After Lava Falls, everything was a breeze, literally. After we drank the lone soldier (Tecate) in celebration of making it past Lava falls in one piece, we met up with an old friend of ours…the wind. The wind was howling at times up the river so hard that we paddled just to stay in one spot and not get blown upstream. Not once did anyone really freak out on this trip, except for the windy day. Ben and Heath nicknamed it “snap back” day because they kept getting pissed and snapping at each other. Heath was standing up rearranging his jacket or something while Ben was grinding against the wind when Ben got pissed, “Well maybe if you weren’t gettin’ all dolled up, we’d be moving!”
We were meant to really crank out some miles to get to the take out one day early, but the wind wasn’t helping at all. Two days earlier we decided that we should shave one day off the trip so we could use it to celebrate with our friend Matt Ball in dirty ass Laughlin Nevada. It took some group talks, but once we decided, we broke the seal on the satellite phone and gave the rafting company a call.
A quick note on satellite phone operation from the Grand Canyon. When you call you’re supposed to immediately say the mile marker you’re at in the canyon, that way if you lose the signal, they at least know where to send the helicopter without any other info.
“Hi Caroline, It’s Jeff down in the canyon. How are you?”
“WHY ARE YOU CALLING!!???”
“Oh, sorry. This isn’t an emergency. We just want to get picked up a day early.”… derp.
The wind eventually died down and we figured it was our last chance to get one more shot off my list. I call this series “Bodies Flying Everywhere.”
And I call this series “A Psycho and His Tent.”
WE'RE REALLY DOING IT 
Oh that Ben Gilley! Where are you these days?! Still in Alabama?!
Let’s start doing that whenever we call. Location first. I like it.
“Trader Joes on Court Street. Any way, hey Jeff. What are bringing to the O’Neals party tonight?”