Daily writing prompt
Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.
I was passionately in love with whitewater kayaking for years, and that love was one of the reasons my bf and I moved to Portland. There are numerous stretches of river within a couple of hours’ drive, including a few that became favorites that I paddled over and over. You can never get complacent with the river, it’s wild and powerful but when you paddle the same stretch multiple times per week for years, you get to know the feel of it pretty well, how the eddies and currents change with the seasons and water levels. Before you know it, checking CFS levels is a daily fix, and dreams of rushing water and beautiful scenery are commonplace. Along with those dreams of being upside down and smashing your face into rocks lol. I used to go to Pint Night a lot with a great group of other kayakers and we’d watch a bunch of kayak porn (videos of people doing intense, funny, and/or cool things in their kayaks) and get all psyched up for the next adventure.
Although I was a pretty conservative boater due to some early sketchy accidents in spring runoff and other things I won’t go into, I certainly bought into the urge to push it hard. You achieve a certain level of competence and there’s a lot of temptation to push your limits, run taller drops and bigger water. So I did. Once I had some acquaintance/friends going rafting and I brought my IK along just in case. As suspected, the group immediately started drinking and getting somewhat obnoxious, and it was a class III-V run, with a particularly difficult section of massive boulders where missing the line was not an option. I was on top of my game, felt great and was not going in the damn raft with those idiots. What I failed to realize was that those idiots would move super slow, navigate badly, and block the entire exit line of the rapid. The water was running fast and hard and oh man I was ripping through perfectly, but then I had nowhere to go and ran right into the raft which was partially beached on one of the boulders. They grabbed for me but the current was pushing my boat under theirs and I was in danger of getting pinned between the raft and boulder so I jerked loose and hoped for the best. It happened so fast but then I was underwater a very long time. The current was so intense that I couldn’t do much except ride along, couldn’t see much, could feel the air running out as the roar of the river blocked everything else out. I popped up at the last possible moment and paddled like a MF for my boat. I was wearing a dry suit, but the cold water saps your energy quickly and holy shit what a ride.
I don’t regret that one, although I do regret not going in front of the stupid raft. There are worse ways to go, but I acknowledge that I was super lucky in not dying that day. If I’d been drinking or smoking weed I bet the outcome would have been different.
Additional note: I refused to paddle with that group again or anyone else who drinks or uses drugs while boating. Respect the power of the river and wait until your runs are safely done for the day. No one wants river access cut off and families in distress while a deceased loved one is retrieved from a rapid where they got pinned underwater.
Playlist
The Black – VHS Collection
Realize – Roosevelt
Lone Survivor – The Wrecks
Waves – Blondfire
crashinglessons 
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