Business trip? On White Water? Cool!
My first clue should have been that in addition to our guide, Kent, we were getting a “swim coach”, “Pop Top”, who would be kayaking along with the raft as well. My second clue should have been that before we got into the raft they spent a LOT of time talking about what to do if you end up in the water.
We started out on the Middle Fork of the Payette (very short section), and made our way to the South Fork where we watched Pop Top paddle along in front of us. There were times when he was so still that I thought he was taking a short little catnap. He would point out wild life, surf in a rapid, and just hang out and talk with us. We went through what I would call the first major rapid, “Bronco Billy”, and all came out smiling and doing the paddle high five. After coasting along a little bit, Kent let us know that we were about to enter Staircase. He began telling us what kind of instruction we might hear from him in the middle of this run. He started saying things like be prepared for whatever instruction I give you and do it fast. We were going to have to paddle forward and then backwards, maybe do right or left turns, and then he proceeded to tell us that we were going to zigzag around a couple of rocks in the river. We started getting into the rapids and all of a sudden, Kent started barking orders. His voice was getting louder and more demanding and we dug in to do what he said to do. From my perspective, one minute I was in the boat, the next, I was on my back with my eyes open watching white frothy water shoot over my face. I don’t have any recollection of how I got out of the boat, all I know is I was exhaling, and not wanting to inhale due to being underwater. I finally broke the surface and I remember thinking, “there are several helmets all around me. I’m not the only one that fell out of the boat. Oh, there’s a paddle being held out for me.” I reached out to grab it, felt it, but couldn’t get a grip.
Under water
Through another bit of rapid
Mouthfuls of water swallowed
Popped back up, thinking, “Breathe! Get your feet down stream!” Then the river would make my body turn a different way and I would fight to get my feet downstream again. I remember looking up and seeing Pop Top going after another one of our party with his kayak. I thought, “He said that ‘you might think you are in a bad situation and I’ll paddle right past you. If I do that, it’s because someone else is in a worse state than you are.’ That person must be in a worse state than I am. Relax.” So I relaxed a little bit and noticed the river getting a little calmer. I started swimming to the shore and found a rock that I could rest against.
When I looked around to assess the situation, downriver, Pop Top had caught up with the other swimmer who was holding on to his kayak. Up stream, there was another swimmer who made it to the rocks. The raft had passed me up. I looked down at Pop Top after getting my breath and he pointed up towards the road. So I pointed up as well and he nodded his head. I looked upriver at the other swimmer, who was looking my direction and pointed up and we all started to climb out of the river. When I looked up, there was another person on the road from the raft company that met me down the hill a little bit and helped me up to the road, asking if I was ok. Still coughing and sputtering and trying to get water out of my nose, I said yes.
After walking down the road a bit, we saw our guide climbing up the hill coming to get us. We were shown where to go back down to the raft and Kent warned about poison oak in that area and shown what it looks like. In my head, I’m thinking, do I really want to do that? Get back in the raft?? But, I got back in. I lost my paddle, which was ok, because now I had an excuse to hold onto the “chicken line”. Pop Top headed down river to catch up with one of the lost paddles and while waiting for everyone to get re-settled, I got part of the rest of the story. It had to have been a somewhat funny/interesting sight.
We had been paddling, following Kent’s instructions and we were headed in the direction that we needed to go, but the river decided to send us in another direction at the last second. We went into a hole, made it through that, but then a wall of water came up and over us. Beginning with Mitch in the front of the raft, on the port side, I guess it was a domino effect and the entire port side passengers got washed out of the boat. Sharon was close enough to the boat that Kent was able to pull her right back in. It was Julie’s paddle that I saw, felt, but couldn’t get a grip on to pull me back in. We had just been coached that if anyone falls out of the raft, the folks still in the raft needed to get out of the rapids before they could help any swimmers. Both Julie and Steven said that the hardest thing to do was to keep paddling and watch as we bobbed down the river. At some point, after we were washed out of the raft, Kent yelled to the rest of the folks in the raft, “Would someone please get to the other side of the raft?” So Steven jumped to Port side to paddle help keep the paddling straight. I also found out that as Kris was holding on to Pop Tops kayak, he said to her that she needed to swim to shore and he needed to come help me. She then had the same thought as me where he would go to the person who needed him the most. So by the time I was headed to the rock, he was about to come and get me.
We got started again and picked up one stray paddle that didn’t belong to the rafting company, but since I had lost my paddle, I now had a replacement. Then we caught up to Pop Top, who had retrieved my paddle, and gave it back to me. Stowing the extra paddle, we continued on. Someone asked, “how much further before we get lunch?” The response (and I don’t remember whose response it was): “it depends on if anyone wants to take a swim between now and then.” Laughter. Kent praised us all for doing everything right. He said that he gave commands that we all did perfectly and in great timing, then proceeded to tell us that the next rapid was just as big. (Gulp.)
The next rapid was called Slalom. Kent started giving paddling direction, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I just held on to the “Chicken Line”. Everyone else was paddling and when we got to a little calmer area, Kent patted my back and asked if I was ok? I said yes, but I was shaking like crazy. That rapid wasn’t as bad as the one that we had just gone through, and it was enough to get me a little loosened back up for rafting, but I was still a little tense for the rest of the trip. A few minutes later, we got to shore for a yummy Dutch oven lunch with chicken, cheesy potatoes, salad, chips and drinks. Then back into the raft for the calmer part of the river. The rest of the trip was uneventful and fun and enjoyable.
We found out that a rapid is not necessarily classed by how big it is, but by the consequence of making a mistake while going through it.
The name of the hole that caused the trouble? “Big Nasty”. I’d say so.
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