Travel to Mexico

The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons (Penguin Classics)

Format: Paperback
Author: John Wesley Powell
ReleaseDate: 27 May, 2003
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Rating:

Perilous journey into a sublime landscape
It's not the same now as it was in his day. Anyone who is enthralled by the beauty of the Southwest, or as Powell defines it - the Colorado River watershed, should read this book. For one thing, Glen Canyon, which he named, is now submerged under Lake Powell (could any name be more ironic?). No one today can feel the same kind of wonder and awe as Powell and his companions did as they pushed their boats into the raging rapids of the muddy Colorado without having any idea of what was ahead. Even the part of the Colorado watershed that has not been developed, and there is a considerable extent of land under protective status, today has nothing like the remoteness that Powell experienced. Everything has been mapped and carefully scutinized.

Yet, anyone who has spent some time sizing up the immense water-carved rock canyons, can still feel something of the sublimity that Powell felt. It requires more imagination; it is true, but anyone who is determined to make more of a commitment than just standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon can still experience the really sublime features of this landscape. How much more difficult will it be in the future? Will these wilderness wonders become more degraded?

The book describes by daily journal entries the historic river run of 1868 starting at the Flaming Gorge in Wyoming and ending at the Virgin River as well as a follow-up expedition the next year. Powell does not overdo the apprehensions and hardships of himself and companions, nor does he make mention that he accomplished the physical exertion of climbing the canyon walls and navigating the boats with one arm: but largely confines himself to descriptions of the events and the incredible landforms. The extent of the journey and all the spectacular features that he finds and names is impressive. That Powell's group experienced hardships there can be no doubt.

One of the more interesting parts of the book to me was the way Powell approached the Indian tribe that killed his three companions, who decided to abandon the expedition and hike out of the Canyon. In those frontier days, it was the accepted norm to meet violence with violence. But Powell, I thought here, really showed himself to be an exceptional human being. He had a inquiring mind and a sincere desire to learn everything he could without inflicting retribution.

It is shameful that students today don't know this man!
Powell was not a scientist by today's standards but yet he managed to do many great things. I find it totally unexcuseable that today's young college students (especially earth and environmental science types) do not know this man; yet, they all know Edward Abbey. He stood in opposition to the popular belief at that time that the West was a virgin Utopian land awaiting industrial and population exploitation from eastern society. He saw a great empty space in the National maps of the West and set about to explore and understand and map this area. He was a geologist, ecologist, ethnologist, and anthropologist all wrapped up in a persona that was at one time a soldier and commander. His exploration of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River is a terrific read for anyone looking for an adventure read. Its a scientific quest turned whitewater adventure. Abbey, on the other hand, has never done anything as substantial as what Powell did for our basic knowledge and appreciation of the West. Furthermore, Powell's vision isn't clouded by the selfish, militant, eco-geek goggles through which Abbey viewed the West. .

A classic, I guess

John Wesley Powell was a scientist, geologist, and Civil War veteran whose right arm was shot off by a cannonball; he was the man who named Glen Canyon, and the man Lake Powell was named for. John Wesley Powell was a fascinating guy. He was the first man to lead an expedition down the Colorado--the first two expeditions, actually--back when the river flowed wild, without dams.
He didn't worry about all the details like a knowledgeable crew, funds, both arms, having an experienced crew, not knowing if there was a Niagara-sized waterfall around the next bend or not, and so on--he just went. He understood you don't need experience to gain experience. He and his crew paid for their inexperience by nearly drowning, nearly starving, and by misadventure after misadventure but in the end MOST of their group emerged from the southern end of the Grand Canyon with stories, experiences, and first-hand knowledge of a part of the world that few people had ever seen before.
(Three of his crew abandoned the expedition, and their fates are uncertain. )
This is Powell's story. It's also a story of the geology of the Colorado Plateau, of the Colorado River, and of the West. It's not a perfect account, but it is a classic one. Powell's prose is at times high-falutin', he recklessly combines details from his first and second expedition, and he gives too little credit to his crew, but he is always an optimist, and always fun to read.
Take a river trip, and take this along. Or, take "Down the Great Unknown" by Edward Dolnick--that's a good account of that trip as well. (I actually prefer it. ).

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