The Spectacular Wipe-Out My son works as a river guide during the summer, on several different rivers. Last August, he took my best friend and me on a 7 mile trip down the Truckee River, near Lake Tahoe, California. We got an early start and met him and a couple of his friends at the local coffee shop before starting our day. From there, we drove to the spot where the boats are loaded onto trailers and everyone climbed into a big van that drives to the place on the river where we start the trip. The boats are 5-person rafts, with the guide in the back. Before getting started, one of the guides gives a safety talk, going over the basics of river rules, what to do and how to do it. Since my son and his friends were inflating the boats, and getting them into the water, the other guide gave us the talk. He ended by saying, "I have to tell you that every time family goes down the river, someone gets wet!!" We laughed and thought "But, we won't!!" You're given life jackets, helmets, fitted appropriately, and you waddle off and get in the boat, thinking, "Dang, these are uncomfortable, bulky, hot, and do I really need them??" But, off we go, high on the day, feeling great, and start our float down the river. It's a 7 mile trip, most of which is just simple floating, with Jordan calling out the moves we need to make. He's loud, clear and precise about what he's doing, and I feel proud of him, doing something he so truly loves. As we head down the river, we hit some easy rapids, Class 2, a couple of 3's, easy stuff. We're laughing, having a great time; it's a boat full of people, friends, family, all enjoying the beauty and the wildlife we see everywhere. The last two miles, things get a little more interesting. There are a couple of Class 3's that a bit more tricky, we get caught on rocks in the middle and Jordan has to do some fancy moves to get us going again. I'm feeling good, but realizing this is getting a bit more serious. After two or three of these spots, Jordan stops us. He tells us this next place is the biggie, the Class 4, and it's tricky. It's a waterfall, about 6 feet high and we have to maneuver between two boulders to get thru this spot. The other boat has gone first, and they're on the banks below the falls, waiting, acting as safety. Little did we know just HOW interesting this was going to get!! We've been given our instructions, told exactly what we need to do to get thru these falls. Off we go---and totally screw up everything there is to screw up. As we head toward the falls, no one seems to be doing anything. There are fotos** online that were being taken during the whole thing and you can see how we just lose it completely. As we head for the falls, I realize we're going over. I'm on the left side of the boat, right next to the boulder, and I can feel us starting to go over. Next thing I know, the boat flips, and I'm underwater. And now I do some pretty strange things. Instead of clawing my way up, I try to breathe---and get a lungful of water. Hmmm, well, I'll try that again, and get another lungful, then I think, "Oh ****, is this IT?" At that very instant, something or someone grabs me by my lifejacket and I'm out of the water, gasping for air, hearing people yelling at me, trying to catch my breath. From there on, it was easy, I swam to the bank, got out, and my knees nearly buckled-- the adrenaline had kicked in, then kicked me back. We lost all our paddles, and still had yet another Class 4 rapid to negotiate. From the other boat, we borrowed paddles, Jordan had an extra tied to the boat, and off we went. I was more than a little nervous, and as we went down the rapid, sure enough, Jon, the guy in front of me, just kinda fell out of the boat. I grabbed him by the life vest, hauled him back into the boat, and all was well. He seemed to think it was pretty funny; at that point, I wasn't really quite that amused!! The rest of the float was anticlimactic, we got to the end, headed back to the van for the ride back to town. The people from the other boat were quiet, cuz we were hyped as hell, talking non stop, reliving the entire incident. And it was only noon -- we had the whole day left!! We spent that on Donner Lake, swimming, talking and talking and still tweaked over the whole experience. That night Jordan had a barbecue at his house, the fotos were now already online, and we were the guests of honor!! Everyone wanted to hear about the trip; we told our tale over and over. So, that's the story of this wipe-out. But that night, as I tried to sleep, it kept coming back to me, that feeling of not being able to breathe, and realizing how incredibly lucky I was. And who grabbed my life jacket and pulled me out? ~~~no one knows.......... **for those of you who might like to see this unfold, go to this link click here from there, , in the pull down box, hit Tributary Whitewater Tours, then the 25th of August, the next page will have the fotos, click on the second image and that's our trip. I'm on the left, just in front of my son. When you see the boat in the air, picture me against those boulders on the left, underwater!!