The Snake River

What a day! Yesterday a young lady from Charlotte booked our white water trip. Upon arrival today we were greeted by a young man that recognized my Clemson hat and stated that he worked at the summer soccer camps at Clemson. After further discussion we learned that he graduated from a high school only about three miles from our home and grew up near our neighborhood. When our river guide showed up we found that he was a native of Atlanta and a UVA grad. Seems like many young people in the Southeast gravitate to western resorts like Tahoe and Jackson for summer employment and then lean towards making it a permanent home.

Our trip on the river was spectacular. To begin with, we were joined by a Mormon family of eight. They were a delight to have for company. We were outfitted in fleece or normal undergarments and then a wet suit that covered from the neck to the knees. Most of us did not add jackets or other outer wear for the first stage of the trip. After boarding our party of ten, the guide offered a few basic lessons on how to maneuver the raft and then we launched.

The first stage of the trip was a float, during which we seldom had to paddle. The float was about 8 miles and lasted about two and a half hours. As we started late in the morning there was only a slim chance of seeing any wildlife. We did see an elk, some beautiful birds and, strangely enough, a flock of about a dozen pelicans 'fishing the waters'. Also a nesting osprey and several eagle nests. By the time we pulled ashore for lunch many in the party were getting antsy to get into the rapids.

A brown bag lunch was served at a developed campsite with several tents and a larger mess tent where cooking for large parties could take place. A couple of employees had gone ahead of us and had a campfire prepared upon our arrival. It wasn't a cold day, but anyone that had had an encounter with the near freezing water was ready to warm up at fireside. After about a thirty minute break, we loaded up the raft and prepared for the exciting part of the journey. At this time we all added rain suits provided by the company since we were going to get soaked on the second leg of the trip.

The second part was also about eight miles, but time seemed to speed up as we were entering category two and three rapids. Now we began to pull with our paddles on a regular basis--eight or ten strokes, then rest for a minute. The kids on the trip, ages ten to nineteen performed admirably. We had an adult male and a seventeen year old lad in the bow and our guide in the stern, so that helped out the younger kids in the center of the raft. I believe that I did my fair share of the paddling, but little more. On many occasions we were stroking thin air as the raft pitched from side to side or went vertical on us. What an experience! Pat turned into a good rafter despite her earlier reservations about the trip. I only wish that we had done this at a much younger age and that this was a return trip.

A photographic company set up on the bank of our most challenging category three rapids and will make photos available to us tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing them and sharing them with you. I suspect that we will all be thoroughly drenched in the shots.

Tomorrow Pat and I head out to Yellowstone and will be on the lookout for Yogi Bear.