When It's Time To Eddy Out
My first experience with white water rafting was extreme. At the beginning of the trip, and after our first class-5 rapid, our guide used the word "disaster". My buddy, Dave, thought it was awesome, but our guide, Collin, said it was a disaster. Apparently you're not supposed to go down those things backwards. We survived it and nobody fell out of the raft… that time.
We had hit the first class-5 within 15 minutes of our trip. The morning was scenic. Fog was lifting off of the water and the mountain range was absolutely breathtaking with early fall changing the colors of the leaves. Although, fog isn't good when you're rafting and need to see what's ahead of you, so our second class-5 rapid was even less graceful than the first.
If you're not familiar with the term "class-5" then you are a lot like me. I'd never even heard that term until I was on the water. So, you don't really get the gist of it until you experience it. Class 5 signifies the level of danger in the swimability of a rapid. It has the most speed, rocks, and danger if you fall out of the raft. It's the most you go up to that's considered acceptable to raft. At least, this is my understanding.
So, the second class-5 rapid came less than 10 minutes from the first. We weren't any more prepared for it either. Our group of rafters couldn't get in sync with our paddling, so the guide was being quite firm with us.
We needed to get it together! But we didn't.
We positioned sideways in order to power surge out of the way of a big rock and ride through the surging water. Since we were out of whack with paddling, we ended up perfectly positioned to go directly at the rock sideways. So, heading into it our guide yelled out "LEAN LEFT". Everyone did as commanded. And as this trick was implemented to help shift or bounce us back into the current, it actually helped propel us over the rock, and most of us into the water.
Photo by New River and Gauley Photography
I was one of 3 who didn't get tossed out. There were a total of 8 of us all together. So, immediately you're told to get the swimmers in. Luckily, we got everyone back onto the raft and safely back down the stream. But there were 3 more class-5 rapids for the day, and we'd only started about 30 minutes of a 4-hour journey. For the next few moments there was a lot of tense silence. This was a lot harder than I was thinking it would be.
Our guide then instructed us to "eddy out". This is a term that indicates rafting to a calm whirlpool in the water that gets away from the main rush and allows everyone to take a break and recollect. As our group sat there we talked out everything that had happened. We realized that while both sides were paddling individually in harmony, we were not in sync as a whole unit. With this realization we were able to peel out and get back into the mainstream. We did some practice strokes and it was a lot more promising than how we had begun.
This "eddy out" was exactly what we had needed.
We hit our next three class-5 rapids with perfect unison. We were focused and totally in our element getting through them. The rush was exhilarating and unmatchable, and every time we got through one we celebrated with both joy and relief. We were all alive and having fun!
Photo by New River and Gauley Photography
As we got further downstream the river calmed down quite a bit. We were able to jump out of our raft and float down in our life jackets for a portion. At another point we banked to the side and hopped out of the raft, climbed up about 15 feet, and jumped off a short cliff into the water, and then swam back into the raft.
What ended up being a rough start led to a great ending. By the finish, all of our guys were jubilantly ready to be done, and partially willing to do it again. But that was for another day. We went back to our camp where we were able to have beers together and talk it all through. Our guide joined us and gave us even more detail on what happened. Who did what right and/or wrong. But it wasn't a bad thing. It made for a greater time and we came out of it with an awesome experience and bond.
I can't help but to relate this to our life experience.
It seems like we get tossed into these rapids way before we're ready. They can be scary for sure. And we may not always handle our bumpy times with grace. But I give a lot of credit to the "eddy out". This was a chance to just step aside, clear our mind, and keep going. That was important. We didn't quit. The only way to the end was down that river.
I think we have to give that to ourselves from time to time. Instead of just crashing into the rocks (or over them), we need to go off to the side and get out of the current for a while. It doesn't mean we are giving up entirely, or that we have shown weakness of any sort. This is just a chance to breathe and go deeper into what we think we're capable of.
And guess what? Even if your guide says it's a disaster, the ride gets easier and more fun as we go along.
Photo by New River and Gauley Photography
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(She/Her)
The gal behind Held In The Heart. The Community Journal is a space for those who feel deeply to express freely. We explore all sorts of things here, from the real & raw healing stories & creative writing, to the funny & fleeting moments of everyday human life. I warmly welcome you and invite you to explore with us!