In the Drink

I went on a short rafting trip down the Rio Grande today! Man, it was really fun.

I went down with my friend and his girlfriend (the folks I housesat for). He's a real experienced boat guy, and he brought his big inflatable raft.

The winter run-off has the river moving along at a pretty good clip, so we hit some fun rapids. The other three folks in the boat had wet suits, but I was in my swim trunks and a fleece. And my IU hat (sniffle). The splash from some of the bigger waves got me pretty wet and pretty cold.

Just before we started, this dude in this tiny Kayak asked if he could cruise down by us. I gathered that it was sort of a safety thing for both of us. He was also a real experienced boat guy and did all kinds of cool tricks on the kayak.

Well, the biggest rapid on the trip was right before our stop. The rock that makes the big rapid was actually submerged because the water was high, so my friend decided to just go straight into the "hole." We slammed into it, and I was holding on for dear life, but I got flipped out, along with the my friend, who was rowing, and one other member of our group. My friend's girlfriend managed to stay in.

It was freezing! I was pretty alarmed at first, but I had a grip on the rope, and I quickly realized we were fine. (I don't think I ever actually let go of the rope, which is probably why my hands hurt so bad afterwards).

Right after the big hole, there's a very calm little eddy, so we just paddled over and got back in. That's why my friend was so willing to take the rapid hard...he knew it was safe. I think he kinda wanted to flip us so we'd get used to it a little.

The sad thing is, I lost my IU hat to the river. I really liked that hat. It's ok, though. That makes it a solid sacrifice to the river gods. Perhaps they will continue to spare my life on the next river trip.