Deep Creek Lake - Day 5
Today is the day! We planned this whole trip around white water rafting in the Youghiogheny River. (P.S. I get closer and closer to spelling that right every time.) We went white water rafting in Tennessee last year and it was fun, but a little lame. It took about an hour and was full of class 2 rapids. I believe there was one class 3. Good for beginners, like me, but I wanted more this year.
We left the house around 9am ready for our adventure! The car ride was about an hour long, and so pretty. I am a sucker for woods - trees make me so happy. We got there nice and early and checked out the little store while we waited for it to be time to go.
Once we had a very short lesson (thank goodness it wasn't my first time - they didn't cover a lot), we got our rafts in the water and headed out. We had a guide in our boat, another couple (Amber and Tony) and us 4 (Christina, Tony, Mom, me). There was another full boat with a guide, and a third boat of a family of 4 with no guide that we kept in the middle of the group.
Each rapid was only 2s and 3s because the water was so low. We were promised they were 3s and 4s after lunch. We were having fun and getting splashed and it was fun, but not quite what I thought it would be. Maybe our guide was just very good at keeping it super safe.
I'm in the front in purple.
Tony (Christina's husband) is on the right in front. Yes, he's cheesing for the other camera.
My mom is behind me in white.
The other Tony was behind my mom.
Christina was behind Tony.
Amber was behind Christina.
And our guide was in the back. Yes, Tony is sticking his tongue out.
As the day went on, I was actually getting kind of bored. The rapids were fun, but a little too easy. There was a slow part where we could get out and swim. Yes, we got stuck on rocks here and there. Yes, the water was splashing like crazy. Yes, we were going down the rapids backwards or spinning, but I thought there would be MORE.
A while later, we stopped for lunch. I ate like crazy after such a physical day while the group of blond skinny ladies ate apples only for lunch. The guides were trying to tell them the rapids only get bigger and they need more food for energy, but whatever. I just will never be that lady who only eats an apple for lunch while I'm doing something so strenuous.
After lunch, we walked up the rocky "shore" to go down the previous rapid as swimmers, no boat. I didn't go far enough out before the current had me flying down river. Oops. I may have inhaled a bit of water and definitely looked like an absolute goober. But I had fun. And my mom did it too! It was too dangerous for Christina and Tony thought the water was too cold, but most everyone did it.
After a few more rapids, we approached a 17 foot....cliff, for lack of a better word, and the guide (who it turns out is absolutely insane and is an adrenaline junky) said we could jump off the cliff. Um..... Is he kidding or serious? Sure enough, we all pulled to shore and climbed up the rock. There was no path, mind you - we held sticker bushes back for each other while we climbed this steep hill, crossed rocks with a make shift piece of wood we'll call a bridge, to get to this rock. Wow, mom's with me - she's more adventurous than I thought! The blond skinny ladies were giggling, saying it looks too high, and psyching themselves out. I told them, the more you think about it, the more you'll chicken out. Then I stepped to the front, and jumped right off. I screamed the whole way down. And I didn't plug my nose, so the force of the 17 foot jump pushed way more water up my nose than I could prevent by just blowing out. Oops again. Mom jumped next and plugged her nose. Maybe I should have made her go first.... Again, Tony watched from the top of the rock because it was too cold for him and Christina stayed with the boat.
Well, that was super fun. We're making our own adventures! After lunch is turning out to be more fun than before lunch.
About 2 or 3 hours in, I was kind of getting tired and generally I was kind of done. But, it was pretty and I could ignore the pain in my bottom from the incredibly uncomfortable raft.
Then, it happened.
We all clustered together as we approached a class 4 rapid (not our first 4 of the day, mind you). The guide kept saying we have to hit this just right or it'll be over. But, I felt like he was saying this for every rapid, so I was cocky at this point. All of a sudden (I have no idea what happened), I was slamming down elbow, back, and bottom first onto a rock affectionately called "the cheese grater." Needless to say, my elbow was bleeding. I knew I'd probably be thrown from the boat at one point today, so I wasn't afraid. I kept thinking, "DID YOU SEE THAT?!?!?" Wow, okay, so someone pull me up now. Wait, this current is strong. Ouch!! OUCH, OUCH!!! Rocks keep hitting my bottom and back. The guides drilled it into our heads NOT to stand up in the water. People die "all the time" from getting their foot stuck in a rock and the current pulling them under water. "No one has ever died from getting their butt stuck in a rock." So, I kept my feet up as much as I could (it felt unnatural and hurt A LOT) and wondered why no one was pulling me up. I couldn't breathe! The current kept pulling me under, pulling me under, pulling me under. I'm choking, coughing, couldn't breathe. Every cough brought more water into my lungs. OUCH, OUCH!! More hard rocks. Finally, finally, I hit a boat and was full on vomiting up torrents of water. My nose, throat, and lungs hurt, but not nearly as much as my bottom, back, and elbow. It turns out another boat full of people pulled me up and I was trying to figure out where my boat was.
My boat was empty. Only Christina and the guide were in it.
Then I notice Christina is crying.
What is happening?
Then I hear, "SHE'S STUCK UNDER ANOTHER BOAT!" "SHE'S STUCK!!"
Who? Who is stuck?
Then I start screaming, "IT'S MY MOM! YOU HAVE TO HELP MY MOM!!! SHE'S MY MOM!!!!!!!!"
Both Tonys and Amber were thrown from the boat as well, but were brought into other boats before me. Meanwhile, my mom didn't get as many bumps and bruises, but she was completely submerged under a boat. Before she could catch her breath, she was stuck under another boat. Finally, they got to her, but it took a while.
She had no idea she might be thrown from the boat today. She really thought she was going to drown. She thought this was the day she was going to die. She prayed, "please God, HELP!" and stuck her arm up out of the water. She thought no one could see her. She really thought she was going to die. She didn't know everyone knew where she was. She didn't know Tony (who was just rescued) jumped back out of the boat to help the guides, she didn't know we could see her bright blue helmet just fine. All she knew was the current had her pinned up against a rock, pushing her down, down, down, as raft after raft kept blocking her in.
The guides screamed at Tony with very colorful language to get back in the boat because they just rescued him. They pulled my mom up, and she was okay.
She cried the rest of the trip down the river.
She cried the rest of the way home.
She cried the rest of the night.
She had incredible nightmares.
Tony said he would never white water raft again.
I was proud of my blood, even my bruised elbow that looked like I dipped it in purple paint - it was evidence of my adventure. I was sure my bottom was going to have a large bruise on it. I knew I'd be thrown from the boat, but didn't even think about how you're thrown when it's rocky, not when it's smooth. Duh!
The rest of the river ride down we went over and over what happened, but I didn't hear any of it, so I still don't know what happened. I just kept watching my mom cry.
We ended up being out there about 4 hours and did 6.5 or 7.5 miles.
Afterwards, we changed into dry clothes and shopped in the store. My mom and I bought matching shirts that said, "This isn't a souvenir, it's proof I survived the Youghiogheny River."
It was an adventure, and we were never so happy to get home and rest in the hot tub. Because, oh, my aching everything.
We left the house around 9am ready for our adventure! The car ride was about an hour long, and so pretty. I am a sucker for woods - trees make me so happy. We got there nice and early and checked out the little store while we waited for it to be time to go.
Once we had a very short lesson (thank goodness it wasn't my first time - they didn't cover a lot), we got our rafts in the water and headed out. We had a guide in our boat, another couple (Amber and Tony) and us 4 (Christina, Tony, Mom, me). There was another full boat with a guide, and a third boat of a family of 4 with no guide that we kept in the middle of the group.
Each rapid was only 2s and 3s because the water was so low. We were promised they were 3s and 4s after lunch. We were having fun and getting splashed and it was fun, but not quite what I thought it would be. Maybe our guide was just very good at keeping it super safe.
I'm in the front in purple.
Tony (Christina's husband) is on the right in front. Yes, he's cheesing for the other camera.
I'm kind of mad that lady photobombed us, but whatever.
My mom is behind me in white.
The other Tony was behind my mom.
Christina was behind Tony.
Amber was behind Christina.
And our guide was in the back. Yes, Tony is sticking his tongue out.
Tony makes it look easy, sticking his tongue out, while I get splashed in the face. (It was our first rapid - I promise I did a good job the rest of the day.)
The water was 63 degrees and felt fantastic
As the day went on, I was actually getting kind of bored. The rapids were fun, but a little too easy. There was a slow part where we could get out and swim. Yes, we got stuck on rocks here and there. Yes, the water was splashing like crazy. Yes, we were going down the rapids backwards or spinning, but I thought there would be MORE.
A while later, we stopped for lunch. I ate like crazy after such a physical day while the group of blond skinny ladies ate apples only for lunch. The guides were trying to tell them the rapids only get bigger and they need more food for energy, but whatever. I just will never be that lady who only eats an apple for lunch while I'm doing something so strenuous.
After lunch, we walked up the rocky "shore" to go down the previous rapid as swimmers, no boat. I didn't go far enough out before the current had me flying down river. Oops. I may have inhaled a bit of water and definitely looked like an absolute goober. But I had fun. And my mom did it too! It was too dangerous for Christina and Tony thought the water was too cold, but most everyone did it.
After a few more rapids, we approached a 17 foot....cliff, for lack of a better word, and the guide (who it turns out is absolutely insane and is an adrenaline junky) said we could jump off the cliff. Um..... Is he kidding or serious? Sure enough, we all pulled to shore and climbed up the rock. There was no path, mind you - we held sticker bushes back for each other while we climbed this steep hill, crossed rocks with a make shift piece of wood we'll call a bridge, to get to this rock. Wow, mom's with me - she's more adventurous than I thought! The blond skinny ladies were giggling, saying it looks too high, and psyching themselves out. I told them, the more you think about it, the more you'll chicken out. Then I stepped to the front, and jumped right off. I screamed the whole way down. And I didn't plug my nose, so the force of the 17 foot jump pushed way more water up my nose than I could prevent by just blowing out. Oops again. Mom jumped next and plugged her nose. Maybe I should have made her go first.... Again, Tony watched from the top of the rock because it was too cold for him and Christina stayed with the boat.
Well, that was super fun. We're making our own adventures! After lunch is turning out to be more fun than before lunch.
About 2 or 3 hours in, I was kind of getting tired and generally I was kind of done. But, it was pretty and I could ignore the pain in my bottom from the incredibly uncomfortable raft.
Then, it happened.
We all clustered together as we approached a class 4 rapid (not our first 4 of the day, mind you). The guide kept saying we have to hit this just right or it'll be over. But, I felt like he was saying this for every rapid, so I was cocky at this point. All of a sudden (I have no idea what happened), I was slamming down elbow, back, and bottom first onto a rock affectionately called "the cheese grater." Needless to say, my elbow was bleeding. I knew I'd probably be thrown from the boat at one point today, so I wasn't afraid. I kept thinking, "DID YOU SEE THAT?!?!?" Wow, okay, so someone pull me up now. Wait, this current is strong. Ouch!! OUCH, OUCH!!! Rocks keep hitting my bottom and back. The guides drilled it into our heads NOT to stand up in the water. People die "all the time" from getting their foot stuck in a rock and the current pulling them under water. "No one has ever died from getting their butt stuck in a rock." So, I kept my feet up as much as I could (it felt unnatural and hurt A LOT) and wondered why no one was pulling me up. I couldn't breathe! The current kept pulling me under, pulling me under, pulling me under. I'm choking, coughing, couldn't breathe. Every cough brought more water into my lungs. OUCH, OUCH!! More hard rocks. Finally, finally, I hit a boat and was full on vomiting up torrents of water. My nose, throat, and lungs hurt, but not nearly as much as my bottom, back, and elbow. It turns out another boat full of people pulled me up and I was trying to figure out where my boat was.
My boat was empty. Only Christina and the guide were in it.
Then I notice Christina is crying.
What is happening?
Then I hear, "SHE'S STUCK UNDER ANOTHER BOAT!" "SHE'S STUCK!!"
Who? Who is stuck?
Then I start screaming, "IT'S MY MOM! YOU HAVE TO HELP MY MOM!!! SHE'S MY MOM!!!!!!!!"
Both Tonys and Amber were thrown from the boat as well, but were brought into other boats before me. Meanwhile, my mom didn't get as many bumps and bruises, but she was completely submerged under a boat. Before she could catch her breath, she was stuck under another boat. Finally, they got to her, but it took a while.
She had no idea she might be thrown from the boat today. She really thought she was going to drown. She thought this was the day she was going to die. She prayed, "please God, HELP!" and stuck her arm up out of the water. She thought no one could see her. She really thought she was going to die. She didn't know everyone knew where she was. She didn't know Tony (who was just rescued) jumped back out of the boat to help the guides, she didn't know we could see her bright blue helmet just fine. All she knew was the current had her pinned up against a rock, pushing her down, down, down, as raft after raft kept blocking her in.
The guides screamed at Tony with very colorful language to get back in the boat because they just rescued him. They pulled my mom up, and she was okay.
She cried the rest of the trip down the river.
She cried the rest of the way home.
She cried the rest of the night.
She had incredible nightmares.
Tony said he would never white water raft again.
I was proud of my blood, even my bruised elbow that looked like I dipped it in purple paint - it was evidence of my adventure. I was sure my bottom was going to have a large bruise on it. I knew I'd be thrown from the boat, but didn't even think about how you're thrown when it's rocky, not when it's smooth. Duh!
The rest of the river ride down we went over and over what happened, but I didn't hear any of it, so I still don't know what happened. I just kept watching my mom cry.
We ended up being out there about 4 hours and did 6.5 or 7.5 miles.
Afterwards, we changed into dry clothes and shopped in the store. My mom and I bought matching shirts that said, "This isn't a souvenir, it's proof I survived the Youghiogheny River."
It was an adventure, and we were never so happy to get home and rest in the hot tub. Because, oh, my aching everything.
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He actually took Kara jet skiing. She said it was AWESOME!