Today was our third day on the water. We went down 5 miles of a calm section of the Klamath River. There were some moderate rapids, which is a step up from yesterday. I got down the river without flipping over, but I did practice wet rescues a couple of times.
Cory, one of First Descents founders, was coaching me one-on-one for most of the day. I explained to him that my plan was to stay above the surface and not get rescued. Nonetheless, learning to deal with rolling over will doubtless come in handy. I did fine staying stable on today’s small rapids and keeping the boat directed where it was supposed to go. I decided the best strategy was to follow exactly where the instructor was going, to the greatest degree possible. That worked out pretty well. I call this, “Follow the smart person.”
I got through the day pretty well. One of the coolest things I realized about whitewater kayaking is that being on the river totally occupies my consciousness. I don't have any monkey mind chattering in the background at all. When it's calm, I'm enjoying beautiful scenery and steeping in the happiness of the people around me. When I'm running rapids, I'm too busy paying attention to have any time to think about anything else. I also love that other than driving the boaters and kayaks to the river, there is no tangible environmental impact in this sport. It’s about flowing with nature, not dominating it, which is pretty damn cool. My treasured discovery for today is peace of mind.
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