When we unloaded, rafts, paddles, life jackets and guides were waiting for us. There are about 5-6 rafting companies in town so they try to stagger their launch times so that rafts are spread out along the river. We received verbal safety instruction including what to do if you fall in or the raft capsizes. Yikes! Namely, point your nose and toes down stream and stay on your back, grabbing for the blue tow lines on the side of the raft if you're able or wait to be grabbed and pulled back on if you end up down stream somewhere. A little scary, but people do get pitched into the water. We were warned that due to the water temp and shock of being ejected, it might be difficult to breath. Alrighty then...
The raft was an AIRE inflatable, self-bailing, 18'3" and held 16 people seated plus our guide, standing. There were non-paddling and paddling positions. I chose a paddling position on the left side which meant parking my butt on the rail/edge instead of on the inflatable horizontal seat inside the raft. I anchored my toes under it instead and hoped to stay on.
The river is a bit low and slow right now compared to spring when there's runoff from melting snow and a lot of big debris in the water. Some float trip passengers actually died this season when they rounded a bend and their raft slammed into a fallen tree, ejecting them! Two didn't survive. It wasn't Mad River rafting, and I felt really confident in our experienced guide. Right now, the Snake River is running at around 3,500 +/- cfs or cubic feet per second (moderate). One "cfs" is equal to 7.48 gallons of water flowing each second. Our guide said it was close to 16,000 last spring and he's seen it as fast as 28,000?
The website said to leave phones or cameras on the bus because "they WILL get wet." Looking back, I wish I had brought mine along in a zip lock bag to takes pics on the calm portion between rapids. One woman rented a GoPro and strapped it to a helmet to document the trip. We traveled 8 miles through the Snake River Canyon during the 90 minute trip, and the scenery was spectacular! I was able to get some photos of the river from the road above on the way home, looking down into the canyon from the bus... enjoy!
That's me above, third from front, paddling on right side of photo...
Three rafts in a line weaving through the canyon...
We got our paddles in sync and followed commands from our very knowledgeable and experienced guide, Adam "Wooley". He's been a guide for 6 years, and gave us information on the canyon, river, bald eagles we saw and the names and history of the various whitewater rapids we passed through. We hit our first rapids about 10-15 minutes in, and it was a blast. I got soaked! Professional photographers were posted along the canyon...
Impact!!!!
On one of the calm portions, people hopped out and swam while the guide paddled. He pointed out the "million dollar fishing hole" for trout and we saw some fishermen in a drift boat...
The rapids we passed through were class I, II and III, including Lunch Counter, Big Cahuna, Gauging Straight, Haircut Rock (a narrow turn, and lots of rafts flip here!), Champagne (lots of bubbles under water), Cottonwood (rocky) and more. I managed to stay on and keep paddling, laughing all the way... a real confidence builder, despite my being used to rough seas during sailboat regattas back east.
Solid whitewater! After 90 minutes, we approached Alpine, WY and Ferry Peak on the Idaho border, and the trip was over. Here's the peak, the river and the Sheep Gulch site where we disembarked... lovely!
WHAT a great experience... a little unnerving, but fun. I'm so glad I did it!
No comments:
Post a Comment