Mary C.
Yelp
What a great time we had! That's the short version. Details below.
The river guides were a well-organized team from start to finish. Multiple groups were checked in and outfitted with wetsuit rentals in a timely manner. A thorough trip briefing included paddling, safety, and what-if instruction.
The river was at peak flow and looking impressive on the ride up. Getting on it seemed like a terrible idea. Our guide, Jonathan W., was calm and reassuring as we practiced the skills that had been demonstrated during the briefing. We practiced some more on a calm section of river before we hit the white water.
There were multiple safety procedures in place beyond the multiple pieces of expected safely equipment, which were themselves in very good repair. There were five rafts on the trip and the guides kept an eye on each others' rafts throughout the trip. Our raft had the first-aid and emergency kit and always went last. A second guide, Adam, was also on our raft. He did not paddle, but kept eyes on all of the other groups ahead. All of the rafts congregated after the most exciting sections to rest and check in. We happened to run into a ranger at the Mish and the guides updated him on river conditions.
Jonathan W. was impressively skilled at guiding our raft through the intense river, giving very quick and clear commands as he steered. After the first section of rapids, the "this is a terrible idea" feeling took a backseat to an overwhelming feeling of exhilarating glee. During the few calm stretches Jonathan explained how he was using the river and its features to our advantage and how our paddling affected the movement of the raft in relation to what the river was doing. He somehow managed to work in pleasant small talk, too.
We finished the route alive and very happy, with everyone we started (a few having been fished out of the river by their raft mates). We did not stay to see the photos taken by the photographer who often appeared on the banks and bridges.
The only disappointing part was the discontinuation of the Pigeon Express. In the age of digital photography, the services of the pigeons are no longer necessary. We did visit their spacious coop, where they seemed comfortable. A shop employee told me that they are released twice a day to fly for several hours before retuning. She even went to get some postcards from the pigeon era to alleviate my disappointment. I put it on the fridge, a reminder of the carrier pigeons and the great day we had on the river.
A shout-out also to Benson, our salty bus driver. Among other antics, he performed a perfect black-capped chickadee call on command.
