So Saturday morning we pack a few soft coolers and buy a couple waterproof disposable cameras and head to the rental place in Wetumpka, Alabama. I was pretty nervous but I tried to act like I wasn’t because Jennifer was a lot more nervous than me and I didn’t want her to chicken out on us. Once we got out there it was great. The water was smooth and the weather was beautiful. Scott managed to drop his sunglasses in the water before we even got good and started. We were paddling along talking about how we should buy kayaks and travel around to different places. Through the first section of choppy water Scott and skimmed over the top of a rock. Jonathan and Jennifer were busy laughing at us when they skimmed and got stuck on a rock. But they scooted until they were off of it.
In the very first large rapids Scott and I flipped over. Scott says its all my fault because I got scared and started saying, “We’re going over! We’re going over!” So of course we did. It wasn’t so bad. I got drug over some rocks and sucked in some water. But overall, I was glad I had gotten it out of the way and wasn’t so scared of the water anymore. I did lose my sunglasses and Scott lost his hat though. We lost our camera too but Jonathan and Jennifer rescued it. But we got back in and were off again. The next rapids, we actually stayed afloat. We even cheered. But the cheering was short lived.
Through the next set of rapids we hit a rock and run aground. We had to get out to get off of the rock. As soon as we got back in, we hit another rock and flipped over again. All the while, Jonathan and Jennifer are just floating right through like its nothing. This time we lost our cooler and they managed to rescue it too!
The next set of rapids, you guessed it, we flipped again. I fell into a place where several currents converge into a swirl. I was hanging on to my paddle (because they cost you $35 if you lose it) and trying to swim out of it with water shoes on. I absolutely could not swim out of it. Jonathan and Jennifer were just at the top of the rapids paddling backwards to keep from running over me. I kept yelling, “I’m stuck” and “I don’t know what to do” and there mouths would move but I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the sound of rushing water. After what seemed like eternity, I banged the paddle on a rock that was under the water just a couple of feet away. I managed to get a grip on it with the very tips of my fingers and pull myself on it. I had to constantly hang on to stay on the rock but at least I was out of the way from oncoming kayaks and canoes.
So, once I climb up I see Scott probably 50 yards ahead and he is scrambling onto a larger rock island. And I see the kayak floating away from him. So here I am perched on a rock in the middle of the Coosa River, Scott is on a rock further ahead (just out of shouting range) and our kayak is floating off to who knows where? As I sit there, several other kayaks come by and I can see them looking at me holding a paddle and looking around seeing no boat. A man and his daughter come by on a tandem kayak and I see him pull up to the rock that Scott is on. The little girl climbs off on the rock with Scott and the guy begins to paddle upriver towards me. I see him signal “I’m coming to get you.” I am absolutely amazed at this man’s strength as he manages to paddle all the way up past me and then wedges his kayak against a rock close to mine. I hand him my paddle and he outs it in the kayak with his. Then, he stands up and reaches out to grab my hand and pull me to the rock he is on. I hear him say, “Oh no.” I look over and see both of our paddles floating away down the river. I frantically start waving at Scott and the little girl hoping maybe they can catch our paddles. No such luck. So I get in the kayak with the man, saying “My name is Amy by the way. And thank you for rescuing me.” As we start to float down the river, we are both doggie paddling out the side to try and maneuver the canoe to the rock that Scott and the man’s daughter were on. As we get close, Scott throws a paddle to us and the man manages to reach it. From the big rock, I can see Jonathan and Jennifer probably 50-100 yards further up the river. They have our kayak tied to theirs and they are paddling as hard as they can upstream.
Courtesy of Google maps, here is a diagram to show just how spread out we are:
Another man on a kayak comes up to us and offers to take Scott up to ours so that he can come back for me. As Scott climbs on, I notice he is missing one of his water shoes. Scott gets our kayak and gets to toward the bank where the water is not rushing as fast and finally makes it back to me. At this point, I am on the verge of tears. We were told that Moccasin Gap was the biggest rapids and I was terrified of what might happen if they got any bigger. We rest on the rock for a minute before getting back in, and yet another man comes by, searching for an expensive pair of sunglasses that the river claimed. I ask him how many more rapids there are and he says that we have just crossed the last one, and that Moccasin gap was actually the rapids where we flipped over twice. My reply, “Oh thank God!”
It is then that I learn that my Jennifer and Jonathan had seen a snake while trying to bring our kayak back to us. And Jonathan had pretty much worn himself out trying to paddle so far upriver and were just going to float the rest of the way. So Scott starts paddling us a l ittle faster to catch up with them. We passed several kayaks and kept thinking, “Is that them? Nope.” But when we finally reached them, we knew it was them because they were both slumped over not moving like they were dead. I think if they had not been with us, they would have had a wonderful time since they didn’t flip over once! They did manage to save our camera, our cooler (twice) and our kayak!
So, overall I have to say it was an exciting experience. I don’t know if I will ever go kayaking again or not. I would say in a lake or something, sure. But if there are rapids and rocks involved, I’m not so sure. But I can say that I tried it and survived, and we got some great stories out of it. I’m sure I left out a lot of the details, but so much happened and so fast that its hard to remember it all. But I want to say a big THANK YOU to David who rescued me from that rock, even though I doubt I would ever be able to find him and really thank him myself. I can’t imagine how we would have gotten out of there if it weren’t for the kindness of those complete strangers.
To our surprise, my parents were waiting at the rental place waiting to take our pictures when we returned. And I suspect to make sure that we actually did return. The following is a photo that Dad took. Notice Scott is holding his one remaining shoe. I’ll be sure to post some of the photos from the disposable cameras as soon as we get them developed.
Total rescues by Jennifer and Jonathan:
Our camera
Our cooler (twice)
Our kayak
Total goods claimed by the river (from just me and Scott):
His sunglasses
His hat
My sunglasses
One of his water shoes
1 comment:
You are a nut!
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