There is a firm line between still water and rivers. I got a good reminder.
If you fallow my Facebook chatter, then you would have seen this,
Yup, that's me, under water.
Now, there is a story to this. I didn't just happen to find my self upside down in a river.
Friday, the 23rd, I posed a question on local kayak message board in Cody, WY. Basically, I just wanted to know if any of them were boating over the weekend. In response, I was invited to join a trip down the 'S curve' section of the Shoeshone River. This was a section that I had never done before.
I got my stuff ready, and meet the kayakers in Cody at noon. From there, we chatted about boats, had a round of introductions, than load in to vehicles to head for vehicle drop locations. We had several of these, scene I really did not want to run the class IV section.
After we dropped off vehicles, and reached our put in, it was a simple matter of carrying our boats through a drainage pipe, down a service road, and finally down a small section of brush and rock to reach the river.
Before a few of use put on, the rest of the group hiked up the service road to run a more technical section of the river.
( Waiting for the more experienced kayakers to seal dive off a rock.)
I watched the experienced crew make their way through the more technical stuff. Then, it was time for me to climb into my boat.
(First rapid I would paddle through. And, the one that got me.)
So, this is where my inexperience decided to kick me. Within the time I did my first few strokes, I knew that I was going to be in trouble.
And, the river agreed.
Instead of getting to river left, where the kayakers had gone, I find my self getting pushed in to the hole. (right side of the above picture). Now, in a boat I was confident in, I could have course corrected. Or, powered through. I didn't, and so entered the hole with low speed.
If you are a river runner you can probably imagine what happed next.
The recirculating water of the hole caught and held me. I stayed pointing down river for a moment, then my boat spun to the left. From there, it was easy for the water to ketch the left side gunnel and flip me over. Later, one of the kayakers would complement me on my accidental surf.
I don't know exactly what happen, but the next time I managed to get my head above the water I was not in the hole. And, was headed for a set of deep rollers.
I managed to get out of my boat, and hooked a toe on to the gunnel. But, I pushed my boat away when the first roller almost slammed my boat back into me.
I took the rest of the rollers on my back, feet first.
I grabbed one of the kayaks after the rollers, and they got me to calmer water. While in this clam water, one of the other kayakers push my boat over to me. I flipped it back over, and with the kayakers holding on to it, I climbed back in.
The rest on the trip was not as eventful. But, I was still fighting with my inexperience. I did do my best to lean from my flip, and focus on control.
By the time my take out came, I felt a bit more confident. But, I was no where near relaxed.
The whole experience was draining, yet fun. It is odd to say, but I accomplished a goal I set for myself. I wanted to get thrashed. Or, just feel how it feels to get thrown around by the river. It's a lot different than a raft.
I know I've grown from the experience. Both as a person, and as a river runner. But, I need more mileage in my canoe before I attempted any bigger water.
Talk to you later,
Yeti
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