White-Water Rafting

Today, Troy and I went white-water rafting!! It's something I've wanted to do ever since I moved back here in 2005 but we never got around to doing it. We got invited to go with a group and it ended up being a free trip (except for the $21 photo and $50 shoes). I have to say, I was petrified. More so than before ziplining, as I very much considered backing out. The team leader kept emphasizing that the waters were higher than normal and that if you weren't a strong swimmer he strongly advised you not go. I'm thinking that I don't swim like Michael Phelps, so maybe I'll die. Plus, in the back of my head kept running the very sad story about the kid from Hurricane High who drowned in the river about a week or so ago. He knew how to swim, and he still drown. Troy was awesome through the whole thing, telling me that we didn't have to go if I wasn't comfortable. When I told him my fears, he reassured me that we'd have life preservers on and there were plenty of people watching out for each other.

I grew up on the water. The water isn't what freaked me out so much, it was the thought that if I fell out and got caught in a current maybe I wouldn't make it out. Even though I thought about backing out, I knew that I would hate myself for it and also let Troy down because he really wanted to go. I was a nervous wreck the entire time we were getting our equipment and would nearly panic when they would *again* emphasize the importance of being able to "take care of yourself" out there and being able to "aggressively swim." The 40-minute bus ride was calming because we sat behind a guy who invited us to raft with him. He is a like, 20-some year veteran and used to be a guide. He had talked to the team lead and asked if he could be with a guide named Dave, who had actually trained him back in the '80s when he became a guide. Stroke of luck! Tracy is the guy's name and hearing him and Troy talk about everything other than the trip calmed me down. They know a lot of common people - not shocking since Troy knows pretty much everyone - and before we knew it, we were unloading the bus at the put-in site.

I had the BEST time ever - it was so much fun and I am so proud of myself for pushing back my fears that tried to envelope me. The first half of the trip was very relaxing and not very intense. We floated a lot - we actually got to spend quite a bit of time floating along the raft in the water. There were a couple Class 1 and Class 2 rapids, but nothing major at all. The first rapid we went over was kind of intense, but I had a lot of fun. We hit a Class 3 rapid right before we stopped for lunch. After lunch, things got a LOT more interesting!

The rapids were mainly Class 3 and Class 4, with a few Class 2 thrown in there. The rapids came much more often than before, so we really got a workout with the oars. I did not fall out of the raft once - actually no one in our group did - and only felt like I could twice. Sometimes we'd hit the rapids so hard that I'd lose my "bracing" but quickly got it back. My favorite part of the trip was when Troy and I (along with a couple other kids in our raft) bailed and got to float through a swimmer's rapid. Troy held on to me so we didn't get separated and it was soo much fun. It is unreal how fast those currents go!

Toward the end of the trip, we floated under the New River Bridge and it was such an amazing site to see from the water. I've been down there before - pretty much on the water bank a few years back when my brother and his ex-girlfriend came to visit. It wasn't as much fun because a) I was pregnant and still having severe morning sickness and b) I wasn't in the water. It was simply amazing.

The worst part of the day was spending Father's Day away from Lauren. We made sure to spend yesterday together and had a very awesome day. Daddy liked his new Garmin, we took Lauren to the pool and swam, walked around the mall and had dinner at Chik-Fil-A. Lauren was very happy to see us tonight when we got home, and she attached herself to daddy towards the end of the night before bed.

I am pumped to plan another trip down there. My brother, his girlfriend, and his roommate are coming in July 9-12, so we are going to hopefully plan a trip down to NARR on July 11th. Troy and I both agreed that we'd like to do the Lower New River one more time, then try one of the Gauley River trips. Those both include Class 5 rapids and are a little more advanced than the one we were on today. I DEFINITELY recommend NARR and the Lower New River trip for anyone wanting to go who hasn't ever been before. Lots of downtime to learn and prepare mentally, but towards the end the rapids can get pretty intense. Watching the video afterward, I saw just how crazy some of the rapids were! You get in such a zone while you are going through them, focusing on doing your part to get through them, that you really can appreciate how big they are. Apparently there were like, 5' and 6' waves!

I have to brag on myself. I really did push myself today. I wanted to bail and take the easy way, but I didn't. I don't want Lauren to have my fears, so if I push myself now to overcome them. Even though I've been nearly sick both times I've done new things - ziplining and now this - I have had so much fun doing it. We also learned that Class VI has one of the best ziplines in the country and I'm hoping that we can go down there and do the zipline and then another rafting trip. I think Lauren would be really proud of her mommy for white-water rafting today. Troy and I can't wait until she's 5 to take her!!