Whitewater Rafting and Near-Death Experiences

No, the title is not an exaggeration. Believe it or not, but apparently I haven't had my share of bad luck where rafting is concerned (for those of you who don't know me well, I crushed my left knee rafting in 1995 and had to have 3 surgeries, a cartilage transplant and I still have problems with it).

We had a fantastic time. Kevin and I took Maelin up to Kate and Andrew's house on Friday night and we snuck out while she was playing. Kate called later and reported that Maelin did GREAT: she played and played and then when it was time to go to bed, she just took her bottle and snuggled with Kate (who loved it of course) and went right to sleep and slept all night long. She had a great time. I am so proud of her! (and me for getting through it.) On Saturday while we were rafting, she took her nap perfectly and went to a BBQ with Kate and the family and she even went on the jumpy castle thing they had there! What a big girl! (so I had nothing to worry about of course...) Let that be a lesson to me the next time I'm freaking out about leaving Maelin!

Saturday morning we got up very early and drove out to Buena Vista, CO to meet Dan, my dad's friend who is a rafting guide with his own raft. He was great fun and very knowledgeable and lots of fun! Heather, Kat, Jeff, Kevin, my dad and I all got to go and we had a gas. After a quick safety talk (that I didn't really pay much attention to because I figured the river wasn't going to be very rough this late in the season so I tuned him out) we got on the Arkansas River and off we went! We had our cooler full of margaritas, lemonade, beer and lunch and we were set!

We floated along some pretty easy stretch of the river for about 2 hours and just enjoyed the scenery. We were in Brown's Canyon and it was gorgeous. Hills and rocks all around us and green trees and the sparkling river and super fun company. Couldn't ask for a better day!

Then Dan told us to get ready: a rapid was coming up. We went through it and followed all of Dan's instructions and we made it through! We were very proud of ourselves and I thought that was fun but nothing too crazy.

A few minutes later we "got ready" for another rapid. This one was called the "Zoom Flume." Clever. All I remember is Dan yelling at us to paddle forward and then a huge wave came out of nowhere and completely knocked me right out of the boat backwards into the river.

Now, this doesn't seem too nerve-wracking at first because honestly, it's kinda fun to be air-borne then in the water. The water was cold but not terrible. Then I surfaced. Let me tell you, there is nothing like the panic I started to feel. Imagine you're in a washing machine. Then imagine the washing machine has boulders in it that you're bouncing off of. Then imagine that the water is cold and keeps sucking you under and you're watching your raft float further and further away and as soon as you get your head above water long enough to take a breath, you get sucked right down again and get smashed against another rock.

It was terrifying. Whenever I popped up, I could see Dan trying to steer the boat to catch me but they were still battling the remainder of the rapid and had to be safe and all I could do was try not to drown while I waited to catch up with them. I had a life jacket on (I lost my good sunglasses of course) but it did NOTHING to help...the current kept sucking me under and I kept banging up against rocks and it was all I could do not to smash my head or drown.

Really, it was awful. I think I was in the water for about a minute and a half, but it felt like an eternity. I couldn't get enough air every time I came up and I just got sucked right back down. Finally, I made it through the rest of the rapid and Dan was able to stop the raft and I used the very last of my energy to swim over to it. I remember saying in a weak voice to Jeff that I couldn't pull myself up and he said it's okay and Kevin and Jeff hoisted me back into the raft and I sat there shaking. I couldn't breathe or move for about 10 minutes.

I really see how people drown on the river even with a guide and a life vest. I honestly think that if I had to stay in the "washing machine" for another minute or two, I would have lost my energy completely and just died. Really.

That was the closest to death I've ever come and it was shocking. I'm still shaking as I think about it.

Okay, so after we sat and rested and everyone hugged me and said how good I had done and the "are you okays?" were over, we went on our way. Yes, we kept going. We had a great time and eventually we pulled up to a swimming hole and were able to jump off the cliff that was about 15 feet up in the air into the river! That was fun. My dad and Jeff made some good cannon balls!

So that was my near-death experience. I don't wish it on anyone but I hope it doesn't sway people away from rafting. As long as you're paying attention to the safety talk (my bad) you'll do just fine and it's soooooo much fun. Be sure to try it if you can!

p.s... Of course there was a freelance photographer at the "Zoom Flume" who was able to capture our wild ride through the rapids on film (of course my humiliation is documented for all to see!) If you're curious to see my claim to rafting fame, click here for the 6 pictures in the series. We start out looking great and having a blast, then you see the big wall of water, then you see me falling out and then the last few (which are my favorites) are of my family looking horrified as they realize I'm gone.

Good fun!

This is the whole group on our way home after we had stopped for some well-deserved Mexican food and margaritas.