Rafting

We all went rafting with several of our friends through a company called All Adventures Rafting on the White Salmon River in the southern part of Washington last weekend. It was a first for us excluding my tubing trips down the Spokane River as a teenager. Our guides name was JP and he filled us full of instructions prior to getting in the water. 1 or 2 forward meant that many strokes with the paddle and then stop and float. All forward, all back etc… I was in the front, so that meant me and the person next to me were the pace setters so we had to watch each other out of the corner of our eyes to make sure we stayed in sync. Crack on crack was the place to sit. Meaning our butt crack had to be above the area between the seat tube and the side of the raft. We practiced following some of the simple commands after entering the water and for the most part we did okay, but got better as the day went on. The water was a cool 40 degrees and the splash from the rapids was a very refreshing break from the rays of the sun. We pulled over after a short time of rafting for a jump opportunity off a 15-18 foot cliff for those who wanted to get wet. I’m very comfortable in water and I wasn't about to pass this up. Everyone was jumping in feet first anticipating the shock from the cold water. Borrrrrrrring! I decided to push the envelope a bit by doing a back flip. What’s the worst that could happen? I was wearing a dry suit, a life vest and had an EMT on site. It was uneventful and the others were amazed with my crazy idea. Most of the trip was considered class II/III, but I didn’t think it was any worse than the rapids I grew up on. There was one class V waterfall that some decided not to do. Those rafters got out just ahead of it and walked around. Those of us who took the dare received additional instructions and practiced several times before going over. Going over the fall was pretty cool and over in a matter of seconds. I think the guides speech about the waterfall psyched some of the others out because it wasn’t too bad and all of us could have done it. Oh well, next time.  We were all very hungry after the trip and the company recommended a place a couple miles up the road who made giant pulled pork burritos that were very tasty and hit the spot prior to getting on the road home.

All smiles before getting in the water. 

Our first Class III. 

At the top of the Class V. 

Lunch with Sasquatch. 

I spotted some chickens making short work of finding food in the bushes. 

We stopped in Chehalis for a cold snack on the way home.

Fourteen hours of driving, rafting and eating took its toll on us and after getting home, we had a quick snack, a shower and then it was off to bed. We all look forward to doing it again.