The Falls
The first time I vividly remember saying this to myself was on a kayaking trip with my uncle. I was about 15 and we had set off for the mountains for a day of kayaking. This was our first foray into what I’ll call technical whitewater and it was thrilling. We made it to the whitewater center, loaded our boats on the bus, and watched in glee as the bus passed the biggest of the river’s rapids. My uncle and I looked out the window and noted that the falls really didn’t seem that bad. I think we even exchanged a, “we got this.”
What we didn’t understand was that we had boarded the first shuttle and passed the falls before the water had gotten there. See this particular river is dam controlled and at night, they turn the water off and in the morning, they turn it back on. So although the water was on, it hadn’t made it to the falls yet. Yeah… we had seen the falls with just a fraction the normal volume of water going over it.
So we have an awesome time on our way down the river, confidence is building and then we get to the falls. Just before the final rapids start, there is a large pull-off where you can get out of the water and walk down to view the falls and decide what line to pick (or whether you want to chance it at all). I remember this vividly because my uncle didn’t want to stop, he just wanted to go for it without looking. Lucky for us, we decided to stop and take a look.
Lucky is right because from over 100 yards away you could hear the falls roaring. It was huge! Not only that, but there was a fast wave train and several holes before the falls that could easily break your approach.
The longer we stood there watching, the more nervous we got. To make matters worse, people were getting thrown from rafts, kayakers were having to wet exit left and right and we had a whole boardwalk of spectators too. Not good. My uncle did his best to talk us out of it. I even remember him saying something along the lines of, “your mother wouldn’t want us to do this.”
After some deliberation, I can remember my uncle and I pushing off the bank and into the current, thinking, “lets do this!” And… we did! I think we both flipped over, drank a little water but in the end, it felt like we had just hit a home run. I will never, in a million years forget that experience. Just amazing!
Taking the Test
Maybe it’s the thrill seeker in me but I love a good test. It can be uncomfortable, scary, and it can be frustrating at times but I’m convinced the best learning and the best memories happen when we are tested. The falls was a test and it opened doors for the kayaking hobby that I didn’t even know existed.
I encourage you to get out there and test your skills, push yourself outside your comfort zone and swing for the fence.
Honest Iron 