the fire, enthralled by the danc - ing flames and the sounds of the crackling fire and surging river. The following morning we woke just before sunrise and packed up camp. We had 20 miles of rowing ahead of us with well over half of it being in unfamiliar waters. As we drifted and rowed onward, we worried out loud between boats about the distance we had to row that day. The time it would take to row that distance was at the forefront of our minds right alongside a persistent and ev- er-increasing headwind blowing right into our faces. Our initial estimates indicated that it could take upward of 8-10 hours, this wind had the ability to stop the rafts entirely if we stopped row- ing. We were also concerned with the weather that was build- ing all around us. Our unseason- ably sunny skies were quickly changing to dark and ominous. We exited our final canyon and watched as the towering cliffs and ponderosa pines tran- sitioned to cottonwoods and vi- brant meadows filled with new growth. At this point we had two simultaneous new challenges to contend with; avoid rowing down the wrong channel in this mead- owy, 10-mile-long braided section of river, and avoid getting struck by lightning by one of the sever- al large, black thunderstorms that were barrelling down on us. It is an odd feeling staring down a thun- derstorm knowing you are the tall- est object in the vicinity and there is nowhere to hide. Despite the ever-increasing wind, dropping temperatures and worry over being electrocuted, we rowed on as a group. Finally, we rounded a corner and came into view of civ- ilization. We could relax a little as
One of the tents set up along the river. The setting was idyllic.
we knew there were only two more miles of river in front of us to the boat launch. It wasn’t until we slid the boats up onto the boat ramp, just as the rain started coming down, that we realized we had just blown our worries entirely out of the water; we had just rowed 19.8 miles in 5.5 hours. We all laughed at how the events of the day had unfolded while we unpacked the boats and prepared to run a shuttle to retrieve the trucks and trailers up at the place we started the jour-
ney some 30 miles and nearly 48 hours prior. In the end, I think we made the right decision spending the weekend on the water instead of in the mountains. Ultimately though, the location matters not, we will strengthen friendships and make incredible memories no mat- ter where our adventures take us. N
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