ADVENTURING -- My recent multi-week winter rafting-hiking adventure on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon (see story here) with a private group prompts me to share some observations to people planning similar group river trips. For example:

BAG THE GROUP KITCHEN: If your trip is long and the group is larger than about six members, rafting guide Brian Burns recommends letting every rafter, couple or family bring and prepare their own meals on their own cooking equipment.

"The group kitchen thing can cause problems on trips longer than a week or so," he said. "People eat different quantities and have different food preferences and the chores can become a sense of friction if some people think others in the group are slacking."

And it can be a big bummer to get up at 5 a.m. on a bad-weather day to get the group meal going so the coffee's ready by 7 -- especially if several in the group want tea.  

The do-it-yourself method worked beautifully on our Grand Canyon trip. It gave people time to chill on their own and then mingle as they wished during breakfast and dinner, sometimes sharing with the group treats such as cocktails, chocolate, smoked oysters and wine before and after mealtime.

Even after a couple weeks, the only person you could blame for inadequate food was yourself.