Still Alive

IDA-HO!

It is funny how dependent you can become on the luxuries of the modern world. This point was well taken over the past three days when I found myself nestled deep in the Boise National Forest in the small unincorporated town of Crouch, ID where cell phones and Internet access have not yet found their place in this laid back culture. Crouch is surrounded by Garden Valley which is best known for its ferocious, world-class white water that attracts paddlers and thrill seekers from around the globe to test their skill on some of the gnarliest rapids in the country. My intentions for visiting this small community were to assist Sunset Racing in producing the first annual PRE event. Keith Hughes, a local Garden Valley resident and the original mastermind behind Sunset Racing, put together the original concept for this event.

Headquarters and the host venue for the event were located at a new master planned community called Southfork Landing. Southfork Landing is the brain child of one-time Apple employee who is personally backing the development and is creating an adventurers paradise in one of America's most beautiful, remote, mountain settings. The concept and amenities are slowly taking shape and it is only a matter of time before the community becomes a benchmark for future developers looking to cash-in on the appeal of combining adventurous outdoor activities with high-end housing.

The PRE, in most respects, was a success for it's first year. All told we probably attracted a little over 600 persons (which was double the population of Crouch) during the course of the weekend that featured mountain bike races, fly-fishing contests, a 5K & 10k run, trap shooting, dutch oven cook-off and a slew of white water activities. My role was varied depending on the event, which is exactly how I like things - free for interpretation; just get the job done. More times than not I found myself convincing would-be bystanders to enter events that they have never heard of, much less come prepared to participate in. My favorite event from the weekend was the "Dash & Splash". In this event participants would need to run half a mile around the event grounds before boarding inflatable kayaks and racing 2 miles down the Payette River to the finish line. Three hours before the race started we had three people signed-up. Through some creative selling and a lot of energy I was able to wrangle up 15 more persons, most of whom had never paddled a kayak before. The race was a success and luckily everyone made it down river in one piece.



The last event of the weekend was the Downriver Race on Sunday morning - a two mile, no holds bars paddle down the Payette River from Banks to a place called Sandy Beach. The Sunset Team decided to cap off the weekend be entering the race. Not one to look like a novice I opted out of the Inflatable Kayak division (this boat is very easy to maneuver and is nearly impossible to flip - perfect for first-timers) and entered to hard shell race. Having some experience in white water, mainly in a canoe, and having successfully rolled a kayak, in the tranquil waters of Tricky Pond - 10 years ago, I thought I was up for the challenge of navigating class II white water in a vintage, early 90's kayak - which by the way was about 2 feet too short for my 6'4" frame; they had to shoe horn me in the thing before I could even test it on the open water.

Before entering the water I watched all of the other experienced boaters go through their pre-launch routine. I wanted to mimic their actions so that no one would take me for a novice. I watched everyone empty water from the hull, tighten their helmets, attach their spray skirt and push off from shore. I followed in suit trying not to look out of place. I shoved off from the rocky shore and took a few paddles. I could immediately foresee issues with stability. My lanky frame that I somehow folded into the boat was pinched up against the side rails and my feet were bent in half. I tried hard to balance myself as I paddled, but as soon as I hit the current I flipped and found myself being dragged under water with no way of righting the boat.

Patience is a virtue and one that every waterman needs to have. I learned this years ago in West Virginia while rafting the Galley River. Our rafting guide steered us into a giant hole called "Pure Screaming Hell" that ended up sucking the raft backwards and ripping everyone on the left side of the boat, including me, into the whirlpool where we sat in the spin cycle, under water, for 15 seconds. Prior to the start of the day, our guides told us that should we ever find ourselves under water to relax and stay calm. "The river does not want you there and will eventually spit you out, you just need to be patient and stay calm" they said.

Those words stuck with me as I lay upside down in my kayak; but being patient is not something that comes natural when you can not breath and being pinned underwater makes every second feel like an eternity. As soon as I flipped I tried to roll out, but I was a little rusty and my first attempt to "Eskimo roll" only dislodged my paddle and sent it down stream. So I followed procedure and placed my hands on my boat which is code in the kayak world for "HELP, flip me over". I felt as if an hour had passed before I could feel anyone coming to my rescue. I began to wave my hands and panic began to set-in. Plenty of thoughts began to run through my head: Did anyone see me flip over? Was Keith going to come and get me? What was I suppose to do if I couldn't flip over? I can't drown, I am a father and a husband. Why didn't I take the inflatable boat?

Just as fear began to overtake me I could feel the boat righting itself. Keith had paddled over and was begining to flip me back over. I gasped for air as I saw the light of day and praised God for keeping me alive.

Back at shore I knocked the water out of ears and drained the boat. I looked over at Keith and asked how long I was under. "5 - 10 seconds maybe", it felt like 10 minutes. He looked me hard in the eyes and asked me point blank if I wanted to continue down the river. I thought of bailing out, but knew that if I did I would never forgive myself for quitting. So we ran the rest of the river, side-by-side and made it to the take-out without any problems. At the pull-out everyone was impressed that I made it through. I didn't mention that I was escorted through, and Keith let me keep my pride in front of the others.

We shuttled back up river to our cars where I said my goodbyes to the team and reconvened with my old friend, the Honda Pilot. We set out sights on the Eastern sky with hopes of making Yellowstone NP before the days end. Until tomorrow.