Confessions of a River Rat

CONFESSIONS OF A RIVER RAT
By Linda Ballou

The moment I get into a rubber raft or kayak and begin gliding down a river I’m excited to discover what will come around each bend. Rivers provide immediate immersion into nature and take us away from the noise and clutter of civilization. All the rivers I have run are different from one another and each offers a unique experience. They are the arteries that nourish the planet while they carve their pathway to open waters. I raft rivers whenever I get the chance. There are rivers for every level of adventurer through varied terrain.

ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Travel writer Linda Ballou talks about some of her most memorable river adventures. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.

Here are my top six rivers to love.

1. The American River flowing through the Gold Country of California has three options from the wildest to mildest of runs. It is 30 miles long and flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to its confluence with the Sacramento River. The Class Two South Fork American Discovery run is a short, half-day trip through a wilderness area anyone can enjoy. It was my first river. It is a popular run with families and a good place to find out if you are a budding river rat.

2. When I became a travel writer, I was invited to kayak the Green River through Labyrinth Canyon just outside Moab, Utah. I had never kayaked, but there were no rapids on this run so I thought I could handle it. Towering sandstone cliffs that conjured images of Egyptian pharaohs frame the serene glide through Canyonlands. Our group enjoyed warm nights in our tents on sandy beach campsites beneath black velvet starry skies. This trip did take some paddling skill to avoid submerged tree snags on the riverbanks, but staying in the middle of the river following the bubble line kept me out of trouble. Butch Cassidy and his gang hid stolen cattle in the area’s slot canyons and whiskey moonshiners also called it home. Hiking trails to the rim that remain hidden from time are a delight to explore.

3. The Main Salmon is a curvaceous, sensuous river that purls her way 400 miles through the heart of the largest roadless wilderness area remaining in the Lower 48. She is one of the last free-flowing rivers that has not been dammed for hydroelectric energy or re-routed or siphoned off for agricultural uses. She is a bawdy full-throated river with lots of fun rapids. Riding upon her broad back, gazing up at the granite walls of the 50-million-year-old canyon, I fell in love with this uninterrupted journey through a rugged, isolated country where big horn sheep watched us glide by. There are some biggish rapids on this run, and I went swimming once, but by the end of the journey, I was paddling my own rubber ducky (rubber kayak for single), keeping up with the caravan of rafts following the bubble line, and feeling river wise.

4. Nominated one of the top ten rivers in the world to run by National Geographic, the Pacuare River in Costa Rica winds through dense, primal rainforests, allowing the visitor to see the world as it was when man was just a sparkle in the Creator’s eye. This adrenaline-spiked ride took us through towering buttresses shaggy with ancient trees draped in heart-shaped vines, monster tree ferns, mosses, orchids, and purple bromeliads—all hangers-on in the eternal quest for light in the jungle of foliage forming layer upon layer of luxuriant green. It is a frothy rush through a narrow canyon with challenging rapids. On calm sections of the river, you’ll see sloths, monkeys, birds, and blue morpho butterflies wafting by. There’s time for a dip in a swimming hole and a picnic at the end of this day trip not far from San Jose.

5. The Tatshenshini River is a powerful torrent that flows from its headwaters in Canada’s Yukon Territory for 120 unchecked miles to the Gulf of Alaska. It is the main artery through the pulsing heart of one of the world’s largest wilderness areas that encompasses the Kluane, Glacier Bay, St. Elias-Wrangell, and Tatshenshini/Alsek Preserves. Rafting this river in an 18-foot rubber oar boat transformed me from an adventure junkie to an environmentalist. Waking up each morning in this untouched wilderness with eagles, bears, moose, and all manner of abundant wildlife made me want to protect this last bastion of true wilderness. The frosty Fairweather Range glistens in the distance like a fairytale castle. It is a heady ride. You must be prepared to bump into berg bits at the end of the run, but you will get up and personal with some of Mother Nature’s best handiwork.

6′ The granddaddy of all the river trips is the run on the rust-colored Colorado River that takes you on a journey through the Grand Canyon into “deep time.” You float through mind-boggling expanses of cathedral buttes and stacked terraces that spread to the rim ten miles up and away. Walks up the many slot canyons to fern-laden grottos watered by tinkling rivulets reveal other-worldly rock formations crushed by the weight of a 450-million-year-old canyon. At the confluence of the main with the Little Colorado, I enjoyed a water slide into a natural Jacuzzi where I giggled my way down the water chute a half dozen times. River rats go no farther up this magical canyon that the Hopi hold sacred. Sipapu is the navel from which they believe their ancestors emerged from a previous world and where they will return after death to the underworld. The canyon is special to them and to all who are lucky enough to know the beauty within those towering walls of immutable stone. The sleepy glide on the back of the river punctuated by lively rapids with death-defying Lava Falls at the end of the ride is a treasured memory.

RIVER GUIDES & RAFTING COMPANIES:
– OARS Whitewater Rafting – https://www.oars.com/
– Sheri Griffith River Expeditions – https://griffithexp.com/
– Momentum River Expeditions – https://momentumriverexpeditions.com
– Tico River Adventures – https://www.ticoriver.com/
– Chilkat Guides – https://chilkatguides.com/
– Grand Canyon Expeditions – https://gcex.com/

Expanded essays on my trips on the Green River, Salmon River, and the Tatshenshini, (also known as Raven’s River) are included in Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales. Sections of the story Tough Cookies in Costa Rica detail my time on the Pacuare River. Destination Deep Time is about rafting the Grand Canyon and a story about Georgie White the Wild Cat of the Canyon winner of the Solas Award for Best Destination at Travel Tales publications are included in Lost Angel Unleashed-Stories from the Heart.

Happy Paddling!!

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