Hey, everyone. Up until a few(?) years ago, when my thrill seeking nature began to evolve into a personality that hungered for ease and comfort, I liked to ride the white water. I liked to use a rubber raft and ride the rapids. The bigger and more violent, the better. I remember one time when we were rafting a particular large creek in the mountains. The water was down just enough so that some sharp rocks were more exposed than usual. We ripped the bottoms out of all three of our rafts and had to hike out of a remote area. It took all day and a good part of the night to get back to our vehicles and we were a sorry-looking group when we came dragging into camp. One guy missed 3 days of work due to exposure and dehydration, sunburn and other neat stuff. The dude cussed me the next time I called him to go rafting. The only way out that we were sure of was along the creek. Up and down over boulders, in and out of the water, snakes and bugs, were not his cup of tea. He had came for the camaraderie and the beer drinking. We are not friends any more.
Several years later we made a trip to the Ocoee River in the mountains of Tennessee. This is in an area close to Ducktown, up around the North Carolina line. White water enthusiasts will remember that when Atlanta held the Olympic Games a few years ago( Gosh, more than a few) the white water events were held on this same river. It's a pretty cool ride. There have been a few deaths on this river and it is no place to regard lightly. On this occasion I took my kids with me.
The river flows through a rocky, mountainous region and has been the source of contention between TVA and rafters. After a suit, TVA opens up the floodgates at certain times of day so the kayak people can get their kicks. It's quite a drive from where I live but you can still do it in a long day.
The trip when I took my kids started inauspiciously. The river was in flood because of massive rains during the previous few days. The river guides I talked to said that it was the highest and swiftest they had ever seen the river. We had to sign a waiver that we were rafting at our risk and we were fully aware of the danger.
Less than a minute into our trip I was thrown from the raft and was swept rather forcefully onto a large rock. Conveniently, I was pinned there by the force of the hydraulics. Skinned and with a deflated ego, I crawled out of the icy water and assayed to finish the trip. We did finish the trip, on a cold, cloudy day with very swift water. It was fun but strewn with problems and I was glad to see it end. In retrospect, I think this day was the last day of my thrill-seeking hobbies. Not that I hadn't been in lots of worse situations, I just decided that my recliner gave me a better ride. I gradually quit back-packing and most other strenuous activities in favor of old guy stuff.
I find it amusing that there was no conscious decision on my part to become more sedentary. It just happened. Difficulties that had previously been fun were now just a pain in the butt.
A friend (?) told me that my testosterone levels just became low. My wife said that I just grew up. I suspect that I just became old.
From the recliner adventurer, I'm CE Wills.
Several years later we made a trip to the Ocoee River in the mountains of Tennessee. This is in an area close to Ducktown, up around the North Carolina line. White water enthusiasts will remember that when Atlanta held the Olympic Games a few years ago( Gosh, more than a few) the white water events were held on this same river. It's a pretty cool ride. There have been a few deaths on this river and it is no place to regard lightly. On this occasion I took my kids with me.
The river flows through a rocky, mountainous region and has been the source of contention between TVA and rafters. After a suit, TVA opens up the floodgates at certain times of day so the kayak people can get their kicks. It's quite a drive from where I live but you can still do it in a long day.
The trip when I took my kids started inauspiciously. The river was in flood because of massive rains during the previous few days. The river guides I talked to said that it was the highest and swiftest they had ever seen the river. We had to sign a waiver that we were rafting at our risk and we were fully aware of the danger.
Less than a minute into our trip I was thrown from the raft and was swept rather forcefully onto a large rock. Conveniently, I was pinned there by the force of the hydraulics. Skinned and with a deflated ego, I crawled out of the icy water and assayed to finish the trip. We did finish the trip, on a cold, cloudy day with very swift water. It was fun but strewn with problems and I was glad to see it end. In retrospect, I think this day was the last day of my thrill-seeking hobbies. Not that I hadn't been in lots of worse situations, I just decided that my recliner gave me a better ride. I gradually quit back-packing and most other strenuous activities in favor of old guy stuff.
I find it amusing that there was no conscious decision on my part to become more sedentary. It just happened. Difficulties that had previously been fun were now just a pain in the butt.
A friend (?) told me that my testosterone levels just became low. My wife said that I just grew up. I suspect that I just became old.
From the recliner adventurer, I'm CE Wills.
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