By Elisha McArthur
Permits to run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon are acquired by a weighted lottery system and are not easy to get. What used to be a ten-year waiting list switched to a lottery in 2006. The weighted system means that you have a certain number of points, giving you so many chances to win. My better half, Alan, and I put in for a permit in January of 2012, and even with my dad on our permit (who had priority lottery points from being on the waiting list for nine years before it switched to the lottery) did not win the primary lottery on Feb. 22. We did, however, win a permit from a secondary drawing held in March. Our launch date was Oct. 2, 2013, and we were elated! We spent the next year and a half planning the perfect trip and rallying the perfect crew.
