altercations with the river gods
2002-07-08 03:54:12+00 by
Dan Lyke
2 comments
I just got a call. She and the river gods had a little disagreement on a bit of water out in Idaho involving a swim and a strainer and a little time weathervaned by her ankle. The guy who kicked her free says she was under more than a minute. She needed to chat a bit, and while I haven't been exactly there I have gone drinking in the neighborhood. And sixty seconds can be a damned long time.
So every one out there take a deep breath, because you can, and because the alternative is far less appealing. And a little reminder that no matter how long you've been doing something, even after years as a professional, sometimes the world has other plans. Stay aware, kids.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment made: 2002-07-08 18:18:21+00 by:
TC
Yeah...hmmmm....wow. I think anyone that has had similar tangels with the gods (I've personally had my ass kicked to extreem exhaustion) put your mind in that point of danger and count one thousand one, one thousand two etc etc and realize that by 10 your in panic mode and after 30 there is no self rescue. I hope your friend had an excellent dram or five and notices the air is little bit sweeter today.
#Comment made: 2002-07-08 21:09:02+00 by:
Dan Lyke
Yeah, my old Dancer had folds near the cockpit where I went sideways through a gap that was a little too small and the boat stuck for a bit on Short Creek down on Sand Mountain in Alabama (starts with a 25 foot waterfall, and that's the easy bit). I've been body surfed hard in Double Suck. Gotten in over my head a few times, including the incident that turned me mellow, well, kinda mellow, I can think of at least one incident involving me and John Cornwell "teaching some rookies about surfing" in Grumpy's...
But that late afternoon in that canyon on the American came immediately to mind, 'cause although we weren't in immediate danger (well, I wasn't, you were getting hammered pretty hard), we were down to a couple of unpleasant alternatives. Which reminds me, I need to drink beer with strangers in campgrounds more often.