Rafting - Just For The Fun 2004

Four year's ago, I met my man. He posed a challenge - raft the rivers with me?

At that moment, a decision was made to go with him, do it, never a regret for safety or emotion.

We first started out on Idaho rivers in his small twelve foot raft - so much to learn and overcome. My fear of the unknown, of the water I had been held underneath as a child, of the man. But I moved forward.

Initial dippings into the Salmon River putting in at the small rafting community of Riggins running Class 3 and 4 rapids, with a take out at Lucile, proved to be a glories day of fun.

Next was a longer trip on the North Fork of the Salmon launching in Corn Creek after a dirt bumpy wilderness road of hours out of Salmon to get to our destination. A five day struggle on the river with pristine mountain panoramas, colorful butterflies, hot springs, fly fishing, native hieroglyphics and just pure seclusion.

We graduated to the Hells Canyon run which, at surpise record levels of 32 CPS due to a massive water release. We were one of the few boats on the river. You never know when you arrive what will be released, but we decided to "go for it" as others sat it out.

The "Green Room" opened for us. A wall of 15-20 foot water as you descend in it's turbulent trough. With the maneuvers of my excellent man at the ores we safely sank to it's depths and miraculously surfaced just as water crashed behind us - just out of danger, we triumpantly celebrated.

Mike wanted to share the "Killer Kern" he had learned rafting on in California. I nervously prepared the night before knowing it would not be an easy run. We camped at Chico Flat, north of town and put in at Sandy Flat. Mike did the shuttle of 11 miles leaving me behind with snakes, dust and gratefully a beer as he thumbed a ride back .

The river was running at 3378 CFS with a top recording of 4,000. Swift water. NO ONE was running it - why I wondered as a novice? It was a beautiful narrow river with dripping tree branches standing in mid river we needed to dodge. Brush snags, wood piled up created dams with underwater currents.

Then "log man" appeared - a huge 15 foot floating encumbrance with branches sticking out and an what appeared to be face protruding in the front - he was apparently after rafts tracking us like a crockadle as we sped down river. At points he closed in on us but occasionally got delayed in an eddy or rapid. Pressure on, we darted around him, tried to speed up and finally stalled to let him pass. An extreme danger if we met him head on.

Flush Rapid, which we scouted, was just ahead. Success, we made it through, had to port our heavy raft over rocks around the next rapid in the 90 degree plus heat with torrents of water cascading into the river depths below, mincing every particle of river sole and spitting it out .
We had become chosen soldiers of the river, no one in site to help, attacking, conquering. A narrow water passage lay just ahead, unbeknownst to me. As I rounded the corner I starred in disbelief at the newly cemented rocky steep slope with churning river and six foot wide chute below. It would, if we navigated it properly, expel us into the violent Kern below. There was only one way to go.

We launched, got suck vertically sideways for 30 seconds in the narrow, dangers opening which threatening to spill us into the boiling water until the River Gods released us to downriver flow - surprised, we accomplished our challenge and were free .

At our take out, we gratefully popped our Champagne cork and toasted the rivers, our success and blessings. We had avoided flipping in the freezing, tangled Kern and were now up for one more advernture.

Life should be encountered "Just for the Fun of It" and I am very lucky to have had an opportunity to experience the extremes of that.