River Tales: High Water San Juan with Rookies

[liveonearth]

Here's a photo of a typical river camp along the section of the San Juan where we were. Imagine however that the area that they are camped on is under 10 feet of roiling fast brown water, and you'll have an idea what it looked like that day in May. And we were in little playful whitewater kayaks, not rubber barges.

Comments

[neptunia67]

Oh yeah. I felt it when I rolled - that I HAD to nail that roll, or I was in trouble. Those waves were huge!!

Great job on the story. Thanks!

Mind if I link to it from my journal?

P.S. I think that was my fifth trip on a river, and second trip in a kayak. The others were in rafts.

[liveonearth]

Yeah, I knew that you had rafted before and corrected it before I read this? It is totally fine if you link to this.

You know, it is really unusual for a new kayaker to roll up when they feel that they "have to". The pressure makes it harder...but you've got those nerves of steel. =-]

[neptunia67]

Maybe on the outside... but shaking like a leaf on the inside. That's for sure.

I missed the river this year. Going to have to try to get on a trip in '09.

[liveonearth]

Yeah....it took me a while to warm up to Oregon rivers, but I think I'm going to love having such beautiful rivers within a couple hours of home. Clean water too. Wish you were here!

[melleecat]

Wow--great story and beautiful pictures. Reminds me of that TV show (I don't know if the show still airs) called "I Shouldn't Be Alive" where tales of disasters are told by the survivors.