Whitewater rafting
David rowing out from Lava Falls, January 2003.
Rafting trip photos
My Sailing and Rafting Log
You May Be a River Runner If ...
You practically salivate at the sound of rainfall, snowfall, well it is almost as good as sex.
There's no room on your speed-dial for anything but gauge readings
and the numbers of people with nicknames like drifter, captain or hole puncher.
You paid more for a trailer for the boat than you spent for
anniversary presents.
You tie down the boat better than you seatbelt in the kids.
Your friends or relatives are shocked when you answer the phone at
home on a weekend.
You can't drive over a bridge without looking for water under it.
Your wife says you love your boat and your boat'n buddies more than
her, and she sounds just like your first wife...and your second.....and your third.
Your dream house is an RV with a toy garage and towing a small SUV with a roof rack, so you can drive around to rivers all year and get to the high clearance launch sites.
Driving 400 miles for a weekend on the river doesn't seem strange to you.
Your idea of a complete first aid kit is a roll of duct tape and superglue.
You choose a new car based on whether or not it can tow your trailer.
You call your buddies in order of shuttle ability
Your boat and trailer is worth more than your car
Even in the dead of winter, you never actually lose the PFD tan lines...
Your dog loves to roll in your pile of rafting clothes.
You measure major purchases relative to the cost of a new boat... ('Hmmm, that new computer will cost me about 1/2 raft unit')
You're the one with the Bright Sunny Smile on the Cold Rainy Day.
Every once in a while you go out and touch your oars, just to touch them......... Every once in a while you let go of your oars, just to eat something.
You know what PVC and hypalon are and you know without thinking which glue to use on which material for repairs.
You have a wetsuit that's wet from March to October.
Your Mom has stopped saying "be careful this weekend".
You have different PFD's for different conditions.
You don't feel quite whole with out your river knife.
You can ID make and model on a trailered raft at a quarter mile...
"Wet, sticky hole" and "blowing a ferry" in casual conversation don't
give you pause...
All career, personal and financial decisions are judged by the
criteria of "How will this increase my rowing time?"
You visit Lower Mesa Falls (Henry's Fork Snake River) and think "This may be runnable." While you are at it you just might try the Upper Mesa Falls too.
You build a 2 car garage addition and you still can't park your car inside.
You bug out on your wife and kids to go rowing for the weekend
because you are SURE your priorities are right.
You search the country for a place to live for it's proximity to year round whitewater.
If you live in a town with a river running through it, you give street directions with descriptions like "upstream of the ..." or "two
blocks down on river left ..."
You feel all mushy inside when your wife gives you a drytop for Christmas.
Requirments for a new girlfriend - she can help lift the boat on the trailer, she can swim, she can pee in public, she will sleep with you, and she can eat any kind of food without complaint.
Requirements for a new dog - see the above but omit the first one.
You can't look at water in a gutter without imagining tiny runs and miniature waves and holes.
After a car wreck, the first thing you check for is damage to your boat.
You reinforce the boat shed better than the house, because in case of an earth quake, your wife and kids can get out on their own power. Your boat(s) needs to be protected.
You started with a little fishing boat, but now you have the
18' gear hauler for big water,
the R-2 for you and your best boating buddy to run class V,
The 16' raft with a stern frame, for family trips,
the 14' oar rig for when you and the missus want to get away by yourselves,
the two duckies for the kids,
the 12 ft play cat for day trips with the buddies.
Then there's the boats you store at your divorced buddy's house so your wife won't know you bought them.
All images and content copyright ©2001-2012 David Herberg. All rights reserved.
This page last modified on 6-July-2013
