Today a DJ saved my life. Not really, but Stacey did have to be yanked out of a rapid called 'Man-eater'. It apparently was the gender neutral version of 'man'. Fortunately, the guides were rather gifted at moving in and out of whirlpools, eddies, and other river nasties so they scrambled in to yank her back onto course. They really do mean it when they say 'stay in the middle of the river. Also, the body boards most important purpose was really to keep others from kicking you.
It started with a beautiful drive through a local canyon in a bus up to the drop zone which was also the site of an old gold mine. We got all of our gear on: flippers, wet suit, life jacket, etc. Next, we got some training. They were actually very thorough and actually made everyone practice the moves with the body board before diving into the river full of class III rapids. Basically, its a high volume flow so your body next comes into contact with rocks...well most of the time. And the rapids flush you out the other side...most of the time. Stacey got stuck on one of the rapids and had a little bit of a calf get sore but other than that was good. At the end there were some fun activities including getting pulled behind a jet ski at high speed, a rope swing, a slide, and a jump that some women at our hotel loosened her front teeth on a few days ago and discouraged. She recommended the river surf but recommended to NOT do the jumping. The slide and jet ski rocked and we had a great time in the river.
After that we were very sore but felt great. Took the bus back to town and took it easy in the evening. I'm plowing through Neal Stephenson's Quiksilver, which has had its ups and downs. I'll probably chat more about it later.
Tomorrow, we prepare for the Milford Trek.
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