The Grand Wait
Everything about a Colorado River trip in Grand Canyon National Park is as grand as the canyon. Especially for the folks who want to explore the park on their own, without the services of a river concessionaire. Logistics for doing so range from packing food for up to 23 days to transporting equipment and people across the country—not to mention the daily effort of navigating the 277 river miles coursing through 1.2 million acres of proposed wilderness. But what's the biggest obstacle of running the Grand? Getting a permit in the first place. Grand Canyon National Park established the current waiting list system and commercial/private allocation ratio in the late 1970s. The concept was simple, like waiting in line at the supermarket: first come, first serve—with private trip leaders lining up for 250 launches a year. Unlike the super market analogy, however, there is only one checkout person in the Grand system; by the early 1980s, the noncommercial "wait" was already five years long. It was obvious supply needed to stay close to demand for the system to work. Unfortunately, supply was derailed with the rewriting of the Colorado River Management Plan in 1981. Due to that Grand Canyon-sized snafu, folks who 10 years ago thought it would be nice to get on the waiting list (joining 3,000 others on the list) are finally putting-in in 1999 and 2000. Behind them is a line of more than 6,000 future trip leaders. Anybody who gets on the list today better have their date planners sorted out for the year 2020, because once the park awards you a launch, you'd better be ready to go. Applicants in the early '80s paid no fees to join the list. In 1989, the cost to join increased to $25, and currently stands at $100. New applications must be postmarked between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28. Then, every year between Dec. 15 and Jan. 31, those on the list need to let the Park know they want to stay on the list by sending a registered return-receipt letter. Nothing like getting a letter from the Park eight years into your wait saying you have been dropped because you failed to send in your continuing interest form. If this happens, it's back to the end of the line. To make matters worse, in 1997 and '98, the Park charged folks $25 a year to stay on the list. More than 1,000 people dropped off before the park, under considerable pressure from boating clubs, dropped the fee. As future trip leaders wait, they are allowed to run the river on someone else's private permit. Run it again, however, and they too are off the list. But you know of people who run the river every year? Not anymore. People used to call in for cancellations, which the Park allowed. Anyone who knew about the system could get on the waiting list and then hit the phone, day after day, until they scored a cancellation. This activity ended this spring as permit managers overbooked the launch schedule for 1999 and 2000 to serve those who have been waiting the longest. This has resulted in no cancellations being added to the phone-in system. It's been 10 long years, and those who have waited are finally getting a chance at launch dates. But wait! Just because you've waited all those years doesn't mean you'll get the date you wanted. Every year, the next 300 trip leaders are told to choose 15 launch dates. Those at the front of the list usually get the date they want. Those in the middle get a close date. Those at the end better be flexible. Anyone who strikes out on all 15 dates is deferred to the following year, essentially being assured a spot near the front of the line. Imagine being awarded your fifteenth choice. If you can't launch on that day, you will be forced to cancel your trip. Once you're assigned a launch date, you must pay $100 per person 90 days in advance of your launch. Finally, the home stretch is near. Now it's time to do the food pack, dust off the boats, hope a new job/kid/house/significant other is ready to let you go or go with you, and you're finally on your way! If you'd like to join the rest of us and wait, new additions to the waiting list are accepted, with a $100 check, between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28. Write to Grand Canyon National Park River Permits Office, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023, or visit the park's home page at www.thecanyon.com. —Tom Martin
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