I know right where I was, when I learned to "go with the flow." I was on a private raft trip through the Grand Canyon in 1981. There were 15 of us in three little rafts for 23 days!
I had met an outfitter from Cortez, Colo. that summer, and he had let me row a raft on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs, Colo. He complimented me on my rowing and asked how long I'd been rowing. I looked at my watch and said, "About 15 minutes." heh-heh
He told me about a private trip through the Grand Canyon that was leaving the next week-end, and there was one open spot on it. He offered it to me and by the time I got back to the office on Monday, I knew that I was going. I rode my motorcycle (at that time, my personal, police-equipped Harley-Davidson FLH) to Cortez and met Tom, his girlfriend and her 7-year-old son. We then went in his old schoolbus to Flagstaff, picked up the rest of the crew (12), bought groceries and beer and got to the put-in on time.
What a trip! In more ways than one, too. On a trip of that type, you carry everything in and you carry everything out. The only thing you leave in the Canyon is your urine. Everything else you burn or take out with you.
When we got to Hermit Rapid (Milepoint 95), another man and I "swam" through rapid. Two of the rafts went on through and waited on the sides. Then we came right down the center and, when Tom said "Jump", the other man and I jumped. Even tho' I had a life jacket on, I was underwater for what seemed like a long time. I knew there was no sense in fighting the river, so I just held my breath and was relaxed 'til I popped up.
There are some neat videos of Hermit Rapid on YouTube.com, if you are interested (or just curious).
I've still got my waterproof River Guide, and it shows the River for the whole 288-mile trip.
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