"Adventures" on the River

July 30 2009

Adventures are supposed to be fun, right? We certainly had an adventure a few days ago, and given the fact that my bruises haven't yet healed, I'm not sure I would consider it as having been fun. First of all, it's been record hot here. It's been 34C all week long (around 94F) and really really humid. Tuesday after work, we decided to go up the Puntledge River to Stottom Falls and then tube down to the condo. We had never been to the falls before, but it had been recommended to us, so off we went.
The Falls were super neat. We'll take some pictures next time. The water washes over slate rock and causes little pools of erosion all over the place, so you end up with big pot holes to swim in all over. We made our way past the falls to waist deep water and hopped on our tubes, but the blissful floating didn't last long at all. The water became shallow and we found ourselves getting stuck, being pushed along by the force of the river, being bumped and bruised by rock after rock. We had to get out every 5 minutes or so to walk in the really shallow parts, and the river rocks were either too slippery, too sharp, or too round to walk on comfortably. That went on for long enough. Meanwhile, we weren't even sure we were going the right way. Finally, we reached the Fish Hatchery, and saw water pumped in and out of an abandon concrete building. The currents swelled around us. We got out and hiked through the forest in bare feet, soaking wet, with tubes bouncing along beside us.
Having surpassed that, we thought we were good to go, but then we saw the DANGER signs... Apparently there was an underwater barrier just ahead of us, which we were so boldly cautioned to avoid. There were cliffs on both sides of us, and fast moving water pushing us towards a seemingly invisible obstacle. My feet hurt so badly by this point. It was tough to see a way around this one. And if we couldn't circumnagivate the barrier, what would we do? We were alone, in the middle of the forest, without phones, cars, or even shoes! Zach waded up ahead of me to see better our options. There was a way a bit ahead where we could pull ourselves out of the river, so we headed to it.
Through prickles, we found an old path that led back to the water's edge. Looking back, it was clear that the "underwater barrier" was actually a small dam. We were grateful to have heeded the signs and avoided the danger that we couldn't see. Again floating towards home, we endured ragging waters having their way with us. On a low tree branch, two vultures eyed us as we passed. But, we did pass.
Nearly four hours after we began, cold, sore, and raw, we stepped dripping into the condo. We ate steak and went to bed. My dear husband and I reflected on our "adventure" and he said that he had been scared out on the river when it didn't look like we'd make it around those things that hindered our path. I knew that we'd be okay, and he did too... but he was such a wonderful strength to me as we stuggled along the riverbed.