Fun Anniversary Weekend - Whitewater Rafting!
Stvn has been wanting to try whitewater rafting for a while and when he chanced upon a great deal on it, he asked if I would be interested. I am generally pretty open to any new experience however this I hesitated a little because I am a non-swimmer. He told me that it's probably just gonna be level 1 and 2 as it's for beginners. I relented. The voucher he purchased had an open date and I decided to do it as part of our wedding anniversary celebration. Kinda cool and symbolic as well.
The nearest place that offers this thrilling adventure is the South Fork American River, about 3 hours drive from our place. With bleary eyes, we started our road trip and the journey was relatively smooth and quiet as the traffic was excellent. We arrived at Camp Lotus way ahead of schedule and took some time checking out the area. It was super cold and thankfully it warmed up throughout the day.
At 10 am, checking in and orientation began before we changed into the wet suit that we rented. That really helped to keep us dry. I had no idea what I have gotten myself into so I felt anxious and excited at the same time.
Once we were all geared up, the adventure began. We tried coordinating the paddling in the water for a bit just to make sure that everyone in our boat was okay. The first part of the river was relatively smooth (translate: not scary) and I really enjoyed the fresh morning air and being in nature.
We made a stop for early lunch at a bank. Very impressively our guides (there were 3 of them) set up portable tables and prepared the fresh ingredients for sandwiches. There were cookies even! Happily we fueled up because we needed the energy for the next leg, where the real rafting began.
For the next couple of hours the excitement was in full force. Half of the time, I was kinda tensed and worried that I will fall off the boat because knowing myself I would panic and be paralysed by fear. I understand that being thrown off the boat is part of the fun and I think it will be kinda cool too if I were to be a good swimmer. Anyway, the volume of water was really high because it rained and stormed few days prior. That made a lot of difference! A friend who heard about our plan told me that class 1 or 11 is "nothing" by way of assuring me of the safety. I learn that it could be true when the water level is low but it's a different story when it's high.
So we paddled through the rapids that felt pretty strong and it was so exhilarating! Despite my fear, I enjoyed myself tremendously as evidenced in the pictures that were taken by a professional photographer, who kayaked ahead of us in order to get those amazing pictures. My main focus was really to remain in the boat and I achieved it!! We even did a rescue job when someone from the raft behind us fell into the water. It was a boat full of friends and I supposed it was not a lot of fun unless someone got into the water :) One guy from our boat who sat in front was on the verge of falling into the river at least 4 times! Poor chap. Thankful that I sat in the middle row instead of being in the front. Phew!
After what seems like a lot of paddling across violent gushes of rapids, the water became increasingly calmer. Because of the excellent flow of water, we actually arrived at the next place 30 minutes ahead of time. Here we took it easy and just let the raft drifted while we waited for a person on jet ski to arrive and drag us along to the pier. From there a bus took us back to Camp Lotus where we started.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and glad that I gave it a go. Will I do it again? It's a resounding yes! And the next time I will try to relax and let go more. Stvn loved it very much too. We are glad that photographs of us were taken because it revealed what we couldn't see clearly while we struggled in the water. I gasped when i saw some of the pictures because they looked pretty awesome and scary too. That's why we willingly part with extra money to purchase the pictures.
High from adrenaline we couldn't stop talking and soon I crashed in the car as we made our way to Vacaville, where we grabbed dinner before heading to the Premium Outlets. We took our time given that we decided to stay the night instead of rushing back to the Bay. That was good planning on Stvn's part. Guess, i should not expect any less from my superb planner :)
Whee!
Early morning drive as the sun makes its appearance.
In good spirit! The weather was gorgeous albeit cold.
Expend some energy.
Camp Lotus - quite a lovely place.
All smiles
We went in 3 groups.
Decent food for lunch. Everything was carried on the boat! The guides really know how to pack and keep them safe.
Poor guy almost fell.
Going into a hole called Satan's Cesspool.
Awesome!
Leaning in to avoid falling off.
Happy!
The nearest place that offers this thrilling adventure is the South Fork American River, about 3 hours drive from our place. With bleary eyes, we started our road trip and the journey was relatively smooth and quiet as the traffic was excellent. We arrived at Camp Lotus way ahead of schedule and took some time checking out the area. It was super cold and thankfully it warmed up throughout the day.
At 10 am, checking in and orientation began before we changed into the wet suit that we rented. That really helped to keep us dry. I had no idea what I have gotten myself into so I felt anxious and excited at the same time.
Once we were all geared up, the adventure began. We tried coordinating the paddling in the water for a bit just to make sure that everyone in our boat was okay. The first part of the river was relatively smooth (translate: not scary) and I really enjoyed the fresh morning air and being in nature.
We made a stop for early lunch at a bank. Very impressively our guides (there were 3 of them) set up portable tables and prepared the fresh ingredients for sandwiches. There were cookies even! Happily we fueled up because we needed the energy for the next leg, where the real rafting began.
For the next couple of hours the excitement was in full force. Half of the time, I was kinda tensed and worried that I will fall off the boat because knowing myself I would panic and be paralysed by fear. I understand that being thrown off the boat is part of the fun and I think it will be kinda cool too if I were to be a good swimmer. Anyway, the volume of water was really high because it rained and stormed few days prior. That made a lot of difference! A friend who heard about our plan told me that class 1 or 11 is "nothing" by way of assuring me of the safety. I learn that it could be true when the water level is low but it's a different story when it's high.
So we paddled through the rapids that felt pretty strong and it was so exhilarating! Despite my fear, I enjoyed myself tremendously as evidenced in the pictures that were taken by a professional photographer, who kayaked ahead of us in order to get those amazing pictures. My main focus was really to remain in the boat and I achieved it!! We even did a rescue job when someone from the raft behind us fell into the water. It was a boat full of friends and I supposed it was not a lot of fun unless someone got into the water :) One guy from our boat who sat in front was on the verge of falling into the river at least 4 times! Poor chap. Thankful that I sat in the middle row instead of being in the front. Phew!
After what seems like a lot of paddling across violent gushes of rapids, the water became increasingly calmer. Because of the excellent flow of water, we actually arrived at the next place 30 minutes ahead of time. Here we took it easy and just let the raft drifted while we waited for a person on jet ski to arrive and drag us along to the pier. From there a bus took us back to Camp Lotus where we started.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and glad that I gave it a go. Will I do it again? It's a resounding yes! And the next time I will try to relax and let go more. Stvn loved it very much too. We are glad that photographs of us were taken because it revealed what we couldn't see clearly while we struggled in the water. I gasped when i saw some of the pictures because they looked pretty awesome and scary too. That's why we willingly part with extra money to purchase the pictures.
High from adrenaline we couldn't stop talking and soon I crashed in the car as we made our way to Vacaville, where we grabbed dinner before heading to the Premium Outlets. We took our time given that we decided to stay the night instead of rushing back to the Bay. That was good planning on Stvn's part. Guess, i should not expect any less from my superb planner :)
Whee!
Early morning drive as the sun makes its appearance.
In good spirit! The weather was gorgeous albeit cold.
Expend some energy.
Camp Lotus - quite a lovely place.
All smiles
We went in 3 groups.
Decent food for lunch. Everything was carried on the boat! The guides really know how to pack and keep them safe.
Poor guy almost fell.
Going into a hole called Satan's Cesspool.
Awesome!
Leaning in to avoid falling off.
Happy!