Rafting and Update

Rafting on the ottawa river is a good time. The combination of big waves and small boats make for an especially good time. 4 friends and I went on a 4.5 hour rafting trip that was real fun. The water was warmer that it had been in the Rockies but the air was not much warmer. We went rafting on may 31st and to give you an idea of how warm it was A) we could see our breaths, clearly and B) it snowed.
It was fun nevertheless and the lunch break with by the campfire was a nice half-time re-energizer. One of the interesting things they did on this trip was tie the boats up at an island, have us walk for a few minutes until we gathered in view of a huge wave called the Greyhound Bus Eater. They then explained to us how we would attempt to conquer the wave and gave the weak at heart an opportunity to pass this wave. I enjoy adventures but on our walk back to the boat I must admit, I was nervous. We re-entered our raft and before we had time to gather ourselves, we were off. All of us were quiet, paddling in unison when our raft guide began to humming the tune to "Amaxing grace". The rest of the boast soon joined in with words "that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost". It was a magical moment and just before me not knowing the words to the second verse becam a problem the guide gave some instructions as we approached the wave. The boat dipped down the top of the wave above all our heads but at the last minute the wave broke and we bounced over it.

I admit, a part of me wanted to flip but the result wasn't half bad either. We made our way over to the lunch area and warmed up by the fire while we watched the other boats take on the beast. in total the Greyhound bus eater consumed 2 of the 6 boats, one of which was a 12 person raft, but all members were recovered saftely by rescue boats.

Today was my last shift at Mermaid Pools. I was only there for 6 weeks but I learned a lot about pools and got to spend some time with my co-workers that I turned out to like a lot. It's too bad that I'm moving on so soon but after the following 3 busy days of planning I'll be at Camp Bow-Isle which will no doubt be a wonderful adventure in itself.