Whitewater on the Snake

This morning we went white water rafting down the Snake River.  We met at the Mad River headquarters south of Jackson and got fitted with wetsuits and booties, as it was going to be a cold trip.  The water is around 40 degrees.  Then we went by van for about a half hour drive south, where we got on our "waterproof" jackets, pants, and life jackets and into the boat.  There was another family with us, parents with their two adult kids.  The kids and mom had never been white water rafting before and were a bit nervous.  I hate to say how many years it's been since Mark and I last went - it was on the American River before we were married.  Mark and I were quite game to be the front paddlers. 

The river was very peaceful (well, except for the rapids); we saw no other boats.  We saw several osprey nests and one fledgling looking out at his new world.  The parks authorities put big platforms at the tops of utility poles, about a mile apart.  The ospreys use these for nests; osprey pair fly, mostly looking for food, about a half mile in every direction from their nest while they are here. Osprey usually lay three eggs, one or two of which hatch and survive.  In the fall the ospreys fly south to Central and South America, where they will winter with their chicks.  In the spring they will return to their nest, rebuild any damage, and repeat the cycle.  The chicks, however, don't return with their parents.  They roam all over the world for three or four years, then they will return to their birth area and start their own nests.  If the parents have passed, a child may go to that nest and start the new generation.  There are at least 100 pair of nesting osprey in the Jackson-Grand Teton-Yellowstone area. 

The Snake is full of cutthroat trout, which are native.  There are also a couple of introduced species of trout, which the park management people are trying to eliminate.  We didn't see any trout; they tend to stay deep in the water feeding on the insects that live there.  They will come to the surface when these insects hatch into flies just above the surface; then the trout will be jumping for the flies.  We don't fish but our river guide told us that this insect-fly cycle is what fly fishermen are trying to emulate.  (As an aside, when we got out of the water at the end of the trip, there was a sign for fishermen showing how to catch and release.  Even with best practices, around 20% of fish die very soon after catch and release and more die later).

The river rafting was great fun.  The trip was eight miles down the river and we went through several class 3 rapids.  This time of year isn't as wild as in the spring but this is one of the best Septembers they've had and we had some good rapids.  There were times we were rowing and our oars didn't hit the water because we were going up and down the waves.  Needless to say, Mark and I got soaked.  The people behind us fared better.  We were all glad we had on wetsuits and outer gear.  We had lots of instruction on what to do if we fell out or if the boat capsized but we all managed to stay in, even though it was dicey at times.

At the end of the river trip, we were met by the van and driver and taken back to Jackson, about a 40 minute scenic drive.  We changed, chatted with the others, and then went back to the motel for nice long hot showers.  Walked back to Lotus Cafe for hot soup.  We wandered around town for another couple of hours and bought some bear spray for our upcoming hikes, then took the car to Albertson's south of town for some litter and other supplies we'd need in the parks.  The elevation is high here but no problem for us as we are used to the altitude at Lake Tahoe.

Mark was planning to go to a bar to watch Monday night football while I watched Dancing With the Stars but he wound up staying with me.  It's strange to be in Mountain Time; DWTS started at 7pm.  It's going to be a fun season, lots of interesting contestants.