Those of you reading this in places other than the U.S. may not know that last Sunday was Father’s Day here. It’s a day when we traditionally give our father an ugly necktie and thank him for participating in the process of raising us even though his part was over after the DNA donation.
Several weeks ago, in anticipation of this holiday, my wife asked me what I would like for a gift. I asked if I could go hurtling down a river at breakneck speeds, surfing over rocks and narrowly avoiding death as I cruised through canyons a mere ten feet wide.
After some thought, after some reassurances that I would, indeed, be using a flimsy rubber skin filled with air to perform all of the above activities, and after checking to ensure that my life insurance policy was still in effect, she said “Okay.”
I have never done it before, and now I’m hooked. I went whitewater rafting on Father’s Day, and I can’t wait to go again. I went down Sixmile River, a Class IV-V river located about 100 miles south of Anchorage. I have a waterproof housing for my camera that’s designed for scuba diving, so I took it along, hoping to get at least a few pictures of the event. I didn’t get as many as I wanted, probably because it’s difficult to take a snapshot when your camera is strapped to your life jacket and you only have a few seconds to squeeze off a shot before you enter the rapids at speeds approaching Mach 3, but I got a few.
First, a shot of the surrounding scenery that I was completely unable to appreciate, since our guide was giving us the safety talk about how to stay alive should our raft overturn:
Next, a shot of relatively calm water after the first canyon and heading into the second:
Next, an illustration of how most of my pictures came out that day:
And finally, a shot of me after the second canyon:
All in all, it was a blast. The water was freezing (about 35 degrees F/2 degrees C) but my drysuit worked like a charm, and I didn’t get cold at all. I only ran two out of the three possible canyons, but I’m already planning another trip so I can run all three. Now that I have some idea of what to expect, I’ll try to get better pics of the next trip.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 am
I always knew you were insane- now I’ve got photographic evidence.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
you didn’t fall in once?!?! I hate you.
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I can tell from the snow in the background of the first shot that the water temp was just right for rafting … and hypothermia. I did that just once about ten years ago and still haven’t thawed out. Glad you enjoyed the trip!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:32 pm
wordvixen: you mean this wasn’t enough evidence?
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:34 pm
brianna: there were a few close calls, but we all managed to stay raft-bound.
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Montucky: It was freezing. We had a required swim across the river to start the trip, and it was cold enough to literally take your breath away. That’s why they issue dry suits, I expect. But the suits work great, and I had no problems after the swim (which really sucked, but it was required.)
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Cool! And cold!
June 24th, 2008 at 7:30 am
That looks like a lot of fun. Makes me wish I was a father so I could get cool gifts like that.
One question… is something wrong with the pictures? They all look perfect to me!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Diesel: it was, and it was. The water is so cold because the river is fed by glacier runoff. Luckily, the air temperature was relatively warm, so we dried quickly.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:24 am
believin: You might just have to treat yourself! The pictures look okay, but remember - what you’re seeing are the ones I kept. There are a bunch that didn’t make the cut. A lot of them turned out like pic #3 above, because it’s hard to aim a camera that’s tightly strapped to your lifejacket. I thought I was taking pictures of the upcoming rapids, but my aim was way off.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
My first rafting trip was in the Pacuare River in Costa Rica, I suggest you try this next where no dry suit will be required!
Next time you should try to fall in if you hope to compete with Brianna, smile.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Rafting in Costa Rica would be awesome, thank you very much. Maybe someday. And as for falling in - I’d rather do it where I don’t need a drysuit. 35 degrees was pretty cold.