Ferguson's Precept A crisis is when you can't say "let's forget the whole thing."
A little while ago, I thought, "If rolling down a rocky mountain isnt thrill enough, how will rafting in calm water be better". I kept thinking that, until I was proved wrong. By a large magnitude.
In the middle of our biking spells, where we all gathered for a pose with the expensive bikes.
I awoke to find myself in a calm leisurely morning nestled among the beautiful woods surrounding the lake, with a view to kill for. I, nevertheless, forced myself out of heavily cushioned Queen Bed inspite of a heavily aching body, and got ready for the early dealdine of 9 am at the rafting place, an hours drive away.
A view similar to this. This was taken from the skilift during mountain biking.
The registration formalities completed at
Truckee Whitewater Tours, we were rushed in battered schoolbuses to the rafting place, where preliminary instructions and the rafting gear was given to us. And then we were pushed into the
Truckee river on the raft, along with three other persons and the instructor; into the calm river, which had not yet unearthed its wild side.
Lake Tahoe, in all its natural beauty. Taken while driving to the rafting place.
We all rowed with a certain lack of panache; that was ok, given that we were are newbies at that. And only the instructor had any real training. And later, to test the waters, he encouraged us to jump into the river, its ice cold waters fed by none other than Lake Tahoe itself. And jump I did. Though not fully. I couldnt even submerge myself, thanks to the lifejacket I was wearing. The water was not that cold - I could have even survived a few minutes, time enough to swim to a shore.
It was later that the rapids hit us,
Classes 1 and 2. They were manageable, and quite thrilling, giving quite a rush each time we went through holes, small drops, ledges and crags; so close to falling into the water, yet so far. Thankfully. The final stretch was a couple of 100 metres of Class 3 rapids, which were the best part of the ride. And by that time, we're rowing in unison; and that helped us get past it safely.
Us at the Class 3 rapids. I am rowing in the front right, wearing the red Tee.
I apologize for the watermark ,as the photos were not taken by us.A drenched me, finally admitted that this is the sport to kill for. Its thrilling, exhausting, energizing, fun, wet, and takes you to the edge without pushing you over. Surprisingly, most of the rafting ride is quite calm. Out of the 7 mile long ride, about 6 miles was just paddling in a calm creek, soaking in a beautiful valley and a warm sun, and watching people flyfishing along the edge.
An hour later, dried, energized and 70$ poorer, I went back to what I was thinking, and realized that whitewater rafting is a sport to kill for. I do want to do it again, somewhere in northeast USA!!!.
