Glacier National Park - Day 2

Day two in Glacier National Park started off with a half day white water rafting trip. When Mike booked the trip, we opted to go with the most adventuresome ride available that would a comodate the boys’ ages. That meant class 2 and 3 rapids. Shall we just cut to the chase, or drag along to the inevitable conclusion you surely have reached? We’re in the back boat of a group of 4 boats. Alex and Ben volunteered to be the lead paddlers, so they got the seats right in the front of the boat. Mike and I directly behind them. We floated lazily Ali g for a few miles, got all the safety instructions... how to stay in the boat, what to do if you fall out of the boat, what to do if the boat flips, etc. The first little baby rapid elicited a lot of smiles from the boys. The first class 2 rapid gave us all out giant grins and everyone is having a ton of fun. The water is a very cool 53 degrees or so. We’re all getting
splashed, cruising right along. We’re in a series of rapids and the left side of the boat where Alex and I are sitting is in the business side of these waters. We’re coming up on a pretty good rapid, and about halfway through it I look to the left and realize that the left side of the boat is heading directly down the side of this big rock. Which means the right side of the boat is leaning a little higher. We’re all paddling like crazy and just that fast I see Alex go in the water and then i’m In right after him. Turns out the girl behind me also went in the water. So here’s my take on what happened next... I’m bouncing around for a second and when I feel that i’m Right side up I open my eyes. Everything is dark, I put my hands up and i’m Under the boat. Hmmm. Not exactly where I want yo be. Thankfully I disn’t Panic, felt along the bottom of the boat in a controlled manner until I felt one hand come to the edge. I reached up and found the safety rope on the side of the boat and grab on. Mike grabs hold of my life vest and starts to haul me up. Problem was, I was still mostly under the boat, I had come out backwards. I waved him off, took a second to get completely out from under the boat and then the guide and Mike hauled me in. My par is floating somewhere along the way. I knew Alex had gone in, but by the time I got pulled out he was sitting as if nothing happened. We floated along a bit, managed to collect 2 of the 3 oars that apparently went in and had a fun, uneventful rest of the journey. Alex was freezing, but the guide gave him a fleece jacket to wear and warm up a bit. It was only at the end that I realized the girl behind me also went in,

Now... this is what happened according to Ben, who was on the right side of the boat... We’re floating along, go through the rapid and he feels the boat is slightly higher in his side. He says he just saw the big white splash of the water then the boat settles and there are 3 people missing. Alex and the girl pop up immediately and are pulled in immediately. Then everyone looks around and realizes that I am still gone and they can’t see me anywhere. Apparently about the time everyone started to freak out is when I popped up and then they pulled me in. I asked what the guide was directing them to do/saying/doing/etc. They can’t remember, they just said it was a bit of chaos.

The aftermath? I have never seen Mike look so scared, I think he was shaken more than me. Ben was freaked out too, but as soon as I was in the boat he settled... a little. It wasn’t until we talked things through later that he really was able to put it out of his mind. Alex was a bit confused... he and the girl came right up and we’re immediately we’re back in the boat, why wasn’t I? I was fine, just took a mi Ute to catch my breath. Once we rescued my floating oar, I was right back to paddling again. I do have a pretty nasty bruise on my arm, another on my leg. The one on my leg is surely from being pulled back up. I’m not sure if I banged my arm on the big rock we went over or if it caught an oar, or the edge of my life eat, or what. But, at the end of the day, we are all fine. We had a blast and I would still definitely do it again,

As for the rest of the day? Not nearly so exciting, but still fun. There was a hike Mike wanted to do, so we got that in. Avalanche falls, or lake, or creek? Or all 3? Avalanche something anyway. The trail led to a beautiful water fall then up along the river then up into the trees and opened around a lake. It rained for most of the hike, but I think it just made things that much more beautiful. The tall trees acted like an umbrella for the moSt part.

We also hit the Alberta visitor center so Alex could get an Alberta roadmap for the second half of our trip. And I found some good huckleberry tea in a little gift shop. It was quite cool today - highs only in the mid 60s when it wasn’t raining. Dropped down to the mid 50s in the rain,

I’m not sure i’ll Ever want to leave this place. More adventures tomorrow.