West Virginia

Whitewater rafting was amazing! This birthday ranks up there with the train trip to Chicago for my 5th birthday. I have bruises up and down my shins, lobster red knees and upper legs, and a slightly bruised eye. And I had a blast. We had a really good raft of people and a good guide. He was really chill and laid back, but he knew what he was doing and he was good at "surfing" and hitting the rapids. Surfing is when you go back up stream after coming down a rapid and "surfing" the middle rough area. It's kind of like a mechanical bull ride. There were some pretty rough rapids, and we all fell out a few times. The last time I fell out was in water that was recirculating. Our guide said if we fell out in that, it would feel like being in a washing machine. You would keep going round and round. It felt exactly like that too. I fell out and I realized that I was not bobbing to the surface like normal, but instead the river was keeping me under. There was the moment of fear as I pulled my legs to my chest, curling up into a ball, and I resurfaced. I'm so glad I remembered and had the presence of mind to curl up, as that gets you out of it. If you fight it, you'll just keep going. The water was so powerful, and you knew you were doing something rather dangerous, but it was so much fun and so exhilarating. You bond with your raftmates and guide. It's hard to describe the roar of the river as you head to the rapids, and then the feeling of heading back into it. A feeling of dread, but there's not much you can do, so you go and enjoy the ride.

There were six of us, plus a guide, and we are all about the same age and athletic ability, though I'm pretty sure I was the weakest. I was kind of the raft's rescue mission, as my spindly little arms couldn't pull myself into the boat, so the guys were kind enough to haul me in each time I either fell out or had swum. We were all really in sync with our paddling, and our guide was impressed and said he would take us on the Gauley River if we came again, which is a more intense ride than the New River, which was the river we were on. I would love to do that sometime, but I would definitely need to work out and prepare for that. Get a little stronger. :-) I was absolutely exhausted trying to swim to the boat at times, especially against the current. I felt like such a weakling. Everyone was really supportive, though, and I was pretty good with the paddling. Out of everyone in our group, I was the most banged up, but some girls got really bad sunburns on their legs. I did get hit in the eye with the top of someone's paddle, but I do not have a black eye or shiner, which is good, as that would be an interesting conversation starter at my conference. I was kind of proud of the fact that I might get my first black eye, but it was not to be. My contact did fall out though, and the guide was kind and kept it in his case, so I did the last few rapids with 1/2 my vision. It wasn't that bad though.

I realize that this really doesn't mean much to people who were not on the trip or haven't rafted, but it was such an experience, and I won't forget it for awhile. Also, you don't quite know what adventure is until you are in a church van, doing hairpin turns, on a mountain, in the dark, and unable to find the campground. Was a little intense.