Livin' on the Edge

For those of you that dont know me well, Im not an outdoorsy person. Not a risk taker, very lazy indeed. Well, I was invited to come a long on a camping/whitewater rafting trip for this weekend in West Virginia. I was told that it wasnt a big deal, that you dont have to be in shape. When I looked into it, I saw that the minimum age for most trips was around 12. So I figured, what the hell, this is not something I get the chance to do very often, it should be lots of fun


So we get there Friday evening, set up our tent and hung out with our friends (there was 14 total). Camping in the great outdoors, on an Appalachian mountaintop in a thunderstorm, fun fun stuff!


So the first morning we had a 8:30 whitewater rafting trip on the Upper New River. This is for beginners, but they still give you the "you could die" spiel, so I was pretty much scared to death. But once I got used to it, it was lots of fun, not too difficult at all, I didnt fall out once! Keep in mind that I rode it on a raft with 7 other people. Had a blast!


So the next morning we had a 8:55 whitewater rafting trip on the Lower Gauley. This trip promised to be a little bit more exciting, a little bit more difficult, but manageable to beginners like me. Oh yeah, and the water was 50 degrees. Definitely glad I rented the full wetsuit. Now this is a special river. Not that I will get these facts all straight, but basically during this time of year, its really tame. There is a lake that lets out water into the Gauley River daily, the amount is always different, they just have to keep the lake at a certain water level. The amount they release determines the volume of water in the river, which in turn determines what type of water craft you ride on it. That day they planned on us riding something called duckies. This is basically a one person raft, looks like an inflatable canoe. You get the double-bladed paddle, and your on your own. The guides stand on rocks along the rapids, and tell you how to navigate what youre doing wrong, rescue you, etc... we were very close to the volume that you ride in the big rafts in, but we were supposed to be okay in the duckies


So we get in the river (now keep in mind it had been raining all weekend). Its pretty rough, the first whitewater rapid was a class 5, and I bit it really hard! I swear, I thought I was going to die. I tried to keep my duckie and paddle, but could not swim with them, so I just let them go. It was awful!


After that, I did not fall (or swim) again. I was doing pretty well, even made it through another class 5. Now, all of us (there were about 40 total, and we had the river to ourselves) were blissfully unaware that at about lunch time, the Gauley River experienced a flash flood. For some odd reason, the rapids after lunch were SO much harder. I swam almost every time! Everyone was swimming. It was AWFUL! I was getting really scared, and begged to get in the chicken boat (one raft they brought along to put scared people in was supposed to hold 4, but they said it was full with only 3 people in it). So I kept going. My arms felt like spaghetti, they were basically worthless. It got to where when I swam, I could not get myself back in to my duckie. This is when they decided to get me in the full raft. Well, the raft took off, so a guide roped me to him, so I could rest up, we planned to get me on the raft next rapid. Then OOPS, the chicken raft totally upended (its on the video, looked pretty bad!). Now keep in mind at this point, the guides were swimming (remember, that means falling out in rapids) lots too!


I ended up staying roped to the guide. Even so, I basically swam on every rapid (only made it through very few). It got to the point that every time I swam, my calves were cramping. That made it even scarier. And even though I was roped to a guide, I was still having to paddle through, and I was still swimming (usually from running into huge waves). It got to one rapid where my guide (Scott) had to let me go. There was a 14 foot wave coming up, and he said I would definitely swim, that I could not be roped him to when that happened. He said it was deep water, that there was nothing for me to hit, that I would be fine. He would be right behind me to pick me up, and another guide (Jay, who saved me countless times) said he would be there to. So I take off, through it, trying to cut left because Scott said I would miss the wave. The next thing I know, Im heading right towards this monster wave. Somehow I made it right over! (I have video to prove it). I had no idea what I had done, but Scott and Jay were so excited, they had to tell me that I had made it! Such a strange experience. So the ride ended with me going past the drop off point, taking a friend who tried to help me along. We both had to be saved by a guide, and walk back along the shore to the bus. I was never so happy to see muddy land in my life!


So as I understand it, we were at the water volume (1200) that was safe for duckies. When it gets up to 1400, you ride in rafts. The guides estimated that the water volume was up to 2400, because of the flash flood (they did not tell us this until we were on the way back to camp). We all survived a trip that few people would ever risk doing! The Gauley is one of the top 10 whitewater rafting rivers in the world. Also, know as the Beast of the East, basically someone like me (or really any of us) had no business riding this river (at that volume) on a duckie! Wild wild, crazy crazy stuff.


So we got back to camp, turned in our gear, took a shower, and met back up to watch the video. Our guides were hanging out, and they brought other guides along to watch the video. Everyone was amazed that we were able to do it. One guide told me that in his 13 years of doing this, our rafting trip was the most fun, and we were the best group he had ever had. He said that they had been talking about us ever since they had gotten back, about how great we did, how proud they were of us. He told me that if I could do what we had just gone through, that I could do anything. It was a pretty amazing experience. My friends even told me that the guides said they were impressed by me (impressed... by little ol me???), because I didnt give up. (oh yeah, forgot to add, by the end of the trip there were 6 people in the chicken raft- that was only supposed to hold 4, and that I was told (okay, yelled at) that I couldnt get in!


They showed our tape at the bar later that night, and no one could believe we did it. One girl told me I was a badass (again, little ol me... badass???). When has that ever happened in my life! It took awhile for it to hit me that what I did was a once in a lifetime experience. That most people will never get the chance to ride a river like that in a duckie. Pretty cool (scary, but cool).


So will I ever do anything like that again? Not without working out, strengthening my arms and building up my endurance. Do I regret going? Not on your life. It made me feel just a little bit more confident--- well this is hard to explain. It made me confident that I could do something that difficult and succeed (ok, survive!), especially for doing something that I never thought I would do. Also, it boosted the way I see myself, that I'm not a totally helpless person, that I'm tougher than I ever thought. Definitely a life-altering experience, something that I am still trying to take all in!


Be sure to check out the "Lower Gauley" and "Duckie Fun" links!
http://www.aceraft.com/