FD2 Whitewater Kayaking Montana Days 4 & 5

Day 4: So after the carnage that happened on the river during day 3 we voiced our concerns and got to have a sit down discussion with all the guides, camp staff, volunteers, etc. It was great to voice our concerns in a positive way. Everyone was completely open to what we all had to say and how we felt. It was just something that needed to be shared.

After we got past all that the day started. Today we got to pack for camping!! With all our stuff packed we headed to where we would put it. This time we left our kayaks at the cabins and instead we got to go on topo duos (two person kayaks, a guide sat in the back and a camper sat in the front) a ducky (basically an inflatable raft) and a raft.

We stopped in an eddy to have a little snack. While we were there we walked down to scout out the next rapid. While we were doing that we got a show as well as lesson. Pedro and Patch surfed the rapid while in a topo duo. It was amazing to watch!

As we were getting ready to get back onto the rivers. We decided to change boats around. I was moving from the raft to topo duo, or so I thought. I walked over to the raft where bandcamp and Fish (a guide) were talking. That was when I learned we could swim the rapid, as in they were trying to talk us into doing it. There wasn't much they had to do to convince us I was sold as soon as I found out. Bandcamp and I got on the raft, got a little lesson on how we should swim and which eddy to go to after. Then we set out. As we got closer to the rapid we got the jump signal and we were into the water.

It was one of the most amazing things I experienced. Your are the complete mercy of the river. I ended up hitting the right wave pattern and ended up exactly where I needed to be. However bandcamp got swept into a different eddy and Maybe (a guide) had her grab on to her topo duo and ferried her over to the raft. Fish successfully pulled us back into the raft and we were on our way! I would like to say we got to swim a rapid again but that was not the case. Well not entirely.

Then we got to our campsite for the night. Some of the guides were already there setting up the camp. We would literally be sleeping under the stars with nothing more than a small mat and a sleeping bag. while we were waiting for dinner we got a little surprise. They had packed a costume bag and we all got to dress up.

Patch got dressed up by Pedro..can you tell? When I get more pictures I will put them up cause the costumes were pretty great.

Then we all got to play a game. It is the moose game (don't worry I had never heard of it either) it is difficult to explain but basically you need three people to make the antlers of a moose and you have to pay attention to who is making the middle two. If you are too delayed in putting up your antler or put up the wrong hand for your antler you are out. It came down to me and Maybe. So of course my first question was how do you play with two people? That is when Pedro informed that it was sudden death cop, pimp, hoe which is basically a dirtier version of rock, paper, scissors. It was best of three. Maybe got the first point, but then we kept throwing out the same thing. I eventually became victorious by throwing out pimp to beat the hoe and cop to beat the pimp. It was actually a great a game night. I also learned how to play ladder toss which as I discovered I am not very good at. But then again Pedro was my partner and he wasn't very good either.

By the time we were done with all the games it was dinner time! I got to try a quinoa salad that had cucumbers and cherry tomatoes in it and I actually liked it. I know shocking right! For dessert we got to make ice cream in big balls that we shook...take that sentences however you want. Then of course we had campfire where we also got to make s'mores. As a special treat after the normal campfire Otis (a guide) played for us.

You can take a listen by clicking here

When we finally got to go to sleep it was very peaceful just staring at the stars. I however did not sleep very well, I kept waking up. I think it had something to do with a campfire conversation we had a few nights before where we learned bear safety. If we got attacked by a bear it would go something like this, lay on your stomach it would be chew chew chew, swat swat swat, chew chew chew, swat swat swat, flip. At this point you would flip yourself back over to protect your organs and it would repeat. You would just have to wait until the bear was done. Now after learning that how would you sleep outside??

Day 5: We woke to everyone making breakfast. I have to say this is one of the few times that Patch and Pedro were up before all us campers. Probably because they slept near where the campfire was. We ate and packed our gear. I called dibbs on the ducky especially because it was only a 2 mile river run that day so it would be short. The ducky was nice because you just floated down the river and you could head right for the rock instead of trying to avoid them like you would in a kayak. The scenery was just amazing on the way down.

We were at the take out fairly quickly. We packed up all our stuff and headed out to go to the visitors center at Glacier National Park for a little bit of hiking.

After a little bit of a drive (an hour+) we got there. I have to day it was very cool being able to walk on the boardwalk trails in the snow. We couldn't go very far due to the amount of snow but that was ok because we turned it into an epic snowball fight!

We also got to go into the visitors center and all got to be sworn in as junior rangers!

you can watch our oath here

Then we headed back down the mountain. We were still riding in the 12 person van however there were only 5 of us plus Pedro. I am sure he was thrilled to have a van full of women. Anyway the other vans were mini vans so as we were going back they had their side doors open. We didn't even have windows to open. Needless to say we kept telling Pedro how much his van sucked, HA! But we ended up opening the door because CoPilot wanted nothing more than to get a good picture of a water fall and we were coming up on what they refer to as the Weeping Wall where the whole wall is just running water. However I think I left out the part that when she was trying to get a picture she moved to front bench seat and was hanging out without a seat belt on. Pedro just about had a heart attack at that point. Needless to say her seat belt was put on quite quickly. But we got a cool picture.

Pedro was much happier once the door was closed and we were on our way back to the cabins. When we arrived Mama Mia came running out as usual to greet us, as if she was our real mom it was great! Some of us helped make dinner and then of course we ate and got ready for campfire! We were all really excited to hear about Graduation day but sad because it would be out last day on the river as well. Oh yea and we got to make S'mores again and Pasta tried a triple decker one which turned out to be a great idea!

Then it was time to head to bed. One the grounds where we were staying they have a really teepee. Since sleeping outside the night before and come one how often am I going to get the chance to sleep in a teepee I really wanted to. I asked Patch if we were allowed to sleep in there. The answer was yes except that he and Pedro were sleeping in there so no...awe :( We all went back to our respective beds but that turned out to be another slumber party night in my room so that was ok too. Who can sleep when you're thinking about graduation rapid?

To Be Continued...