Lava Falls kayak carnage, part of our 14-day Grand Canyon kayaking adventure, Sept 2026

The most notorious rapid in the Grand Canyon is Lava Falls. This time, it was a disappointing run for me. I don't like to make excuses but I have a good one this time. Over the previous couple of days my rented Jackson Flow kayak had been taking on a lot of water. I dumped it out every time we stopped but I couldn't determine where it was coming from. I thought it might be my spray skirt. I ended up going through Lava Falls with a lot of water in the kayak, which needless to say didn't help. As soon as I descended down the tongue, water in the kayak slopped to the bow and spun me around backwards. Not good. I tried to roll in the gnar but ended up swimming. Thankfully, guide Thomas was right there to tow me into an eddy. Then he had to paddle off to rescue other swimmers in our group. Afterward at our lunch stop, we did a closer inspection of my rented kayak, including setting it across logs and filling it with water as a leak test. We found a 1-1/2" crack on the right side, patched it with Gorilla tape, and I had no issues the final miles of the trip. I wish we would have found the crack sooner. I would have loved another shot at Lava Falls.