Part 4
It was a slow motion experience- one you hope that you never have to tell. Everyone in the raft stood up as we neared the tree. Ryan and Pete shoved out their legs to try and bounce off of the tree, and Dustin was yelling at Rachel to row faster. It probably lasted no more than 20 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. The raft bounced off the tree and flipped completely over. All 5 of us were thrown from the raft in a moment's notice. The ice cold water hit and the panic set in. Ryan remembers thinking about what Bear Grylls would do and he swam diagonally towards the bank of the river and grabbed onto some tree roots. After hitting my head under water, I floated down the river helplessly...the rapids were too fast to stop myself. I kept going under time after time, and I heard someone yelling in the distance. It was Ryan, and I looked back to find him, "Hold on to something." "Grab ON!" His voice was loud and I got the point. I swam towards the bank and grabbed a muddy vine, pulling myself up from there. A wet hug reunited me and Ryan, and we counted the heads of our friends. Ryan's right shoe was missing. Our sunglasses were gone. And so was our camera.
Our adrenaline was firing at rapid speed and two nearby fisherman in a boat ahead of us saw the entire thing. They grabbed what they could find of ours floating down the river, and started walking towards us. They had seen the whole thing and were already on the phone with 911. We had hit so hard, they had figured something very bad must've happened. The rapids were still at full force on the small island inlet we reconnected on. So many ideas of how to get our items back ran through us...Dustin was going to swim across, no, that was no good the current was too strong, another idea!- the girls would get in the raft and all of the boys would walk us across. No, that was no good either, we had only one oar to guide us- we'd be like sitting ducks in the water and would probably tip again. The fishermen still had their wits about them. They would cross the river in their boat and meet us on the other side. I ran to the other side of the bank and met them- thankfully they had found our other oar, our cooler, our dry bag, and a few miscellaneous things. The adrenaline continued as we gathered our items and got back into the raft. We were all ok, thank the lord we were all ok.
A silent yet playful ride back reminded us to keep our humor intact. Remember when Pete belly flopped out of the raft to get the oar? And when we began this float with four life jackets- and now there was only one. We cruised to the end looking for anything of ours that might be floating down the river. A few cans, a Gatorade, and a fly fish case later, we were at the end of our rafting adventure. We piled back into the vehicles and headed back to town to get items for dinner. That's when the next emotion hit-and I finally cried. The realization of it all finally hit me- I could've lost Ryan, I could've broken my leg, or someone from our group could've been severely injured. But we were all ok- I know for a fact that our guardian angels must have been with us.
The evening soon blurred into a dinner party with many versions of our story being told to Pete's various friends. The bruises and cuts that we didn't have time to notice on the river were now evident from our warm showers, and we left Montana with a few battle scars. I would be lying if I said "I wouldn't change that trip for anything." Because there may have been parts, like actually wearing a life jacket. However...hindsight is 20/20. Our trip was eye-opening and amazing, beautiful and exhilarating, relaxing and peaceful. And now you know why this post doesn't have any pictures, there are none to show. But aren't some of the best stories you've heard, are the ones people tell from memory? I imagine myself and Ryan telling this story to our kids someday (and probably making a point about how safety is a number one priority) and having them imagine their crazy parents on this rafting adventure.
Ryan and I do want to thank our great friend Pete for this wonderful trip. We had an amazing time and Pete, you were such a great host. Good luck perfecting your mocha recipe, we think you have it down already! Thanks again!
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