“Rafting. Awesome.” That is Amy’s contribution for the day, and
it pretty much sums up my sentiments as well.
As I mentioned previously, although I was really excited about this
whole trip, there were three days that especially stuck out as my pre-trip
highlights. The first was back in South
Dakota with the Mickleson bike trail.
Today was the second: rafting the Snake River.
Growing up, Amy and I both played the computer game The Oregon Trail. One of the key points at the end of the game
was to load your wagon, all of your supplies, and the remaining members of your
family (if there were any) onto a raft and float it down the Snake River,
avoiding rocks and sand bars along the way.
So in some ways, Amy and I have been preparing for this day our whole
lives.
Today was our first day where we didn’t
have to get up and moving early. Our
raft trip didn’t start until 11:30, so we had some time for a relaxing
morning. Amy was craving breakfast food (I
guess granola bars and pop-tarts can only cut it for so long) so we headed into
breakfast at a neat little place called Shades Café. It was a tiny cabin-like coffee house and the
food was great. Once our breakfast
cravings were satisfied, we headed over to the rafting office to meet up with
our guides. (Actually, we still had a little time to kill so, after some quick
grocery shopping, we headed over to the very exclusive Teton Village. So exclusive in fact, that there was a
$30,000 a plate fundraiser for Mitt Romney there tonight hosted by Dick
Cheney. We did not attend.) |
| Time for lunch! |
Our rafting trip was split into two parts, the first part
being a 3-hour, 13 mile scenic float down the Snake River starting in
Jackson. The weather was perfect and
the views of the mountains were incredible.
Still no moose sightings, but we did see numerous bald eagles, magpies,
and mergansers. We also saw ospreys,
which our guide described as the “classiest bird in the West” because its
plumage makes it look like it is wearing a tuxedo. Amy and I got a kick out of that. The water flowed very quickly, so no actually
paddling was necessary; we just let the river do the work. Our guide, much like in The Oregon Trail simply steered us to make sure we stayed in the
channel and away from the rocks. Lunch
was on a rock bar halfway through our trip and it gave us a chance to dip our
feet in the water. A brief introduction
to the river that would soak us a few hours later.
After we finished the scenic float, we were taken to another
spot a bit further down the river. Here
we met our guide and were given a crash course in whitewater rafting. We were in an 8 person boat and Amy and I
started at the back of the boat. The
first few rapids were fun and we definitely got a good splashing. The people in the front row decided they had
enough, so Amy and I moved up for the remainder of the trip. The beginning part of the trip featured only
Class II rapids, but the second half featured both Class II and the stronger
Class III.
 |
| A clamer section of the Snake River, looking south. |
The first Class III rapid we came to was called Big
Kahuna. It was awesome. It starts out a little bumpy and then hits
you with two monster waves back to back.
If you don’t have enough momentum to make it through both, you do
something called surfing. It sounds fun,
but it’s not a good thing. Basically,
the second wave pushes you back while the first wave pushes you forward. This can swamp, flip, and/or spin the
raft. We hit the first wave and Amy went
flying. Luckily it was into, and not out
of, the boat. She did manage to hit me
with her paddle as this was going on and I’m not convinced it was an
accident. I got over the first wave fine
but the second wave got me full force in the face and chest. We hung up on top of the wave for a second,
but eventually made it over. It was
awesome. The rest of the trip was great
as we passed through rapids with names like Champagne Rapids, The Lunch Table,
Three Oar Deal, and Taco Hole, over whirlpools of various sizes, and past the
imposing Slam Rock. We got drenched and
we were freezing, but if it had been an option, we would have hopped right back
on for more.
On the way back to camp, we ran into rush hour in Jackson,
which is apparently at 6:00 pm in Moose-Wilson Road. Now, we’re settling in for an early night so
we are ready for hiking tonight. Plus,
there is a burn ban due to the threat of wildfires, so without the ability to
have a camp fire, there isn’t much to do at night. So we’ll be good an rested when we hike into
the Tetons tomorrow.
p.s. – Amy wants everyone to know that this is “super fun”
and that she is down to only one layer of sweaters at night since we’ve left
Yellowstone. I will try to get her to
write more substantive updates in the future, but that’s all she has for
now. She just started singing about a
Moose on the Loose Drinking Juice. Time
for bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment