A Whitewater Rafting Trip

C arranged a day trip rafting on the White Salmon River for the family. It was a much-needed day of play and family bonding, to be sure.

We drove up to White Salmon, Washington, and followed the river upstream to the town of BZ Corner, where Zoller’s Outdoor Odysseys (www.zooraft.com) has their headquarters. We got there plenty early, so we ate some lunch and relaxed. When the  time came, we – and about 25 other people – were given orientation, suited up in wetsuits, helmets and booties, and loaded into rafts at the put-in.

Keenan was the guide for our raft. R, M C and I made up the bulk of our raft. Our new friends, Nathan and Lisa filled out the crew. Keenan is a middle school teacher; perfect to handle a boat with two elementary school aged kids on the crew!

We put Lisa and Nathan in the very front. C and I took the middle spot; R and M hung out in the back row, right in front of Keenan. Now, Keenan wouldn’t let the kids paddle through the class 4’s at the top of the route, but he was full of geology, history, and ecology information. The two precocious kids just devoured his steady stream of facts and information. We saw lava tubes, drank spring water, took the raft into a cave, spotted an osprey nest, and all other manner of cool things on the river.

Now, C and I have rafted this river once before. About two-thirds of the way down (you can see it on the map above) is a rapid labeled Husum Falls. This is a 12 foot vertical drop waterfall just under the bridge in the town of Husum. The rafts can take the Falls when the water is slow, like it is in late August. C and I had never taken the Falls plunge. So we were eager to do so. Unfortunately, liability prohibits ZOO from taking those under the age of 18 over the Falls. R and M had to shuttle out of our raft, and walk around the falls. That news really angered R. He pouted for a while. Nevertheless, Keenan held us back until he was sure the kids would be stationed to watch us all defy death with a waterfall plunge.

Of course, the whole family had just watched Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull the night before at Laurelhurst Park. Remember the scene where they all go over the waterfalls (three times!)? That was on our minds. But, hey! Ours was only 12 feet!

When the time came, we paddled cross current, and into the channel. We paddled HARD to get as much speed as possible. Then, at the last second, Keenan told us to “GET DOWN”. We all dropped down low, grabbed the handles, and rode it out.

The raft went over pretty gracefully, really. As the nose dropped first, the raft bent in the middle. As soon as it could, the stern snapped up to make the raft straight again. That gave the back row of riders (C and I) and the guide a bit of a catapult effect. We all stayed in the boat, but C did pop out of her hunker. When the raft hit the bottom, she foundered, submerging completely and getting poured full of water from the Falls. It takes a couple seconds for the raft to regain its buoyancy and start moving downstream, but that’s just fine. It’s worth savoring the success.

At the bottom of the Falls, the kids were transferred back to our raft. C was elated. I suspect she really needed to have a personal victory – a conquest – to raise her spirits. Things have been so darned challenging lately. M was excited by our adventure; R was clearly pouting that he had to stay out.

Well, Keenan had a plan to make it up to the kids. From Husum Falls down, the rapids are pretty tame and predictable. In fact, you can sort of play around in the rapids. So we did!

There was “Ride the Bull”, where one sits on the bow of the raft with ones feet hanging over the front. You look like a hood ornament up there. Naturally, you stay in that position as you ride the rapids for a thrilling ride. R and M did a bit of that. R was too preoccupied with pouting, though. M rode the bull for the rest of the trip, however.

And, there’s a rapid (Zoller Zap on the map above) that is easily floated. M wanted to float down the rapid, so I joined her. We jumped out of the raft at the top of the rapids, got our toes sticking out in front of us, and floated the waves with our feet pointed downstream, holding hands. It was fun! M is such an adventurous sort. She loves this stuff. Keenan pulled M back into the raft; C hauled me back into the boat. Yep, we milked that trip for every participatory experience we could muster.

Dinner was a slow-paced gnosh at a patio restaurant in Husum where they serve greek food and let a Bantam rooster serenade the guests with his crows.

We definitely needed a day like this one. Because, tomorrow we find out about the biopsy results…