Throwback Thursday

A raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is the adventure of a lifetime. However, the 220 miles from Lee’s Ferry to Pierce’s Ferry is a highly technical run. There are roughly 160 rapids, many of which are Class VI, the highest rating. By 1955 there were only 30 expeditions that had successfully run the entire Colorado through the Grand Canyon. In April of that year, two twenty-somethings decided that they would attempt to not raft, but swim that entire stretch of river. So, on April 10th, unbeknownst to the national park, Bill Beer and John Daggett plunged into the 51-degree water, wearing only thin wet suits.

At first the cold water was excruciatingly painful to the swimmers. But after some time they realized that they needed the cold, numbing water as sort of an anesthesia to mask the pain from all the bumps and grinding they were receiving as they passed through the rapids. During the 26-day swim the duo became celebrities. The park caught wind of the stunt and tried to stop them near the halfway point, but the two swimmers successfully argued to Superintendent Preston Patraw that “You gentlemen realize that after all this silly publicity and stuff, you won’t have a minute’s peace until someone does swim down the river.”



The duo finally made it to Pierce’s Ferry on May 6th. Afterwards, they told the media that it was just “a cheap vacation that got a little out of hand.”







Jeff

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