Rob patted me on the back. “Big E, we got this,” he said. “The good thing about this canyon is that it warms you up. The rapids get progressively harder each day until Lava when you’ve been paddling already for two weeks. We’re gonna be fine.”

Our team of kayakers numbered ten and reflected the history of my progression as a boater. In the midst of his cancer fight, thankfully, Rob was there. Not only would he guide me himself, he would be in charge of creating the plan of attack for each rapid, placing the various team members in the right positions. Rob had been the force behind this entire process, even when I thought the door might be closing, and I owed him everything.

Next, there was Rocky Contos, Steven Mace, and Skyler Williams. Thanks to Sky and my father, Ed, Nature Valley was helping to pay for the expedition and had provided enough granola, nuts, and energy bars to feed an army.

Then there was Timmy O’Neill. And there was Lonnie with his two guides, Seth Dahl and Chris Drew. Even though Lonnie and I each had our own guides, Rob emphasized that ultimately we were all one unified team, with interchangeable parts who would work together to ensure success and safety for all.

My main guide down the river would, of course, be Harlan. How lucky I had been to meet him on that first Grand Canyon trip. His knowledge of “the Big Ditch” was unrivaled. He’d obtained all the permits from the National Park Service and organized raft support. The staff at No Barriers believed it was important to capture the story of the first double-blind descent of the canyon, so Harlan had spent a week customizing a thirty-seven-foot inflatable motorized raft with twelve solar panels that charged an array of batteries with fourteen thousand watts of storage capacity. It was enough to not only power my vital radio communications, but also the four video cameras and four laptop computers to organize and edit the video footage. He’d also created a mobile, lightweight boom as effective as a Hollywood crane—but portable and wireless—that could withstand the rigors of weather and water. To direct the film for No Barriers, I’d invited Michael Brown, who’d made the documentary on our Mount Everest ascent and a film on our first No Barriers expedition in Nepal with a military veteran team. He was well versed in how to capture beautiful stories in rugged environments.