Grand Canyon Expedition BBC2/Discovery Channel

Date Posted: 08/08/2013

I am writing this from my hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona, just off Route 66. I am about to take part in a totally amazing/insane adventure. In 1869 John Wesley Powell took a team of men, in wooden boats, down the Grand Canyon. It was the first time anyone had ever done it. There were no maps. They had no idea what lay ahead of them. Some thought the mighty Colorado vanished into a hole in the ground. Others feared a waterfall of extraordinary height and power.

Some of Powell’s men were murdered by Indians. They all nearly starved to death. One of the survivors was so ruined by the experience that, later in life, he castrated himself with his skinning knife on the banks of the nearby Green River.

Now, the replica boats are ready, all three beautifully hand made. And I am part of a team that are going to try and get down the river.

Wish me luck. I might just need it.