It is amazing how when you reach your early 40's you think you are getting old and you do things you wanted to do before but was afraid to. It happened to me too.
During that period of time, I went white-water rafting on the Chatuga (or Chattooga, both are accepted names for the river) and had a great time. Our raft was the only one that went over Bull Sluice without capsizing. We were feeling pretty good over that. Further down the river, our guides had us stop at a place where here was a small falls, or sluice that would take you down it very quickly. The guide would hold the back of your life jacket until you were positioned; then swoosh, you were at the bottom, or that was the way it was supposed to be. When it was my turn, the guide turned my life jacket loose before I was positioned. I went to the right, and then came down at the bottom with my left ankle under me. I hit the rock and pulled ligaments on the outside of that ankle. When they threw me the rope, I forgot and was facing forward so when the pulled me in, my face went into the froth created by the falls and I let go of the rope. When I looked up, friends were waving goodbye to me. :)
I only went down the river a short distance, enough to drag my legs on the gravel. A guide was positioned down river as they didn't want to lose anyone . . . this must have happened before. She would not let me get out of the water until my ankle stopped hurting as much (the cold water helped). We went back to home base and decided we all enjoyed it a lot. We then hiked a mile or more up the slope of the mountain to our parking area.
On the way home, I looked at my ankle and it had become very swollen. The next morning, it was purple out through my toes on that side. I have been walking a lot lately and that has strengthened my ankle.
Would I have done it again, yes, but with a bit more caution. Part two will follow. . .
Oh no, it was too late to run!
At least we're not going to turn over.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattooga_River
Follow this link if you want to know more about this river.
Comments(10)