Rafting memories
Timothy Lake is beautiful. Made some new friends who I hope to see again. I'll be nice and cut this because it turned out to be quite long.
We arrived Friday afternoon, followed Jason’s paper plate signs to the campsite, and walked around near the lake. James and I walked to the end of the lake where a damn had been built and played on the other side of the damn. It was pretty neat. There was a huge spray of water coming through a little concrete pipe, and continuing down the valley as a stream. We got our tent all set up and had dinner and got to know Jason and Nicoal better since we hadn’t met them before. I thought we were going to be late, but there were only the four of us there until it got dark, then Giordano and Nick showed up. After quite a while the other six showed up all at once. They were in the second raft and only stayed the one night so we didn’t get to know them as well. I have to admit though that it was pretty funny watching them read the directions of how to set up their tents by flashlight while we ate dinner by the fire. At the campsite is a bad place to set up a tent for the first time.
Saturday morning we woke up around six and drove to Maupin to head down the Deschutes.
Rafting was exhilarating. The six of us had pretty good control of our raft and we hit almost all the really good rapids. Nick and Giordano rented a water-gun and we got in many battles with other boats. It was hot and sunny so the water battles were quite welcome. Boy was that water cold and refreshing. Lunch was tasty cheeseburgers at a little restaurant, then back to rafting!
There was an especially large rapid (small waterfall?) that we went over and we all hung on to the raft as tightly as we could. I think all of us were lifted away from the raft and fell in various directions but fortunately we were all in the raft after it came out of the spiraling downwards. Lots of screaming and laughing ensued. Giordano had strapped his waterproof camera to his lifejacket for a short video of us going over this. We watched it on his camera later and it turned out great, I can’t wait to get a copy of it.
Towards the end there was a place for body-surfing. Basically you get out of your raft and go down the rapids with just the lifejacket. I was very hesitant about this but I didn’t chicken out! I did it! I had second thoughts but not until I had already jumped and was above the water, and it was a bit too late by that time because the current was too fast to let me think. Breathing with waves crashing over me was very difficult to say the least and also absolutely terrifying since I didn’t have time to see anything but the next wave, and didn’t have time to breathe in between without taking in some water in each breath. Then suddenly the waves over me stopped and it was time to swim like mad towards the shore - it did not occur to me until now that I can’t actually swim. Oh yeah, maybe I should have thought of that. One of the guys on my raft was in the water too and yelled to me, “How are you doing?” at which point I yelled back that I couldn’t swim across the current, and a guy on the shore threw a rope into the water and said to grab the rope. I was quite happy to oblige and grabbed for it as soon as I got close enough. A girl behind me grabbed it at the same time, and the guy on shore pulled both of us up to climb on the rocks. I am proud that even though this experience required facing my largest fear, I did not panic the entire time and even had a bit of fun although I probably won’t be doing that again. =^_^=
Nicoal and I found our raft and rested there, had some snacks and dried out in the sun while the guys went down again. James came back to sit and dry off with us. I think the other guys went down four or five times before our second raft pulled up, then went a couple more times with the people on that boat. We were warmed up by this time so I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to hit more rapids, but what’s the fun in skipping them? Time for more wet!
We went to a little store there to have ice cream, change into dry clothes, and check out the pictures that were taken of us going over the big rapid. The pictures were great so we chipped in and got a CD of them (Jason, remind me to pay you for those). I didn’t feel like changing yet so I just took off my wet shorts and ran around in my bikini and t-shirt, which was lots of fun. The t-shirt was just barely long enough to cover the swimsuit. I love teasing guys. :)
Back at camp we (meaning somebody other than me) got a fire going and we stayed up really late bullshitting around the campfire, laughing and telling stories and stupid jokes and eating lots of roasted marshmallows. This morning the guys decided to go swimming in the lake. Nicoal and I thought this was less than brilliant, as we were wearing long pants and sweatshirts and it was still cold, but we followed them down to the lake to take pictures of them freezing in their swimtrunks. I collected some pretty rocks to add to the fountain in the kitchen. We laughed as the guys tried to convince each other that the water was warm once they were treading water where it was really deep, and I brought James his towels when they all got out. For lunch I learned how to cook canned soup over a fire: open the can (thanks George :) ), remember to stir the soup when it starts bubbling a little, it’s hot enough when the label turns black, and you need to have a way to get the hot can out of the fire.
The six of us decided to visit Little Crater Lake after packing up camp, a very short drive from our campsite. It was very small, very deep, and clear enough that we could see the trees that had fallen to the bottom. What a beautiful blue. I touched the lake - I can’t *not* touch it - and it was very cold, like reaching your hand into a glass of ice water that’s mostly ice. We walked for a while along wooden boards through a field of marshy grass and wildflowers (a type of lupin and many I didn’t recognize), and came to the forest at the edge of the meadow. There was a trail marker with pictures showing that hikers and horses were allowed on this trail and someone had written in “Cows” below the pictures. Sure enough there were cowpies surrounding the sign. Oddly, many of these cowpies had white powder sprinkled on them, many in the shape of large footprints. A warning not to step in them? A bizarre Bigfoot obsession in the area? I may never know. It was pretty funny either way.
I feel tired but refreshed. I think I am the most myself and the most happy when I am camping. I want to find a way to bring that peace to the rest of my life.
We arrived Friday afternoon, followed Jason’s paper plate signs to the campsite, and walked around near the lake. James and I walked to the end of the lake where a damn had been built and played on the other side of the damn. It was pretty neat. There was a huge spray of water coming through a little concrete pipe, and continuing down the valley as a stream. We got our tent all set up and had dinner and got to know Jason and Nicoal better since we hadn’t met them before. I thought we were going to be late, but there were only the four of us there until it got dark, then Giordano and Nick showed up. After quite a while the other six showed up all at once. They were in the second raft and only stayed the one night so we didn’t get to know them as well. I have to admit though that it was pretty funny watching them read the directions of how to set up their tents by flashlight while we ate dinner by the fire. At the campsite is a bad place to set up a tent for the first time.
Saturday morning we woke up around six and drove to Maupin to head down the Deschutes.
Rafting was exhilarating. The six of us had pretty good control of our raft and we hit almost all the really good rapids. Nick and Giordano rented a water-gun and we got in many battles with other boats. It was hot and sunny so the water battles were quite welcome. Boy was that water cold and refreshing. Lunch was tasty cheeseburgers at a little restaurant, then back to rafting!
There was an especially large rapid (small waterfall?) that we went over and we all hung on to the raft as tightly as we could. I think all of us were lifted away from the raft and fell in various directions but fortunately we were all in the raft after it came out of the spiraling downwards. Lots of screaming and laughing ensued. Giordano had strapped his waterproof camera to his lifejacket for a short video of us going over this. We watched it on his camera later and it turned out great, I can’t wait to get a copy of it.
Towards the end there was a place for body-surfing. Basically you get out of your raft and go down the rapids with just the lifejacket. I was very hesitant about this but I didn’t chicken out! I did it! I had second thoughts but not until I had already jumped and was above the water, and it was a bit too late by that time because the current was too fast to let me think. Breathing with waves crashing over me was very difficult to say the least and also absolutely terrifying since I didn’t have time to see anything but the next wave, and didn’t have time to breathe in between without taking in some water in each breath. Then suddenly the waves over me stopped and it was time to swim like mad towards the shore - it did not occur to me until now that I can’t actually swim. Oh yeah, maybe I should have thought of that. One of the guys on my raft was in the water too and yelled to me, “How are you doing?” at which point I yelled back that I couldn’t swim across the current, and a guy on the shore threw a rope into the water and said to grab the rope. I was quite happy to oblige and grabbed for it as soon as I got close enough. A girl behind me grabbed it at the same time, and the guy on shore pulled both of us up to climb on the rocks. I am proud that even though this experience required facing my largest fear, I did not panic the entire time and even had a bit of fun although I probably won’t be doing that again. =^_^=
Nicoal and I found our raft and rested there, had some snacks and dried out in the sun while the guys went down again. James came back to sit and dry off with us. I think the other guys went down four or five times before our second raft pulled up, then went a couple more times with the people on that boat. We were warmed up by this time so I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to hit more rapids, but what’s the fun in skipping them? Time for more wet!
We went to a little store there to have ice cream, change into dry clothes, and check out the pictures that were taken of us going over the big rapid. The pictures were great so we chipped in and got a CD of them (Jason, remind me to pay you for those). I didn’t feel like changing yet so I just took off my wet shorts and ran around in my bikini and t-shirt, which was lots of fun. The t-shirt was just barely long enough to cover the swimsuit. I love teasing guys. :)
Back at camp we (meaning somebody other than me) got a fire going and we stayed up really late bullshitting around the campfire, laughing and telling stories and stupid jokes and eating lots of roasted marshmallows. This morning the guys decided to go swimming in the lake. Nicoal and I thought this was less than brilliant, as we were wearing long pants and sweatshirts and it was still cold, but we followed them down to the lake to take pictures of them freezing in their swimtrunks. I collected some pretty rocks to add to the fountain in the kitchen. We laughed as the guys tried to convince each other that the water was warm once they were treading water where it was really deep, and I brought James his towels when they all got out. For lunch I learned how to cook canned soup over a fire: open the can (thanks George :) ), remember to stir the soup when it starts bubbling a little, it’s hot enough when the label turns black, and you need to have a way to get the hot can out of the fire.
The six of us decided to visit Little Crater Lake after packing up camp, a very short drive from our campsite. It was very small, very deep, and clear enough that we could see the trees that had fallen to the bottom. What a beautiful blue. I touched the lake - I can’t *not* touch it - and it was very cold, like reaching your hand into a glass of ice water that’s mostly ice. We walked for a while along wooden boards through a field of marshy grass and wildflowers (a type of lupin and many I didn’t recognize), and came to the forest at the edge of the meadow. There was a trail marker with pictures showing that hikers and horses were allowed on this trail and someone had written in “Cows” below the pictures. Sure enough there were cowpies surrounding the sign. Oddly, many of these cowpies had white powder sprinkled on them, many in the shape of large footprints. A warning not to step in them? A bizarre Bigfoot obsession in the area? I may never know. It was pretty funny either way.
I feel tired but refreshed. I think I am the most myself and the most happy when I am camping. I want to find a way to bring that peace to the rest of my life.