Looking down on the Colorado River from above Deer Creek Falls; Photograph by Danny Schmidt The moment I caught my first a glance of Hance, I regretted my decision to scout it. What I saw from that rocky promontory under the merciless June sun was less a rapid than a gnashing, boat-eating monster. Boulders lined the mouth of the rapid and littered its left side. Everywhere below was churning, chaotic whitewater. A thick black basalt dike wedged itself into the cliff above, casting a sinister air to the scene. Something about the water seemed to …