Many of you have heard of Georgie White, "Woman of the River," founder of Georgie's Royal River Rats and celebrated bad-ass woman.
The Story of Georgie:
Georgie White, born in 1910, embarked on her first Grand Canyon "river trip" in 1945 by jumping into the icy waters of the Colorado River with basically just a life jacket and some jerry-rigged waterproof cans in her backpack. She and Harry Aleson then "swam" on downstream, arriving at Lake Mead a few days later. Their diet of pure sugar candy, powdered coffee, and dehydrated soup sustained them while hugging driftwood logs and floating, not by any means lazily, downstream.
Georgie was hooked. She founded Georgie's Royal River Rats in 1951 and enhanced the "baloney boat" legacy. She brought in military surplus bridge pontoons, strapped them together and created the "G-Rig" baloney boat that could hold about 14 passengers. We have heard from guides who worked for Georgie and from her passengers that the rumors are true – her trips were cheap. She provided hard-boiled eggs, canned food and Coors Original, but not much more.
We, Grand Canyon Whitewater, are extremely admiring of and grateful for these early river runners who forged their way through unknown territory and helped form the industry we have today, rafting in Grand Canyon.