Do Epic Shit - Whitewater Rafting

In celebration of reaching 2 Years NED, I wanted to do something epic. 

White water rafting it was!! I have been feeling a bit stronger, and felt like I was up for the challenge. 

We booked a 3 hour, 12 mile river rafting trip on the Deschutes River with River Drifters out of Maupin, OR.

The trip was amazing! 

We showed up already dressed in our swimsuits and water shoes, but did buy a couple hats, a wet bag, and a bunch of water bottles. You are asked to leave your phone in the car, but we brought our little water proof camera so we could be sure to get some photos. I'm super glad we did! 

We slathered sunscreen on, heavy! Then once everyone who scheduled a rafting trip for that day arrived, we all got some life vests from the guides and loaded up on the bus that was to take us to our starting point. The guides did a safety talk, which I was thankful for, and then they checked and tightened everyone's life vests when we arrived. Our guide was Pippa, and she was amazing! Couldn't have gotten a better guide. She was friendly, funny, easy to talk to, and gave clear instructions on rowing the entire time. She definitely made us feel at ease on the river. 

 

I was anxious, I'm not gonna lie. Mostly anxious about the kids not liking it, or falling out. However, after the initial "are we really doing this?" jitters, the kids quickly got the hang of rowing and LOVED it!! And in fact, I was the one who wound up falling out!! On only the second rapids too, hahaha. Our raft completely tipped to one side, and my foot slipped out of it's nook. I also was worried about Timothy falling out, because we were on the same side, so I used one hand to shove on his back, which help facilitate me falling in. I really didn't have time to be worried or scared, because it all happened so fast. One second I'm in the raft, and the next I'm in the water. I never went under, otherwise I might have freaked. But I just reached for the rope on the raft, and hung on until Pippa was able to get the raft out of the rapids and pull me in. It actually wound up being my favorite part of the whole experience! I'm also pretty proud to report that I didn't let go of the oar the whole time, haha! 

The best part is that River Drifters has photographers at certain points along the 12 miles, and they capture photos for you as you go by. Unbeknownst to me, there was a photographer stationed on the bank at the rapids where I fell out! I didn't know this until we got on their website later that night to check out the photos. I about died laughing when I saw the photos! I mean, talk about being in the right place at the right time to capture such a magnificent set of photos! 

After experiencing falling out, and everyone seeing that all was still well, I think everyone really dropped their anxiety and threw themselves into the experience. We truly had a great time. It was hot out, 106+. And even the wind was hot. But ohhhh did that water feel great! I'm glad we remembered sunscreen. I can't even imagine how badly burned everyone would have been without it. 

 

There were a handful of quiet areas where you could get in the water and float along with the raft. Everyone did this periodically, but it was Timothy's favorite thing to do! Definitely a great way to cool off and catch a break from the sun. 

 

Once we were getting close to the end, I told Pippa about my special Do Epic Shit t-shirt I brought with me. This t-shirt was given to me by my cousin. It was my Uncle Steven's who passed from esophageal cancer. So it holds a lot of meaning. Pippa loved it, and was totally cool if I changed into it real quick for a photo. Even better....she said there was a quiet river part coming up where a photographer was stationed and I could unclip my life vest for a photo in it as long as I was standing in the middle of the boat. Once we got there, we got a nice sitting family photo, and then I got my Do Epic Shit photo! The photographer even called out to me that he loved my shirt. It was so awesome, and the photos turned out AMAZING!! My favorite of the whole trip, and definitely frame worthy. 

10/10 experience. Totally epic worthy. I would definitely go white water rafting again! I'd love to go with some friends, and I know the kids would love to do it again too. 

Feels good to scratch something off my Do Epic Shit bucket list!! 

With love,

Mama Hauck