Up, down and across still extend in all the usual directions, but the distance between their visible limits is a bit deceiving at the Grand Canyon. At some points down is a drop of over a mile (the view back up from the canyon floor is one I aim to hike down to someday soon!). Width of the Canyon at any point ranges between 4 and 18 miles. There is no “stone’s throw” across that one!
Hance Rapid (pictured at right from Desert View) is rated an 8 in difficulty on a 1 to 10 scale. This mile long stretch of river features the Canyon’s greatest single drop. Thirty feet doesn’t sound like much in a place where everything else seems to be measured in miles, but in a kayak? That could be excessively thrilling!
Updated from June 6, 2010.
