Whitewater Adventures

I’ve had the opportunity to go whitewater rafting three times now, and I can honestly say – it’s a blast! Alternating between periods of calm, where you can jump out of the boat and refresh yourself in the cool river water, and the heart pounding excitement of the roaring, rushing river, it’s both exhilarating and calming.

I know that two factors make a world of difference in my enjoyment of the trip. One is the water level. If your heart can’t handle a lot of adrenaline, go when the water level is down. Basically, it’s an “in-boat” tubing trip. The water is placid and the trip is leisurely. If you want excitement, go after some rains, or if it’s a controlled river, go when the waters are released. In this case, hold on for dear life and, for goodness sakes (in addition to your well being), listen to the river guide.

I’ve also recently begun to run my kayak through the rapids. So far, I’ve only done class 2 rapids. I’m feeling confident enough in my abilities that soon I will venture out into the class 3’s. The rush is even greater in my kayak than it is in the raft; perhaps because I’m in charge in my kayak. I either make it or I don’t. There is no one else to rely on.

One problem I’ve noticed in my kayak, and maybe it gets easier with more experience, but because I’m basically at water level, trying to read the signs of the river, especially for any distance, is rather difficult. In fact, my first time out, I mis-read some rocks, tried to correct at the last moment (a big no-no, as I’ve discovered), and went sideways between two large protruding rocks. Unfortunately, these rocks were not wider than my sideways kayak and I got solidly wedged between them. The more I struggled to free myself, the more I would dip into the oncoming waters and the more I filled with water. Things were not looking that great. I finally freed myself, with considerable effort, and my water-filled, very sluggish kayak made it to the next calm spot where I was able to bail out most of the water. My brother wasn’t so lucky on his first trip out, but that’s another story …

I’m thrilled to be able to say that this year Great OutDoors Endeavors will be taking at least two kayaking trips down the Rappahannock River. We would be delighted to have you join us on either, or both, of these trips. In addition, there is a possibility of a whitewater rafting trip on the New River in West Virginia. Unfortunately, I’m like the rest of you and have a “real” job to work around, so we’ll do our best to fit that trip in. Stay tuned and check in to our web-site under upcoming events, to find these trips.

All of this leads me (as you knew it was going to, if you’ve been reading any of my posts) to a point about guides and life.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to read the next post for my amazing insight. ;-)

Till then – God bless …