Whitewater Rafting

Well, went whitewater rafting today...and, apparently, survived. Left this morning for Ohiopyle, PA where I went rafting with family and a couple family friends. We went rafting on the Lower Youghiogheny River, or better known as "The Yough" (pronounced something like yock). The Lower Yough is considered Class III and IV, which is intermediate rapids.

I'll be the first to admit that I was having some second thoughts as this trip approached. It was kinda my idea...but I wasn't sure that I wanted to do it. But, we got there and they showed us the safety video and all. In the last 40 years, 16 people have died while rafting the Yough. That might sound bad but not as much when you consider over 2-million have rafted it in that time without problem. That didn't help me though...I figured before the day was over that total would need to be revised to 17.

So, we started out. I was in a raft with my cousin and a couple friends with a guide. My mom, aunt, uncle, his girlfriend, her son and a guide in the other. Our guide was apparently an "expert" because she was chosen to lead the pack of probably 15 rafts down the rapids. So, here we are, the cool group...leading the way. Well, that was all good until we got stuck on a rock in the very first rapids. Our guide was trying to give instruction but we froze. So she got out of the raft to help us out...and, here comes another raft barreling down upon us. I thought for sure it was going to take her out. But she managed to take the hit and keep going...and she got us unstuck. And, then, we got right on another rock. This wasn't looking promising.

Luckily for us, that was as bad as it got for our group. We led the group the rest of the way down the river (7 miles). In the middle of the trip, we pulled to the side for a lunch provided by the tour company. The rapids were definitely the best part...but there was a lot of down time between the rapids...people could swim or whatever. The water was extremely cold however...they said 65 degrees. The water was low which meant the river wasn't fast but, the low river made navigating more difficult...so it's a give and take kinda thing.

We saw a lot of people fall out of other rafts...however, no one with our party was one of them (my mom got close to falling out a couple times though from what I've heard). None of the rafts tipped over...which they said is unusual. Total travel time was around 4 hours...not too bad.

I was nervous starting out but ended up having a really good time. I would, and probably will, definitely do it again. Next time, I don't think I'll go with a fully guided tour but rather do a rental off a company. The problem with the guide is they control what you do and when you do it. A rental would give you the freedom to pull over whenever you want and go at your speed but it would also make it more difficult to find the right path...but it would be fun. I'm not sure I'm up for Class V rapids yet...but, hey, who knows, crazier things have happened.