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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Put on a life jacket.
- Climb up to the jump point, making note of your options for climbing down if you panic and change your mind.
- Get to the top. Look. Panic.
- Calm down as the guide assures you, “It’s not that bad, dude,” and as you watch others take the plunge and survive.
- 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.
- 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.
- Wave good-bye to your family before crossing your arms across your chest.
- 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.
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