What to Expect at Your Hatch River Expeditions Orientation

What to Expect at Orientation with Hatch

Orientation is your first real opportunity to meet the people who make your rafting trip possible. It’s also when you’ll learn critical information about your trip to come—so we recommend paying attention!

Note: This information is for full canyon and upper canyon guests starting their trips from Lees Ferry. Lower canyon guests will start their trips by meeting a Hatch hiking guide at Grand Canyon’s South Rim. See your trip packet or invoice for meet up details.

Before Your Orientation

Although you won’t officially meet any employees from Hatch until the morning of your launch, you’ll stay in Marble Canyon the night before your trip launches, giving you plenty of time to explore the area, eat at Cliff Dwellers Restaurant, and get a good night’s rest before your adventure truly begins. You might meet some of your trip mates or river guides at the restaurant!

Orientation: Phase One

8:30 am meet time    (Note: if your trip is called “1st launch” your meet time is likely at 8 am, but double check your invoice)

Your Grand Canyon rafting trip begins in front of the restaurant at Cliff Dwellers Lodge. Gather with your trip mates around the “island” in the parking area where the Hatch vans will be parked and there will be piles of bright orange dry bags.

Be sure to bring all of your gear with you! You’ll also collect your drink orders from beside the Cliff Dwellers store. (Last chance to double-check that everything you ordered is right!)

Here, you’ll meet a Hatch employee (often Steve Hatch himself) who will get you ready for the trip to come.

You’ll put your entire duffel bag into the bigger dry bag with your sleeping bag. The day dry bag can hold your day-time things like sunscreen, rain gear, and water bottles. Everyone can also label their drinks with a marker since all the drink cartons will be strapped down in one pile on one of the rafts.

Next you’ll also receive your day and night dry bags and learn how to pack them. In general, you’ll want shoes, hat, rain gear, water bottles, and your small backpack accessible during the day, and your duffel bag stored away with your night gear. (Your entire duffel and its contents will fit into the night dry bag.) Keep in mind that anything you put in your night dry bag won’t be accessible until camp that evening. Don’t worry if you forget something you wanted with your day gear, though—you have 6 days to perfect your dry bag packing!

Take this opportunity to ask any questions you have—our staff is there to make sure everyone is comfortable and ready to go before we head down to the ferry.

When everyone is ready, you’ll load your drinks and duffels onto the gear trailer then hop into the vans. It takes about 20 minutes to drive down to the river, so sit back, relax and enjoy the view.

Orientation: Phase two

Once you get to the river, you’ll meet your guides. These are the folks who will help keep you safe, fed, and happy throughout the trip so make sure to listen to what they have to say! They’ll teach you about boat safety—like where to sit and how to hold on.

This is the part of orientation when you’ll get your life jacket and learn how to adjust it to fit you properly. Then everyone can pick out the drinks they’ll want for the day and put them in the drag bags. After that, all the night dry bags and drinks are loaded up by everyone participating in a fire line. 

It’s important to listen to the guides talking about safety precautions for your trip. In this photo, everyone has on a life vest they’ve fitted to themselves, the dry bags are already loaded and strapped down, and the drink drag bags are still hanging from the front of the raft.

After you load up the boats and everything is secure, it’s time to shove off and start your adventure. Happy rafting!

Not signed up yet but ready for a trip? Book a 2024 or 2025 river trip today to experience the Canyon first hand!

And don’t forget to get your 90th Year T-shirt or sticker!