150 Years of Questionable Endeavors with Brad Dimock

 Navigating the rapids of Grand Canyon began in the 1860s. Although most boaters turned to the more practical inflatable rubber boat after they became available in the late 1940s, there is a surviving faction that quixotically prefers to run wooden boats. Brad Dimock, a Grand Canyon boatman for a half century, researched the evolution of wooden boat designs, built replicas of each iconic style, then actually rowed them through Grand Canyon. In this humorous, informative, and mildly horrifying talk, he will take you through that story, illustrated with historic and modern footage of the boats in action.

 Brad began running Grand Canyon in 1971 and never had the sense to move on to something more respectable. For a decade he spent his winters running international rivers in South America, Central America, and Africa. He later penned biographies of three iconic boaters, each a winner of the National Outdoor Book Award. About twenty years ago he began building boats—historic replicas and new variations of modern dories. He now teaches boatbuilding around the country and operates Fretwater Boatworks in Flagstaff—the most prolific producer of whitewater dories in the country.With Lake Powell receding, the Colorado River above Glen Canyon Dam is changing rapidly in dramatic and unexpected ways. Buried rapids are rising and channels are reappearing. The Colorado River is righting itself from this inundation.  But there are also emerging features that pose a potential threat to riparian ecosystems, archaeological sites, and reservoir management. The first group to observe and document these changes is the Returning Rapids Project, a group of river guides turned citizen scientists, who work in partnership with scientific researchers.