White Water Rafting

Yesterday, Theo and I, went white water rafting and it was AMAZING!! We went on a tour with people Theo works with to Chilliwack River Rafting. It was a great place. They provide lunch (although we were running late), wet suits, life jackets, helmets, and paddles. You provide a bathing suit and shoes that can get wet. You get to choose between the classic ride or the canyon ride. We choose the classic because it was the easier of the two and we were feeling a bit nervous. They shuttle you up river on school buses and give you a big safety talk. This includes what to do if you fall out of the raft, how to pull someone back into the raft, and the three ways you can die (getting stuck in a tree, getting foot stuck in rock, and...we can't remember the third way).

Each raft has a guide, and a solo guide also rides ahead of everyone in a kayak. We had 8 rafts on the trip with 8 to 10 people per raft. Theo and I were with Para (a girl he works with), four Aussies, and our guide Jeff. The entire trip down the river takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Heading down the river you immediately hit some rapids. They definatley don't ease you into it. Out boat got stuck on a rock and I almost went flying out. That was a bit scary. We had to keep shifting out weight from left to right to try and free the boat. Once we did, we hit they rapids again, and Theo fell out. He barely seemed to hit the water before Para pulled him back into the raft. She ended up saving a lot of people from the water.

Further down the river, Jeff says "everyone to the back of the boat...trust me", so we all squish into the back of the boat. Before you know it, we've been launched up a smooth rock on shore and are slowly tipping backwards (he did this on purpose!). The raft almost flipped backwards, and two Aussies fell out. The girl lost two of her shoes and a sock. We managed to retrive one of her shoes further down river.

During a calm part of the river, you had the option to jump out, hold on to the OS (OutSide,
Oh Shit, or Oh Sugar) line, and float down the river. Theo and I both jumped in. The water was cold, but nice. It was really relaxing.

We also had the chance to go on a short hike to see a water fall. You could walk under it if you wanted. I was not in the best shoes (converse, very slippery). Theo walked beneath and said it was really cold!

Our guide was really great. He keeped trying to tip the raft, but the seven of us were paddling too well for him to succeed. It seemed that on the easier course they try to get people into the water as often as possible.

Right before the higher class rapids at the end you stop on the shore for a snack. People who are not enjoying themselves have the chance to skip these rapids and walk the rest of the way back to the campground (only about a 15 minute walk). We definatley did not walk! Apparently on this last set of rapids I managed to split my wet suit right in the bum. It's a good thing you wear a bathing suit underneath.

After a day of rafting, we headed to Andrea's place (another woman from work) for a BBQ. We were absolutly starving at this point! The food was good, the beer was cold and we were exhausted.

This morning, we are incredibly sore. My arms, abs, legs, and butt are killing me! The guides are obviously in great shape, because they do this twice a day, 365 days a year! I'm not sure I could do it twice a week at this point.

Some of us are considering doing white water kayaking later this summer. Should be fun!

--Cassandra