stumbling… into the Genesee River…

Today’s blogging prompt is to talk about some way in which I stumbled. Today, I’m going toshare the story about how I managed to stumble dramatically out of a raft during a whitewater rafting trip in Letchworth State Park and, then, to bizarrely think that I had died and was on my way across the River Styx to the Underworld. As a note, these photos are not of the Genesee River because, no, I didn’t have a camera during this experience.

I had gone whitewater rafting with a group of friends in the past, and I was looking forward to another trip. This time, however, with trepidation. Although the rafting trip was planned for early July, which should have been considered an ideal rafting time, it had been raining all week. Just that fact alone made me feel a tinge of terror. Would the water be faster than ever? Would we… gasp!… capsize?? Was I doomed? Wouldn’t my parents be annoyed if… oh never mind.

When we arrived at the spot at Letchworth State Park where we were to be trained on safe rafting, I could feel my heart racing. Oh, well, maybe, the whole thing would be called off.

But no. We were told, “No matter what happens, do not lose your paddle.”

That wasn’t exactly reassuring. Nevertheless, I got into the raft with my three companions and we began paddling.

This can’t be so bad… oops… I’m sitting on the thing that I was told not to sit on… I’d better move….

NOW….

I never saw the high wavesthat we accidentally struck head on. I felt myself leaving the raft and flying up. As I flew down in slow motion, I thought, “Oh, I will land in my seat.”

My seat was very, very wet. When I came up to the surface, I reallized that I had been thrown clear of the rapids and was in very calm water.

I had a tight grip on my paddle. It was not going anywhere without me. My mind, however, was wandering.

What was I most afraid of? I was afraid that I was going to dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Well, I’ve done that already, and there’s nothing to be afraid of now!

Where am I?

I am in the River Styx. Where is Charon? Isn’t he supposed to row me to the other sice? Oh, wait. I don’t have any coins to pay him. Hmm, that could be a problem.

I saw a man floating past me. He then walked on the shore.

How will Charon take him to the Other Side if he’s on dry land?

I began to swim. The water was very very very calm.

Oooh, there’s a raft and there are four Greek Gods on it. I’m swimming to that raft.

The Greek Gods took my paddle. They lifted me up by the back of my life vest and set me in the raft.

“Paddle,” one of the Greek Gods commanded, and he handed me my paddle.

I began paddling with gusto. After all, who am I to disobey the commands of a Greek God?

Then I saw my friend Carol in another raft. The events of the capsizing were still fresh in my head. I thought that, if we were alive, Carol would be angry at me for causing the raft to sink. If we were actually in the River Styx, Carol might be jealous because my Greek Gods were better looking than her Greek Gods. Instead, she smiled and waved, and I did the same.

We kept traveling in the raft and, all of a sudden, we couldn’t move!

We were stuck on a rock. We pushed off the rock and kept moving down the river.

Wait a second.

There are no rocks in heaven.

I am still alive. I’m in a raft on the Genesee River. Charon is not coming to ferry me across to the Underworld. Hades and Pesephone aren’t going to greet me to my new realm. My companions were handsome young men, but they weren’t actually Greek Gods.

I am wet from head to toe.

I felt the water. The air temperature and the water temperature were the same.

Before long, all of the rafts gathered. My original raft had been brought back to us. It was explained that the raft did not capside. It flipped when it hit the big wave, which caused all of us to be thrown out. Carol and I were thrown in calm waters, but Peter and the other gentleman fell into the rapids. Poor Peter panicked and he clung onto the other gentleman, nearly causing both of them to drown. Fortunately, their life jackets prevented that from happening. I can’t say enough about the value of life jackets in unforseen circumstances in the water. Always wear one if you’re going to get into a raft, a kayak, a canoe, or a rowboat. Capsizing is a real possibility when you’re in a small, human powered vessel.

So, the raft, after it threw out all of the numans, actually righted itself and it floated away. And, yes, normally, rafts are stable boats. But they aren’t when they hit enormous waves.

Then a fifth person got on our raft. It was the gentleman who floated past me and had walked on shore. He was a first-time guide. His raft had hit the wave sideways. The raft didn’t capsize, but he fell out. He lost money and a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

We continued on our journey and finally reached the end.

“Thank you for rafting with us,” said the head guide. “Or, in some cases, for swimming with us. This trip took half the time that it normally takes. If you want to go again, you can go for half price.”

“Let’s go again,” Carol said gleefully.

“Let’s not and say we did!” I said, equally gleefully.

We changed out of our wet clothes and then went berry picking.

A few months later, Carol went white water rafting again at the same location. She reported that the guides were still watching the video from that July trip and were still talking about our spectacular capsizing.

It was definitely an experience worthy of storytelling for years to come.