This is the Hiwassee River. Or as I like to call it the Hiwussy. Because in all honesty, the river is pretty tame. There are some rapids on it, mainly class I and II rapids, so yes pretty tame. BUT, the real obstacles are the rocks. The river normally is low, so rafts get stuck on the rapids constantly. Today though it wasn’t too bad. I went with all of the 6th graders at camp, staff, and the infamous Emily Shuler. Three of us get to be kayakers and everyone else is on rafts. So the three kayakers were Caroline, Bethea, and I. Kayaking on the Hiwassee = pulling the stuck rafts off of the rocks in the middle of rapids. That’s where my story unfolds today.
The Stairs is a rapid that is extremely shallow and is probably about 10-15 yards long. Pulling up the rear, I see that Bethea is already helping one raft become unstuck and that three others were lodged on rocks. I spot Grace Hooper’s raft and start making my way there. Well, I hit a rock, the kayak flips, my feet get lodged under a rock, my knees go forward and bang into the rock, and I am stuck on the rapid somehow still clinging to my kayak but not my paddle. My paddle is lazily floating down the rapid like a champ, more graceful than any of the rafts today. Now trying to flip my kayak around was tricky because the water was flowing pretty rapidly, and I didn’t want to float down the rest because I knew there were rocks looming to bruise me, so I decided to leap onto my kayak headfirst down the rest of the rapid. Sorry Grace, for the unhelpful help.
Nature got me again. I’m still not sure who is winning. I think Nature might be (I have decided to personify it because I feel like it needs some respect).
Well, tomorrow I’m venturing out again. It is the 2nd attempt at a backpacking trip. There is a 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon (the first attempt had a 30% chance and it stormed all day, so it was cancelled). Bring it on Nature. Give me your best shot.
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