRG Kayaking’s founders Sam Drevo and Justin Rae were able to run the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in September. This 226 mile, 18 day river trip was full of great weather (it only rained on day 1), and included lots of fun rapids. The group included local Portland paddler Julie Majer, and artists David Kinker and Molly Keen along with a big crew from Bend.

The trip was 25 years in the making (that’s how long it can take to get a permit), and included some of the best hiking available in the canyon.

Justin loved Grapevine camp in Marble Canyon the most, and all the beautiful side streams flowing into the canyon along the way. The water temperature was in the 60’s due to low water in the lake Powell which allowed for more swimming and floating in the river. Molly rode her Paco pad for over a mile one day- it was awesome!

This trip was a great warm up run for our 14 day river expedition on the Rio Grande River in Argentina in December. We will be making the most of this off season (both locally with our youth kayak team and internationally with our expeditions) and excited about bringing more local multi-day trips to eNRG Kayaking in 2023.