Fastest Raft on the River
Trip Start
Jul 02, 2006
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Trip End
Aug 06, 2006
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Saturday, August 5, 2006
We were then bused the the northen end of the Lehigh Gorge where the white water trips normally go. As we were driving you could see all the way down the side of the gorge and it was freaky. Looked like the bus was going to tip over and fall into the gorge. We got off the bus and carried our paddles and lunches a mile into the gorge to where the rafts were launched on the river. It was a bumpy, rocky, steep walk so wear sturdy shoes. We got to the launch site and had to carry our raft across a small river and down a steep hill to the Lehigh River. This was a little tough since it was just the three of us and the raft was heavy.
The rafts were launched in groups of 5 or 6 with a guide in a kayak. This was a dam release date of white water rafting and the rafts did not have guides in them. It was up to you to control and steer the raft. The guides were in kayaks along side the rafts. The guys warned us that since there were only 3 females in our raft that is was going to move quick and man did it! It made for a fast raft ride but alot of work for us to do. Lauren and I each paddled on either side of the raft and Michelle sorta steered from the back. The raft felt alot heavier to move with only 3 people doing the work. It was good exercise for the arms though!
Since our raft was lighter we caught up to alot of the rafts in front of us. We were constantly banging into other rafts that were stuck on rocks. I noticed that there were alot more rocks and branches and things to get caught on in the northern end of the gorge. Lots of rafts were getting stuck and needed help. It's all part of the fun though.
There was another company on the river that day and it sorta held our group of rafters up alot. We ended up taking the lunch break much closer to the end of the trip than in the middle. Make sure your lunch is in a plastic container so it doesn't get squished or wet from drinks. My sandwich in plastic wrap didn't do too well.
This trip was basically rapids of about class 3. Some of them were big, and quite a few were fun and suprising. After going through one set of rapids and before entering another there was a stretch of river that was calm but rocky. Our raft hit one of those hidden rocks and the force of the impact knocked me out of the raft. Unfortunately the water was somewhat shallow but I couldn't stand because the current was too strong. All I could do was hang on the side of the raft with my legs banging off rocks until Michelle could pull me back in! I didn't panic. I knew it was bound to happen to me! All I kept saying was "pull me in....this is hurting my legs!" So Michelle pulls me back in and we continue on our journey and about 2 minutes later it happens again! Splash!....Angie's in the water again! At this point Michelle and Lauren are laughing hysterically. It was pretty funny but man did it do some damage to my legs.
The rest of the trip had no other funny incidents. Just more rapids and rafting. I really liked the trip I'd recommend it. After the trip was done we were bused back to the center where we picked up my car and went back to the hotel.
We were all hungry so we decided to shower and go out to get something to eat and get some drinks. We went to an Italian restaurant across the road from our hotel. They had very good food. After eating we went back to hotel and drank in the room and watched Comedy Central until we felt like going to sleep. We were going rafting again the next day.
