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1.888.RAFTWET 1.888.723.8938
Copyright 1995-2005
update: May 16, 2005
PO Box 160024
Sacramento, CA 95816
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email: <wet@raftwet.com>
"A bit of a loner, my fortunes can be like my emotions; up and down. I may be timid, but I love adventure! Outspoken, interesting & very brave, I am compatible with Ox, Snake & Dragon."
Year of the Rooster - 4703
"Celebrate the "Year of the Rooster" with a California rafting trip. The Rooster can be a hardline politician. Boastful and assured, the Rooster is obsessed with his looks! Roosters are always up and out doing things. Forthright and straightforward, the Rooster meets all challenges head-on! Perfect for the North Fork American river trip!
Hey Rooster people! Challenge yourself on an adventure. Brag to your friends and bring them with you! Find nirvana, go rafting!
W.E.T. River Trips Rafting Stories and Fictional Accounts
500 River Trips in One By AB Mbodez
A rafting story by a river guide caught in rafting hell!
The snow is melting. Cascading cool and clean from the highest peaks, collecting in pools and soaking the ground rich with wildflower seeds. I watch the rivers rise. There is no silence here. Rock and water make a sound like no other. A playful duet sounding much like a flute and drum. All around are the beginnings of a new river season. Long gone are the esoteric winter rafters, enjoying the solitude and magnificent challenge of rafting near hypothermia. The rivers rise and swell; churning faster and faster. The waves, like a large finger, beckon me....
OK, so it's time to go river rafting. It's early spring, the birds are chirping, poppies are in bloom and the crowds are still thin. What river am I on? What state? What year?
The drive was hellacious. Packed like sardines, ten of us sat in dumb silence as Sam's rickety van roared down the freeway. My head was heavy; my eyes, so tired. I laid down on a lifejacket that had a distinct odor much like a bathroom at a gas station in Tijuana. Dry bags propped the lifejackets up to a comfortable position while part of my body lay on one of four rolled rafts. All around me were the sounds of snoring, coughing, shuffling people. The din of the motor shut out any sounds from the front of the van. We had traveled for 300 miles heading towards a wild river that only spoke to us from armchair reading of whitewater books and other crazed rafters. Another challenge. Another notch for our paddle. We had not seen this river, first hand, but, between all of us, there was at least 300 years of river experience.
I opened my eyes. Darkness and the night brought a chill that covered my bare arms and legs with goosebumps. Hand me a beer someone said, and with that request, a cacophony of groans and moans awakened the driver. Suddenly, the van lurched and squealed to a stop. HAND ME MY BAG. I NEED TO GET WARM. More groans and the van became a tangle of arms and legs, each flailing independently towards the door. Getting to the driver's bag was a feat. Somehow 300 years of river experience still failed to show us that our personal dry bags should be packed last and on top of the gear. Warmth. And a clean shirt that still had the musty odor of my dry bag. We were almost there.
My car was racing to the cliffs end. Faster and faster until... sailing through the sky, my mouth agape with fright, a scream pierced the air and then plunging, plunging, plunging....................
GO TO NEXT PAGE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
This story was written by a retired guide. He combined several rafting trips in this one story. The rivers were the Tuolumne in Yosemite, the North Fork American near Sacramento, the Illinois River in Oregon, the Cal Salmon in Northern California, Colorado in the Grand Canyon and other Northern, Central California rivers.
Most of this story is an exaggerated, sarcastic scenario; but, there is definitely an element of truth when guides get together and raft on their own. Private boating is a different rafting trip entirely from the commercial side of river trips. On the commercial trips, safety becomes the highest priority for the rafting company. Otherwise, river rafting companies would not be in business!
For more information on Commercial Rafting Trips, please see our website at RAFTWET.com. There you will find information on how to reserve a rafting trip, how to plan for a river rafting trip and recommended river trips for you, your friends, family rafting and groups. Or just call us and talk toll free at 1.888.723.8938.
W.E.T. Rafting Consultants
W.E.T. River Trips
RAFTWET.com
Established in 1978. Running California white water rafting rivers throughout California. Permitted by United States Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service, California State Parks, El Dorado County & other governing agencies.
Nirvana is found on the river. Raft with us and see why W.E.T. is the premier California white water rafting company for California whitewater rafting.
1.888.RAFTWET
