Today our guide class ran the III-IV class Narrows section of the Arkansas River. It's pretty much continuous heavy water - not pool/drop stuff like Brown's Canyon where most of our commercial trips go. We hit the river around 8:30 am and got off at 5:20 pm or so. We ran that section 3 times, and another section, for a total of 37 miles. It was cloudy, air temperature in the upper 30's or low 40's, and snowing. Most people don't raft when it snows. Just in case you were wondering. But we all made it, without any swimmers, wrapped boats, or other carnage. Thank you Lord.
22 May 2007
20 May 2007
Night Driving, Golf, and Class IV Rapids
Every summer I tell myself that I will do a better job of keeping track of what I've done by writing it down. Usually, that never pans out. This is an attempt at starting.
Thursday night we pulled into DIA. My dad picked us up, but we took 2 cars back since he picked up a Young Life vehicle that someone else had left. We stopped at T-Bell somewhere in Denver, then headed west and home. At some little town in the foothills, we stopped for coffee since we were all tired. I drove by myself the rest of the way home. The night sky was incredible! I'd forgotten about all the stars you can see when you get away from the city lights. I went to bed and slept until 10 or so. Anyhow, the next day, Matt and I played a round of golf. I got like 8 over par on the 2nd hole, but didn't end up too bad overall. I think I shot a 65.
Yesterday, Matt and I went to Noah's and worked on random stuff all day. It was good to do something other than study, even if we weren't on the river. The rest of our guide class was coming back from mountaineering training, so nobody was really around. They got back around 5 or so. It was so good to see all my friends again! It was as if nothing had changed, or that we had all been holed up for 9 months just waiting to see each other again. I met some of the new guides and caught up with a few of my friends. It was great just to listen to what they'd been up to.
Today a couple of us went on a training trip in the Royal Gorge. Our group was 1 commercial boat and 2 training boats. There were some older 4+ year guides that were training, we were pretty much just paddling and didn't get to guide. Which was fine, since the water is REALLY high right now with rain and snowmelt. In the Gorge, the water was moving at about 2400 cfs. Basically, there are 2400 cubic feet of water passing one point in the river in one second. On the Arkansas River, that's pretty quick. Anyhow, the Gorge is closed to commercial rafting at 3200 cfs, because it's too dangerous. Try Googling "Royal Gorge" and see if you can find some pictures of the Gorge. It is beautiful this time of year, especially since it is so green.
Well, Matt and I sat in the front and got pounded by waves all day. We hit some sick rapids like Sunshine Falls, Linebacker, and the Narrows. We went under the huge bridge and saw some people high above us. The scary part was that we hit a massive hole, where the water goes into a slide over a rock or something below, then makes a wave. This wave was so big, that it completely flooded our self-bailing raft, and knocked us either into the bottom of the boat or out. 2 more experienced guides fell out, which wasn't good, since we were in a canyon, and there is no way to crawl on to shore. We were in class IV rapids, which means big waves and high risks. Matt pulled in one guy, but the other was drifting away from the boat towards a canyon wall. I yelled and pointed towards him to tell the others, and then he disappeared under the water! For a few seconds, I couldn't see him. We backpaddled so that he could catch up to us, and I still couldn't see him. Some seconds later, he popped up on the other side of the boat! We hauled him in and tried to get ready for the upcoming rapids.
The river becomes very narrow, and really deep at 2400 cfs, especially. He was pushed against the wall, and found that he was partly under it! That's terrifying, because as a guide he knows that undercut rocks mean that currents can hold a swimmer underneath until they drown. It's happened before. At one point, he held his paddle above his head, and we could only see part of the top. It was pretty intense. Things like that make you have a healthy fear of the river. Later I found out that the day before, a guide of 20 years from another company had flipped in the Gorge, and one of his passengers died, either from a heart attack or drowning. I thanked God for his protection, but knew that it could have just as easily been the guide in my boat. The river is dangerous. Adventure is dangerous. But you know, as peaceful as that canyon was - the fresh spring growth, flowers, towering cliffs and jagged rocks and sunshine - I think that there are worse ways to go. Despite everything that happened, I think I'd like to go back. Maybe next time, though, I'd hike the canyons and take a break from the river.
Thursday night we pulled into DIA. My dad picked us up, but we took 2 cars back since he picked up a Young Life vehicle that someone else had left. We stopped at T-Bell somewhere in Denver, then headed west and home. At some little town in the foothills, we stopped for coffee since we were all tired. I drove by myself the rest of the way home. The night sky was incredible! I'd forgotten about all the stars you can see when you get away from the city lights. I went to bed and slept until 10 or so. Anyhow, the next day, Matt and I played a round of golf. I got like 8 over par on the 2nd hole, but didn't end up too bad overall. I think I shot a 65.
Yesterday, Matt and I went to Noah's and worked on random stuff all day. It was good to do something other than study, even if we weren't on the river. The rest of our guide class was coming back from mountaineering training, so nobody was really around. They got back around 5 or so. It was so good to see all my friends again! It was as if nothing had changed, or that we had all been holed up for 9 months just waiting to see each other again. I met some of the new guides and caught up with a few of my friends. It was great just to listen to what they'd been up to.
Today a couple of us went on a training trip in the Royal Gorge. Our group was 1 commercial boat and 2 training boats. There were some older 4+ year guides that were training, we were pretty much just paddling and didn't get to guide. Which was fine, since the water is REALLY high right now with rain and snowmelt. In the Gorge, the water was moving at about 2400 cfs. Basically, there are 2400 cubic feet of water passing one point in the river in one second. On the Arkansas River, that's pretty quick. Anyhow, the Gorge is closed to commercial rafting at 3200 cfs, because it's too dangerous. Try Googling "Royal Gorge" and see if you can find some pictures of the Gorge. It is beautiful this time of year, especially since it is so green.
Well, Matt and I sat in the front and got pounded by waves all day. We hit some sick rapids like Sunshine Falls, Linebacker, and the Narrows. We went under the huge bridge and saw some people high above us. The scary part was that we hit a massive hole, where the water goes into a slide over a rock or something below, then makes a wave. This wave was so big, that it completely flooded our self-bailing raft, and knocked us either into the bottom of the boat or out. 2 more experienced guides fell out, which wasn't good, since we were in a canyon, and there is no way to crawl on to shore. We were in class IV rapids, which means big waves and high risks. Matt pulled in one guy, but the other was drifting away from the boat towards a canyon wall. I yelled and pointed towards him to tell the others, and then he disappeared under the water! For a few seconds, I couldn't see him. We backpaddled so that he could catch up to us, and I still couldn't see him. Some seconds later, he popped up on the other side of the boat! We hauled him in and tried to get ready for the upcoming rapids.
The river becomes very narrow, and really deep at 2400 cfs, especially. He was pushed against the wall, and found that he was partly under it! That's terrifying, because as a guide he knows that undercut rocks mean that currents can hold a swimmer underneath until they drown. It's happened before. At one point, he held his paddle above his head, and we could only see part of the top. It was pretty intense. Things like that make you have a healthy fear of the river. Later I found out that the day before, a guide of 20 years from another company had flipped in the Gorge, and one of his passengers died, either from a heart attack or drowning. I thanked God for his protection, but knew that it could have just as easily been the guide in my boat. The river is dangerous. Adventure is dangerous. But you know, as peaceful as that canyon was - the fresh spring growth, flowers, towering cliffs and jagged rocks and sunshine - I think that there are worse ways to go. Despite everything that happened, I think I'd like to go back. Maybe next time, though, I'd hike the canyons and take a break from the river.
12 May 2007
Finals Week, Frisbee Golf, and Facing Reality
Well, it's finally finals week. It has been a long year. But that's a post for later.
I only have 2 finals, since I turned in a hefty philosophy term paper for another class. I've started studying by playing 3 rounds of Frisbee golf. I also picked up a book at the library that had just been returned. I started to read, got hooked, and just finished.
The book is called "No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine". Excellent book. Well-written, by a former friend of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris - a friend that had no idea about the hateful act of violence within the minds of the shooters. In his book, he addresses everything from the history of his friendship with Dylan to incompetence and injustice displayed by the Jefferson County Sheriffs' Department. I have a ton of quotes that I pulled out, but here are some of the best. By the way, the author is Columbine grad ('99) Brooks Brown.
I only have 2 finals, since I turned in a hefty philosophy term paper for another class. I've started studying by playing 3 rounds of Frisbee golf. I also picked up a book at the library that had just been returned. I started to read, got hooked, and just finished.
The book is called "No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine". Excellent book. Well-written, by a former friend of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris - a friend that had no idea about the hateful act of violence within the minds of the shooters. In his book, he addresses everything from the history of his friendship with Dylan to incompetence and injustice displayed by the Jefferson County Sheriffs' Department. I have a ton of quotes that I pulled out, but here are some of the best. By the way, the author is Columbine grad ('99) Brooks Brown.
“The next Dylan could be your son. Your neighbor. Your best friend. Not some faceless, anonymous killer who comes out of the dark and snatches your loved ones. A regular person who faces the cruelty of the real world just like the rest of us – and in whom something erodes over time.”
- Brooks Brown, "No Easy Answers"
I felt that this statement was right on. After Columbine, people rallied for stricter gun control, and against the violence of movies, music, and video games. But Brooks points out that the entertainment industry only makes what people want; they are driven by profit. As soon as people stop watching violent movies or playing violent games, production of those things will stop.
The bullying, insults, assaults, and injustice that kids in the public school system is incredible. Brooks recounts the "We Are Columbine" speeches after the tragedy, and how they simply ignored the fact that conditions before and after were horrible, and full of oppression and injustice. What Brooks wanted was answers. Answers for why his friends betrayed him and killed over a dozen people, for why bullying was so bad, and why teachers turned a blind eye when jocks threw unpopular kids into lockers, threw glass bottles at them, or called them "faggots".
I was horrified and saddened by Brook's accounts. But they made me realize the importance of several things. One is reaching out to the marginalized. The outcasts. Those ruled out or excluded by mainstream society because they are different.
Another observation is directed to those who claim to be Christians - Jesus went to the outcasts. The woman at the well. The blind. The sick. The demon-possessed. Taxpayers and prostitutes. Jesus never mocked, oppressed, insulted, beat-up, or otherwise demeaned any of these. He confronted those who were unjust. We must do the same, or question whether faith in Christ means anything to us at all.
A third observation, and then I have to pack for the flight home. Brooks remembers having a conversation about faith with Rachel Scott, one of the girls killed on April 20, 1999. Brooks said that she was different from the other Christians he knew. She didn't tell him he was going to hell, or insult him, or discount his beliefs and doubts. She just listened. So many kids are just waiting for someone to listen to what they have to say, to show them that they are important. Just listen.
One final quote?
“The fact of the matter is that school shootings are continuing to happen. We can just sit back and call the shooters “sick monsters, completely different from us,” and decide that the problem will be solved by censoring music and violence in movies. Or we can accept that there are more Erics and Dylans out there, who are slowly being driven by society down the same path – and that if we act now, we can still reach them before it’s too late.”
The bullying, insults, assaults, and injustice that kids in the public school system is incredible. Brooks recounts the "We Are Columbine" speeches after the tragedy, and how they simply ignored the fact that conditions before and after were horrible, and full of oppression and injustice. What Brooks wanted was answers. Answers for why his friends betrayed him and killed over a dozen people, for why bullying was so bad, and why teachers turned a blind eye when jocks threw unpopular kids into lockers, threw glass bottles at them, or called them "faggots".
I was horrified and saddened by Brook's accounts. But they made me realize the importance of several things. One is reaching out to the marginalized. The outcasts. Those ruled out or excluded by mainstream society because they are different.
Another observation is directed to those who claim to be Christians - Jesus went to the outcasts. The woman at the well. The blind. The sick. The demon-possessed. Taxpayers and prostitutes. Jesus never mocked, oppressed, insulted, beat-up, or otherwise demeaned any of these. He confronted those who were unjust. We must do the same, or question whether faith in Christ means anything to us at all.
A third observation, and then I have to pack for the flight home. Brooks remembers having a conversation about faith with Rachel Scott, one of the girls killed on April 20, 1999. Brooks said that she was different from the other Christians he knew. She didn't tell him he was going to hell, or insult him, or discount his beliefs and doubts. She just listened. So many kids are just waiting for someone to listen to what they have to say, to show them that they are important. Just listen.
One final quote?
“The fact of the matter is that school shootings are continuing to happen. We can just sit back and call the shooters “sick monsters, completely different from us,” and decide that the problem will be solved by censoring music and violence in movies. Or we can accept that there are more Erics and Dylans out there, who are slowly being driven by society down the same path – and that if we act now, we can still reach them before it’s too late.”
- Brooks Brown, "No Easy Answers"
10 May 2007
Well Begun is Half Done
First, my apologies for anyone expecting this post to have substance to it. If anything, it's a heads-up on what to expect - thoughts on life, adventure, people, culture, science, occupation, and the one that holds everything together, Jesus Christ. More to come later. Peace.
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