2007 Grand Canyon History Symposium Erik Berg Berg was raised in Flagstaff and made his first hike to Phantom Ranch at age 12. A graduate of the University of Arizona, he now works in Phoenix as a software engineer, but returns to the canyon frequently and has backpacked all of the central corridor trails and many of the backcountry ones. An avid writer and amateur historian, Erik has published several articles on southwestern history as well as contributed chapters to two books on Arizona. His 2004 article in the Journal of Arizona History entitled, "The Eagle and the Anasazi: The Lindbergh's 1929 Aerial Survey of Prehistoric Sites in Arizona and New Mexico", won the Westerners International first place award for best article on Western American history. Presentation Abstract... Rock Hounds and River Rats: The 1937 Carnegie-CalTech Colorado River Expedition:   The subject of the presentation is the 1937 river trip through the Grand Canyon conducted by CalTech geologists Ian Campbell and John Maxson under the direction and funding of John C. Merriam of the Carnegie Institution. The purpose of the trip was to conduct the first comprehensive study of the ancient rocks of the inner gorge as part of the Carnegie Institution's larger geologic program in the park. The group included two other geologists (Robert Sharp and Jack Stark) and three boatmen including noted Grand Canyon river runner Frank Dodge. Aside from the group's scientific contributions, the trip is historically important because it represented the end of era. They were the last group to run the river before the famous Separation and Lava Cliff rapids were subdued by the rising Lake Mead and they were one of the last to make the trip before Norman Nevills initiated the era of regular tourist trips. In addition, the trip is noteworthy for meeting Buzz Holmstrom on the river during his first solo run of the canyon. Based on original research from diaries, newspaper accounts, and scientific reports, the presentation will use the expedition members own words, writings, and photographs to describe the often dangerous and sometime humorous events of their six-week adventure on the river including Dodge's near-accident at Upset Rapid, Stark's poem based on the trip, and the ongoing scientific debates among the geologists. In addition to the scientific and historic aspects of the trip, the presentation will describe the personal experiences of the expedition members and the interactions between the academic geologists and the more rough and tumble boatmen which--like the river--was sometimes smooth, sometimes rough, but never boring. * This presentation is based on a paper presented by the author at the 2006 Arizona History Convention, which won the Donald Bufkin Award for best paper related to geography and/or territorial period Arizona.