|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| Yo! I'm back and on top. Wait. That's what she said.
So. I am trying to get back into keeping this damn thing up to date. "Nooot Liiikely"... Went rafting again this past Sunday, except this time through Ace. It was pretty exciting, and the guide for my raft was a total trip. Lots of raunchy jokes coming out of his mouth. I was a total pussy, though, definitely cringing in every picture while most the others are smiling their asses off. Totally not proud of myself. Oh well, after flipping on Hungry Mother, I began to strongly doubt my strength in the water. Perhaps I was just bogged down with all the water that pocketed itself in my splash top. Yep, we'll say that was it. And the fact that I was too nervous to let go of my paddle, because the other kid already lost one and we had no more extras. I still had a wicked awesome time! My biggest beef is just being cold. I don't enjoy being cold. And if the sun's not out, it's cold on that river (and the sun was not out). In fact, here I am, sitting at my computer desk with a nice fluffy fleece, a scarf and slippers, just to keep warm. Good times. I wish I still had my adult-sized footie pajamaaas!
I start Moe's tomorrow. Yay for a 16 hr day.
Movie time. Snuggles. Bowser. Sleep.
| | |
| Gauley-fest is a river festival held every year in Summersville, WV. It
features top-of-the-line whitewater vendors, great music, and tons of
people who share a common interest - a love for the river.
Aaron and I drove up for this event late Saturday afternoon. We were
going to be accompanied by his friend Lindsay, but she never got back to
us. During the drive, I sang my own lyrics over top of popular radio
hits about how I was never going to make it back. I probably took it a
bit too far, but I got a laugh out of it, and laughing always helps to
calm my nerves. Needless to say, I was pretty scared about whitewater
rafting...seeing as how I'd never been before.
We got up there and went to the festival grounds to check it out. We
inevitably ran into many of his long-time river buddies, and found a
decent spot to set up camp near them. "Festi-food" dinner, bloody marys,
good people, rafting videos on a giant screen, WV bluegrass music, and
the best flat-footin' and mullets that I've ever seen in my entire life.
The original plan was that Aaron and I would R2 the New River, but not
long after meeting up with friends, the plans changed. No longer were we
going to take a trip down the New. Aaron was going to guide a 16' raft
down the Upper Gauley. Granted, he's done this more times than he can
count.. I was terrified.
Got a bit of sleep, but I woke up at the crack of dawn and spent an hour
or so just staring at the roof of the tent in complete terror. All
morning I had a pained look on my face, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat,
couldn't talk much. I was working up a view of never-ending Niagara
Falls and a teeny little raft falling down the falls....I really freaked
myself out thinking about it too much.
We met everyone at Bob Evans for breakfast. I forced down a few bites.
There were 16 of us total, taking two rafts - a 12 footer, and a 16
footer. I was going to be on the 16' raft with 8 others, including Aaron
as the guide. We figured out car-pooling details and hit the road. This
is about the time the fear finally left me - now, I was ready for it!
At the put-in, we inflated the rafts, geared up, and hit the river!
Upper Gauley here I come!!
Did you know the Gauley is rated one of the Top Ten Whitewater Rivers in
the WORLD?! Oh yeah... Startin' big! Class V rapids, yo!
As the guide, Aaron was responsible for guiding the raft with his paddle
and directing everyone else in the raft when it comes to paddling.
Forward paddle, all back, left back, right back, all stop - we heard
these terms constantly being yelled out during our run. Aaron did a
tremendous job guiding us down the river. He pointed out the obvious
obstacles, told us a bit of history about the river, and he knows the
river so well that he could explain hidden dangers, including submerged
and undercut rocks, hydraulics, and sieves. He directed us to try and
surf Hungry Mother, we all touched our paddles to Pillow Rock, and
laughed at Bud's Boner. My favorite rapid was Iron Ring. The current is
swift and it felt like we gained quite a bit of speed on the way down.
Second runner-up was probably Suites Falls. I was terrified to hear
about the horror stories of Lost Paddle, but we got through it with
absolutely no trouble. We stopped above a few of the rapids to climb up
on rocks and scope out the river below. I saw many rafts flip, causing
people to swim through dangerous water. I watched kayakers conquer the
rapids with their crazy play-boating antics, and people jumping off
rocks into the rapids just for fun. We saw some truly scary situations
too.
As we were approaching one of the larger rapids, we noticed that there
were two women who'd fallen from their raft. They were both clinging
onto a kayak. The kayaker was paddling as hard as he could just to hold
his place in the current and prevent himself, and the swimmers, from
heading down into the heavy rapids. The rest of the swimmers' crew was
on shore, trying to toss a throw-rope out to them, with no luck. Aaron
made a super-quick and courageous decision, as is necessary when you're
running a river, and directed us to ferry across the river to the
kayaker and the swimmers. We got there in a matter of a few seconds. As
we paddled up to them, one swimmer finally managed to grab the
throw-rope, and was dragged to shore. The two guys in the front of our
boat plucked the remaining woman from the water and pulled her on board.
The rest of us kept paddling, as Aaron urged us to head for the opposite
shore. We made it to the shore with just enough time to chuck the woman
into the arms of her friend before we drifted downstream and into the
rapid.
Very quick thinking and lots of teamwork is involved in this extreme
sport. I can see why there is such a close bond between those on the
river. No one hesitates to help out another in need - comraderie is
everywhere you look! And when you get off the river, everyone can
high-five, crack open a beer and have a great conversation about the
dynamics of the run.
Mother Nature is so powerful! Most boaters have a great respect for the
the water's immense power. I can say that while I already had some type
of respect for the river, most of it was fear. Now I recognize the clear
difference between fear and respect. I can respect nature more because I
have a deeper understanding of it. It has the power to take lives. On
the river, when you're faced with a split-second decision, even the
slightest human error can be an irreversible failure. In the same
respect, though, the river can be very forgiving. Maybe this is the
beginning of finding spirituality for me. According to Muir, it just
might be.
I also feel very fortunate that I was able to see Aaron in action, doing
something that was such a significant part of his life for so long. I
have a lot of respect for him, and am grateful that he has shared with
me those things that make up such a huge part of who he is. He doesn't
take the responsibility of being a guide lightly, nor should he. He
shared some stories after the trip (thank God) about some serious
situations on the water that he's been involved in. Things can get ugly
pretty fast, but most of it can be prevented by using good judgment and
being knowledgeable in the field. Those are two traits he surely has.
I was able to overcome a huge chunk of my fear of moving water by taking
this trip. Sure, I was absolutely terrified, but I didn't back down! And
when I was repeatedly lectured about what to do WHEN I fall out of the
boat, I responded "I'm NOT going to fall out". And sure enough, I
didn't;) Seeing others survive a spill definitely helped. The water is
not the biggest danger... it's what lurks beneath (rocks), and how the
current is affected by that.
I was very nervous that I wouldn't do very well, because I don't have
nearly as much upper body strength as I do lower body, thanks to all the
hiking I do. However, it turns out that a lot more than just your arms
are involved in paddling... you don't pull with your arms, you pull by
pulling your entire torso back. Your lower body strength (ie: legs) is
used equally to keep your feet wedged in the boat and your points of
contact in place. It's my lower body strength, not upper, that kept me
in the boat. Thanks to this experience, I've added a little more
confidence in my body's abilities. It's things like this that help me to
see that I should be happier, not ashamed, of the body that God gave me.
That I'm not as "out of shape" as I might feel. But as with anything,
improvements can always be made! So, I'm going to go hiking this
weekend. Rafting again this weekend. And rafting again through VT in a
few weeks. And maybe I can convince Aaron to squeeze another trip in
there before the season ends. We'll see. | | |
| Yep. It happened. On Sunday. I need to explain...
| | |
| Got in way too many fights. Raging hormones have played a role, no doubt. Supposed to go rafting this weekend, probably fucked that up. I'm fighting that damn cold that's going around... it hasn't hit hard yet. Played darts with a friend from out of town. Blew off practice with Jessica. The tables have turned, huh? Found out that Aaron has a temper. Questioned my beliefs more than I am comfortable admitting. Turned down a free beer...twice. Biked the Huckleberry. Stood in the rain, peering into a vacant house... Dreamed of a home. Fell out of love. Fell into reality. Fell back in love. Questioned my friendships. Realized I can go an entire week on about $5.00, if I don't see my friends. Got a hand out. Filled up my gas tank. Made a 1,000,000 IOU Movie Ticket. Thought about sketching pencils. Signed for a package that enables me to finish Cody's gift. Picked up my guitar for the first time in weeks. Got upset at the wrong person for losing my inspiration. Felt extremely self-concious. Gave a complete stranger the bird because she called me out for not following the traffic laws while on a bicycle. I was dubbed a whore, cunt, little bitch, and multiple other "colorful" terms by the same woman. Enjoyed the hookah bar more than I fathomed possible. Discovered one of my friends might be pregnant. Vomited in my mouth a little by the thought of the potential father. Paid all my bills on time. Stressed over way too many things that I have no control over. Pondered about human nature. Pondered about my own nature. Inconvenienced myself for the sake of being inconvenienced. Realized I'm most compatible with people who have visions of grandeur. Seriously considered my children's future. Fell asleep reading Sirens of Titan... twice. Got pushed out of beds by both my drunken friend, and my dog, on different occasions. Wanted to interview specific people, just to see what they thought was most important to tell me if I gave them absolute freedom of choice. I don't even know what I would tell someone. Maybe "stuff's gettin' better every day". Maybe "don't be lazy". Yeah, that's a good one.
| | |
| Well, I never update this. Reading my last post was kinda sad, actually. Because here I am, still in Blacksburg. Doing that thing I do... I like to call it "watching my life slip away". Or maybe "failing at life", or "not accomplishing anything". Yeeeah. Lets not get into that, shall we?
So what's new?
I want to start blogging again on a regular basis.
I went yesterday to the Up on The Roof event for town council on top of Kent Square. Took no pictures, but got a few free beers and enjoyed the sunset from the top of the town. Lots of people! Missed out on the free food, but I wasn't hungry anyway.
Blacksburg life is just as it always has been - COMFORTABLE. It's kinda disturbing how comfortable I feel being in this town, working my dead-end job (although it has it's perks!), drinking too much, and sleeping too little. It always surprises me how much I don't accomplish being here. I've needed to do laundry all week...
Just got back from an amazing week with Cody, Robbie, and Travis. Very fun. Very excititng. Very... everything! But we didn't watch all our movies, unfortunately. I should go to the movie store. I need to take a nap. Do laundry because I'm going to Richmond tomorrow with Aaron. Figures his timing is off... What to do? Laundry, Nap, Laundry switch, Shower, CABO for DANCING! But if I nap, I won't want to go. And I won't want to dance. I can.... do something crazy! Like break into the old middle school and climb on the rooftop! Maybe someday...
For now, I gotta get going on all this shizzzzzz.
| | |
|
