Day 5 On the River – July 30th 2011

It is quite enjoyable starting the day at 6:00 AM with Yoga. I have never tried it before but this was a trip of firsts, so I was game. I did find it to be helpful to relax my sore and stiff body. As the sun was rising in the sky, there I was trying to balance on my mat. Okay, so it wasn't picture perfect, but check off another first for me.

This morning was the first time we have seen threatening rain clouds. So far the weather has been stunningly perfect. Figuring it doesn't matter anyway if it rains, because we will already be wet from the blasting through the rapids.

We packed up our tents, laundry and all our belongings and went to the beach for breakfast. Breakfast was a great choice of omelets any way you would like them, all kinds of cereals, juices, etc. (I'm getting pretty spoiled having someone cooking for me three times a day- what a luxury). Before loading into our rafts and ducky's we were told that there was “big white water” in this section of the river. So far we handled all the other rapids well, therefore none of us were really concerned. We were all smiles as we started out on the new dayʼs adventure.

After several rapids and a little rain, we continued downstream stopping at a rocky area to do a short hike up a steep canyon. This archeological site was once occupied by Native Americans known as, "The Sheep Eaters." They were from the Shoshone Tribe which got the name Sheep Eaters from the bighorn sheep that were found in this area and became much of their diet. No one really knows what the pictographs (rock painted images) actually symbolize; but archeologists and art historians have speculated whether it tells of their true experiences, or is it a superstitious plea to the spirits. It was believed that if you painted a deer on the wall you would be able to catch a deer on you hunt. Or if you painted a large family you would be very prolific.

We continued on the river having a wonderful time, passing through Waterfall Creek Rapids which was a fairly steep Class III drop that didn't cause too much concern. Next came Weber Rapid – another steep drop with a lot of waves in all directions and all four ducky's flipped. At least I wasn't the only one this week that went butt over belly in the cold water. I wish I had my camera to take pictures of all the feet up in the air. A few more rapids and we headed for camp.

As we pulled into camp all of our gear was unloaded as usual from the “sweet boat”. But today it was piled very neatly between two trees with our sleeping pads on the very top. It looked like some strange totem in the middle of the forest.

After getting everything together, we set up camp and took a long hike to the top of Veil Falls. Our days didn't seem to end. It was one athletic endeavor after another. Hiking Veil falls, after a day on the river was very strenuous for me. It was all up hill for the first hour or so – but once there – it was really quite worth the trek. The vista in every direction was beautiful, and seeing the falls from the top was awesome.

We got back to camp and prepared for our last night together. Wait to you see what our guides had in store for us…

Written by Beth Robbins

Robbins is a Philadelphia native who grew up loving culture and the excitement of city life. She attended undergraduate school at the University of the Arts and received a master’s in Fine Arts at Temple University and The Tyler School of Art. Robbins taught art history for 16 years and sponsored off-campus trips for high school and college students. Her interest in travel sparked when she backpack and trekked on her own throughout England, France, Spain and the Mediterranean for five months. She later started an interior design business and art consultation company. She has two children and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado within the Rocky Mountain high country.