Boating on the Gunnison

An interesting fact is my grandfather caught the second largest fish on the Gunnison River in 1972 while fly fishing. Over thirty years later his grandaughter was floating on the same river. It personifies for me how eternal things like rivers and the land is. Like the native American saying that we borrow the land from our ancestors and preserve it for our children. I hope there is still country like this for my grandchildren to enjoy and say something similar about their grandmother floating down the river in 2008! Thinking like this makes me want to preserve everything out there and we all should desire this. On the river we were taught simple paddling techniques. I do not want to say we learned them because it was not as easy as that. We learned to go with and against the current. We learned how to get to and from shore. Mostly for Brad and I it was guess work at first. There were times we floated sideways but we managed to keep it together. As a group we traveled down the river a bit cautiously at first. Most of the day flowed smoothly but there were a few exciting moments. One of the most exciting of these was when we went through a class three rapid – Hail Mary Rapid – There was a rock with a decent dip that you definitely wanted to avoid and just to the left of this there were exposed rocks that you also wanted to avoid. We amateurs needed to travel through a pretty specific line in the river. I think everyone was a bit nervous but we all managed to do all right. As Brad and I went through we were able to keep the boat facing forward which was my main concern. We did not stay on the smoothest line, but this made for a ride that was way more fun. Our Canoe went up and down with the rise and fall of the water and since I was in front I quickly went from dry to wet. At one point I yelled back to Brad that I was soaked and as I was saying it we hit an even bigger wave and I was completely splashed with water. We did not tip over and soon we were in smoother water and in a way wishing for the rougher water because it can be more fun. These rapids were followed by the most exciting event of the trip. This event involved the Campbell family. The youngest member of the family was Ian who had just said at lunch, "It is all about Ian and Leah and Mom and Dad." He did not know how right he was. Of course the boat with the youngest passenger tipped over. The boat held father and son team – Lundy and Ian – They hit a swell just right and down they went. After the boat flipped everyone’s eyes went to the water and up popped Lundy’s head. At this point the mother – Diane – screamed for him to get Ian for he was trapped under the boat which was upside down and moving with the current in the cold river water. I will never forget the look on her face; it broke my heart but was beautifully and tragically filled with love at the same time. Lundy was so awesomely quick. It seemed that in one fail swoop he lifted the canoe and grabbed the scared Ian into his arms and almost entirely out of the water. He managed to hold his son out of the water while he himself could not even touch. It was quite the dramatic scene. Everyone beached their canoes and the "swimmers" were rescued. Ian was cold and scared so we all waited while the family of four was reunited and they were able to comfort each other. After a bit of boat shuffling to make sure the boat with the children each had two adults in it we were able to make it to the camp site with minimal drama. Brad and I were slow in the beginning with who was to paddle when. Our biggest problem was over compensating and then having to correct with follow up strokes. We figured it out and were able to maneuver nicely down the river usually (there were still a few rough patches). Once we arrived at the campsite we all scrambled to find a site for our tent. At first I think Brad and I chose the worst spot. It was completely open to the elements and there was a tremendous wind coming from the canyon. Brad walked away from the site for a moment and the tent began to blow out of my hands. It was hard for me to hold the tent down. This was a pretty good indicator that this was not a good campsite so we were back to square one. The area that we were camping was beautiful. There were high walled red canyons and of course the river. Rather than head up the trail into the open canyon with the serious winds we decided to follow the line of the river. At first it looked like a fruitless search. I climbed a rock and purveyed the ground looking for a flat patch shielded from the wind. My eyes fell upon the sweetest spot that was between the two camps of the river trips so it was not really close to anyone. It was near the water but raised up hugging a canyon wall that blocked the wind. The ground was a nice sandy patch perfect for pitching a tent. The first night on the river we discovered that our river guides were not only outdoorsmen but also chefs complete with aprons. And the canoes were not just canoes but prep tables and serving tables as well. Everyone was happy when they called out, "Happy Hour". We were treated to wine and cheese and shrimp cocktail. For a moment I forgot we were on a rustic river trip and looked for the white linen tables. But then a bug flew into my drink and I remembered where I was. It was so beautiful with the jagged rock formations and the high canyon walls. The sound of the rushing river was always nearby. It was really pleasant but did not drown out the sound of a passing train. We had a wonderful diner including Salmon, Ribs, green beans, rice pilaf, and for dessert a warm apple cobbler. This particular trip was labeled a stargazing trip. This meant a lady from the Denver Museum of Science was with the crew and at night she took over and had camp like lessons about the stars. We learned about the constellations and their attached meanings and stories. We delved into Mythology and the connection of early civilizations and the stars. She was a lovely storyteller and told us a really cute story of how the stars were put in the tribe as told by the Pueblo native tribes. If you want to know the story the next time you see me please ask for I remember it and I like it. Regretfully the sky was completely covered by clouds so from time to time we were able to make out about four stars at best but we were able to talk about the scale of our galaxy and the universe. This was pretty neat and she used people as planets in order to demonstrate things like orbit and relation to each other in the heavens. Brad volunteered to be Uranus, insert laughter here. Ian got excited when he knew the correct place that Jupiter fell in the Solar System. Another young boy was Earth and had to tilt and spin on his axis. This was really cute if you can imagine a really cute dark haired boy spinning on a tilt and walking in a circle all at once. Mr. Miller took over the job as earth and his wife Maggie was Venus, which fit that she was a goddess. Leah played the crazy role of martian mars and Ian got to be Jupiter – which is awesome because if you heard him say Jupiter you would want him to keep saying it over and over again. Diane was Neptune and she pushed Lundy, her husband, to be Pluto but he was saved because poor little Pluto is no a planet. It’s okay Pluto I am not a planet either - quote from Ashley’s shirt =). After the fun and games (that did involve wine) we called it a cloudy night and were off to bed. Although I was awoken by the sound of a passing train I slept pretty soundly. So soundly in fact that Slave Dave had to come by and act as mine and Brad’s personal alarm clock. This did not upset us because it meant breakfast was ready and being on a river and then acting like a planet worked up an appetite.