Saturday, April 28, 2018

Even the most mellow Colorado rafting trip can be spiced up by jumping off a cliff or two

It was go time.

Standing at the cliff’s edge, about three stories above the Colorado River rushing below, I took one last deep breath and …

J

U

M

P

E

D.

I hit the water with a “SLAP!” so loud that birds took flight, critters scampered deeper into the brush and my fellow rafters let out a collective “Oooooh,” and “Ouch.”

Turns out there is a right and a wrong way to jump off a cliff into a body of water. Despite taking the plunge in many a mountain lake, expansive reservoir and tumbling river, I’ve yet to perfect the move.

Learn from my mistakes and follow these steps before you jump:

  1. Examine what is happening in your life at the time that makes you want to take a flying leap off of a cliff. (Unless you are between the ages of 15 and 25; then that’s your reason). Personally, I have thrill issues.
  1. Make sure the water you’re jumping into is really darned deep; I recommend at least two sources that don’t refer to the spot as simply “wicked deep, dude.” The day I jumped, the water level on the rock face was above the 25-foot mark and our guide with MAD Adventures Rafting out of Kremmling had taken the jump himself days before.
  1. Put on a life jacket.
  1. Climb up to the jump point, making note of your options for climbing down if you panic and change your mind.
  1. Get to the top. Look. Panic.
  1. Calm down as the guide assures you, “It’s not that bad, dude,” and as you watch others take the plunge and survive.
  1. Discuss proper jumping technique. The guide suggests two options: taking a short run for it so that you’ll be sure to clear any parts of the rock wall that jut out slightly, or just taking a really big step. Realize both options scare you. Calm down again when you hear how many people have taken this jump before and survived.
  1. Listen closely to the part about going straight in so as little of the surface of your skin as possible hits the surface of the water.
  1. Wave good-bye to your family before crossing your arms across your chest.
  1. Jump.

Apparently I was a little weak on Step 8 as I hit the water with my legs nearly perpendicular to the surface. The good news is that it was early June, and with the water only in the upper 40s, I instantly “iced” my injuries.

Unfortunately, when I got out of the water the back of my legs hurt so badly that the only thing that could have taken my mind off it would have been a bald eagle feeding her offspring in a nest high above the river. Fortunately, that’s exactly what was around the next bend in the river.

Bald eagle sightings aren’t unusual on the full-day, 12-mile trip down the Upper Colorado River.

“Because of the abundance of fish, it’s a prime nesting ground for them,” said Kevin Schuster, who has been with Mad Adventures for nine years. “They are a regular part of the ecosystem in that area.”

Optional cliff-jumping aside, the full-day trip is primarily a mellow scenic float with mostly Class I and II rapids. Children age 4 and older are welcome on the trip and even take part in the paddling (and therefore the splashing). It was a fun trip for my daughters (then 10 and 12), especially when they were able to power up the intensity of a patch of Class III rapids via their paddling technique.

Schuster is anticipating an average runoff year on the Colorado.

Mad Adventures has scheduled a May 26 opening date. If you can take an early season trip like we did, you’ll practically have the river to yourself. The company offers wet suits and/or rain gear for ever-changing spring weather and serves you a lunch on the banks of the river.

The end of the season (after mid-August) offers an equally quiet time on the river and a refreshing escape from the summer heat since the water temperature never rises above 55 degrees.

Why does it stay so nice and cold? Well, because there are a lot of spots in the river that are wicked deep, dude.

Chryss Cada is a freelance writer and an adjunct professor of journalism at Colorado State University. Visit her at chryss.com.


[Read More …]

No comments:

Post a Comment