We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation That Got a Little Out of Hand - Hardcover

Beer, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0898861519 ISBN 13: 9780898861518

Publisher: Mountaineers Books, 1995

Synopsis

The true story of a cheap vacation that got a little out of hand. In 1955 Bill Beer and John Daggett, at the time both recently out of the military, and in their mid 20s, footloose, and more or less unemployed conceived the idea of swimming the Colorado River through the 279 miles of the Grand Canyon-principally because they couldn't afford a boat. This simple idea escalated into a national news story and has been one of the legends of the Grand Canyon ever since. Never equalled nor duplicated, their illegal venture and many of its dangers, comic episodes, innovations, side effects and long term ramifications are the story of this book.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

April 10, 1955: the water temperature was 51F, and a fierce wind buffeted two men as they entered the Colorado River at Lees Ferry. The author and John Daggett had set out to swim the river through the Grand Canyon. At a time when fewer than 200 people had run the river in boats, this was daredeviltryand illegal. Their equipment was primitive: Army-surplus rubber boxes to carry gear, thin rubber shirts, woollen long johns and swim fins; they also took a movie camera to record the adventure. Twenty-six days and 280 miles later, bruised and battered, they left the river at Pierce Ferry. Beer relives the miseries and exhilaration of that singular journey, a gripping story of endurance. In an afterword, he discusses other, legal trips through the Grand Canyon (he has swum the occasional rapid from a boat) and assesses the present state of the environment; he has high praise for the Park Service. This will appeal to readers who enjoy adventure. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Every complete history of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River gives at least a generous paragraph to the water-soaked saga of Beer and Daggett. What once was considered a foolish risk is now legend. ...We Swam the Grand Canyon offers the reader a full range of vicarious experience: agony, suspense, hope, humor, despair-and, always, the River and the Canyon.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mountaineers Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0898861519
• ISBN 13: 9780898861518
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 171