danger and white water on the Chama
and more from July 2017
it seemed like a great idea at the time -
take a professional raft trip on the Chama
(our local river)
just to see what the river was like
and then we could bring our kayaks when we wanted
and go down ourselves
we met at Bode's store in Abiquiu at 9 am
we all got in the bus and headed north
above the damn to the wild and scenic designated
part of the river
the road coming in was one lane, cliff hanging
dirt, serpentine curves that crept along the Chama canyon
- we made it to the put in
Saba (whom I have known since she was a kid)
and the girls were visiting and totally up for it
it didn't look too bad
everyone in the raft
the scenery was so strikingly beautiful
my camera does not do it justice
my photo....
this is a photo from the internet....
we stop for lunch
notice the dark clouds
well it rains for about 20 minutes
and we just have to stand there getting soaked
we did get lunch and dried out a bit
after lunch it rained on us in the rafts
for about an hour
oh yeah we were wet and cold by then
then this happened
I fell out in a big rapid that looked like this....
(except it was overcast and dark)
first the water is really cold
and muddy - you can't see the rocks
I was about to freak out when Saba handed me the handle
end of a paddle
which I grabbed on the second try
good thing as the river was taking me away from the boat fast
I didn't say help - I said hurry
and they did, she and Willi dragged me back in
THANK-YOU
it seems too small a word
for saving my life!!
of course we still had a ways to go to the put-out
it had rained so much the day before and that day
that a flash flood and huge storm was following us
and the clay washing off the mountains
gave the river that color, not normally like that
this is Wendy the best guide ever
she was so capable we weren't worried - much
moral of the story -
I am never, ever going on that river without a guide
and Saba.....
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things from July
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