riverECHO

BJ’s breakthrough day . . . he nails the first larger rapids on the trip. Did we mention that this is his first time rowing an oar boat through whitewater ever!! Scotty and I held on tight and prepared ourselves for BJ’s instruction to high-side (see description below if you need more of an explanation on this). BJ remains calm through everything. I quote him in House Rock rapid (rated a 7 on a scale of 1-10) “We’re good guys,” after we skirted two HUGE holes (is another definition required?) at the bottom of the rapid. BJ can read water really well and just needs a bit of confidence in guiding a raft through all of the rapids. Scott and I have full faith in him. Two swimmers today, Don (in raft) and Brian (in kayak) in House Rock. Both were brought to shore pretty quickly and not too shooken up.

A slower start in the morning and a couple long scouts bring us to camp a little later than planned but camp is still dialed. We have a group of leaders and everyone seems to pitch in their share more than I would expect with this size group. We enjoy a night of burgers, vodka, and lots of music. Andy breaks out his music talent . . . he is a sick musician. We learn that Kate, Goose’s 15 year old daughter, plays the bass and has a beautiful voice. Tom, Scott, Mike, and Goose all play the guitar as well. We feel lucky to be among such talent.

Currently BJ studies the rapids that we will encounter the next day in the guide book. We will be rafting a series of rapids called the “Roaring 20’s.” BJ says “this reminds me of college . . . memorizing a bunch of shit.”

• High-siding: This means throwing your weight on whichever side of the boat is literally higher. This can happen when the boat hits a huge wave at any angle other than 90 degrees. Basically if you “T it up” or hit a wave at 90 degrees, you put the boat in the least likely position for a flip. By hitting a wave sideways or a little off the T, some waves are powerful enough to flip your boat. So, Scott and I played a little game called “punch the wave.” We would sit or hover in the very front of the boat and, while holding on, would throw our weight right into the wave. This means a very wet Lisa and Scott, but no flipped boat.
• Hole: A place that you don’t want to be. A place where whitewater, after pouring over some sort of feature like a gigantic rock, is circling back upstream. The water flows up river until it hits the rock then is forced down and then out and then up and the cycle continues. Holes eat kayaks and rafts and can hold on to them for a while if you are in the wrong place. We try to avoid ALL holes on the river.