Gauley River Trip 2006

This weekend I had the extreme pleasure of spending some time in West Virginia with some friends from camp. The six of us (Andy, Brittany, Chris, Phil, Rob and I) arrived in Bradley WV around 5:30pm (eastern time) at Appalachian Bible College. We got to our tents and unpacked and got some dinner. As Brittany and I got our beds set up we were both really thankful that we had each other. After dinner we got to hang out and had started a campfire when it began to rain again...we moved our devotions into the guys tent. Andy presented us with some good questions to think about while we were on this trip. He encouraged us to take time to reflect and spend time with God. And be re-energized and re-fueled.

Friday morning we were up early and had a great egg breakfast prepared by Andy on our cool outdoor stove. After breakfast we got ready to meet our river guide for the day, Gabe. We stopped by ABC's new high ropes course to check it out. Just walking up to the 2 level course was so cool. After that we got our gear for the trip. We got our life jacket, paddle, helmet and wetsuit. The trip to the river was about 40 minutes. We stopped to have lunch before getting into the water. As we walked our raft down to the drop in point on the Lower Gauley, we were all getting excited. Our 13 mile trip on the lower Gauley was pretty intense. A lot of level 3 to level 5 rapids. And this was to prepare us for our trip to the Upper Gauley the following day. At one point, I believe on the upper or lower staircase (the name of a rapid), our raft flipped. Now Gabe had explained what to do before each rapid if the raft flipped. As it flipped, I was caught underneath the raft. I had an air supply but I knew I needed to get out from underneath. After struggling for a what seemed like minutes, I swam out from under the raft. I looked to my left and saw my sandal floating away. I also saw Brittany nearby. The current and waves were too strong for me and I ended up getting carried away and I also started to panic. Something you just don't want to do in the rapids. After Gabe got the raft flipped upright, Andy threw me the rope bag and pulled me back in. As I laid over the side of the raft just trying to catch my breath I couldn't believe what I had just experienced. It's funny how in an instant situations change. One minute I was laughing and having fun and then the next I was gasping for air not able to swim up current and terrified that I would not be able to get back to the raft. Our trip on the Lower Gauley was hard but only a fraction of what we were to experience the next day.

After getting back to ABC and taking a very long and hot shower, we had an amazing steak dinner prepared by Andy. We went to Starbucks to visit Gabe and to just hang out. When we came back we had devotions again in the guy's tent because it was raining and we talked about our experiences that day. We talked about what we had learned and how it related to our life.

The next morning we were up before the sun was up and on our way to the Upper Gauley. This time we had 18 more rafters and a group of trainee guides with us. We had 5 rafts all together. This fact alone made me feel more comfortable. The drop in for the Upper Gauley was a lot different from the lower drop in point. Once you got into the raft you were on your way down the river. At the lower drop in, we had to paddle for a while to get to the rapids. On the upper there are six class 5 rapids. These are the most extreme and dangerous. And we conquered them all without falling out of the raft. Don't get me wrong, we did flip the raft again...but it was later on down the river. We also had time to jump in the river and swim and we even got a chance to jump off a rock cliff. The whole experience on Saturday was just amazing. The steam coming off the warm water, the changing colors of the trees, the sun making it's way through the clouds, all just really cool things to see and experience.

We got back to ABC and had some dinner and decided to pack up and leave that night. All of us decided that it would be easier to drive through the night and get home rather than staying another night in the cold and rain and leaving on Sunday morning. I got home around 5:15 this morning and was asleep by 5:32am. I slept until 10:45 and then got up and showered and got to relax. I even got to see my niece and hang out with her.

I am so thankful that I was able to take off of work and get out of my element for a few days. Being out in the open and in nature was good. Even though it was chilly and rainy for most of the weekend, it was still a great time. Just getting away and not having a computer or internet and turning off my phone for the weekend was good for me. I'm still learning things from the trip and I'm still re-living the rapids in my mind. I can't wait to go back and raft some more.