Posts
Mention whitewater rafting and most people will recall memories of a hot summer day, plenty of water-fighting, maybe even jumping out of the boat to cool-off or float on their backs down the tongue of a "swimmer's rapid". The sixteen people who joined me on this trip will now have an alternate experience to remember: gray, overcast skies intermittently unleashing sheets of rain while paddling down a surging torrent of whitewater that at no point would be anything less than terrifying should one find himself unexpectedly out of the boat (as a few of us did).
I found there is something calming about rafting in the rain. I was no longer predicting when the next wave would break on the bow and douse my passengers, because they were already as wet as they would ever get. Fully surrounded by water, I couldn't help but embrace the fact that I had no chance of winning the game I sometimes play on sunnier days to take the dry route through the rapids. In fact I found myself actively seeking out the lines that would send the most bow-cresting waves into my paddler's faces.
