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Show HARRY ALESON For Harry. Life was Heaven 6 Home in Glen Canyon By Ken Sleight HARRY'S WEDDING AND THE BERT LOPER WHISKY The year 1962 was a momentous one. It was the last year to run the Colorado River through Glen Canyon before the waters began backing up behind the Glen Canyon dam. It was the year that Lt Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. orbited the earth three times and exclaimed, "Oh, that view is tremendous. It was the year that Bill Wells, the Flying Bishop of Hanksville, turned up missing over the Dirty Devil River as he was checking on his cattle grazing in the canyon below. When his prop flew off, he was forced down onto a sand bar. It was the year that I scheduled some 16 trips in Glen Canyon. When My brochures read, "Soon this Glen Canyon region will be covered with water and the deep canyons shall be no more." It was the year that Harry Aleson, Moki-Ma- c Ellingson, Georgie White, Kenny Don Ross, Harris, and other river runners were active in running the canyon rivers. Each guide had his or her own character. One such character was Harry Aleson. Then 63 years old, this Iowa native of Nordic heritage had accomplished much during his river lifetime. Aleson was a colorful, Harry and remarkable individual. He imaginative, was an unusual boatman, an inquisitive scholar, and pleasant to be around. He was egocentric and a showman, and he had a strange dolightfiilness about him. He had a varied history. In March 1918, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the U5. Army Signal Corps and was sent to France for training During this time, his plane went down and the toxic fumes and gas played havoc with his stomach. Chronic and perpetual stomach problems caused the removal of much of his stomach necessitating frequent visits to veteran hospitals. He was able to secure a full disability pension. During the depression years, he worked for various geophysical exploration firms in the southwest During this time he discovered the Colorado River and began boating on Lake Mead. Soon this led to trips upstream on the Colorado into Grand Canyon. Harry sought adventure. He and Georgie White swam the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1945 for some 61 miles, and they repeated with an swim the following year. In 1945, he also made a five-da- y upriver motorboat run from Lee's Ferry to Hite through Glen Canyon. He made several trips down the Yukon and the MacKenzie Rivers, and he liked to hike long distances exploring new scenic areas and archeological sites. Joining up with a partner, he called his outfit the Larabee and Aleson Western River Tours. He purchased old surplus navy neoprene rafts, a couple of motors and a few supplies, and he was in business. His river career was further spurred on by his scholarly pursuits. He liked doing research and assembling notes on the In this he history of the canyons. exchanged many letters with Otis "Dock" Mars ton, a noted and maverick river historian. 81-mi- le self-appoint- ed is common with many river runners, his love for the river cost him his marriage. Married in 1928, he and his wife separated in 1940. Harry had set up "house alone in a tent at Quartermaster Canyon. Harry made a number of trips in the Glen and Escalante canyon area in search of Everett Ruess, a young lad who disappeared in the canyons in 1934. Through Harry, I had the privilege of coming to know the Ruess family. Harry had earlier taken Everett's mother, Stella, into Davis Gulch. Later, I took Everett's brother, Waldo, there too. On the river, Harry would often invite me and my groups to camp with him. As we met on the river, he would often yell over and say "let's camp together tonight." And we'd do it. I enjoyed his stories and he put up with mine. As |
