Day 5 On the River (Last Evening Together) – July 30th 2011

There was something bitter sweet about returning to camp on the final evening. We knew this was the last campsite we would all be sharing. Upon arriving back after our hike, we were greeted warmly by our guides. It was as if they felt the loss, too. They encouraged us to get cleaned up and get ready for dinner.

Freshened up and ready to eat, we meandered back to the beach for drinks. Ooops, who are these guides? They had been stolen and replaced by some strange spiritual force. It might have been the cliff painting Indians, or maybe it was Satchquatch!  But where several good looking, nature loving boys once tended our camp, we now had slutty, floozies in bizarre dress……. not a fashion icon among them!

Now, of course, we couldn’t let them have all the fun by themselves- so after a few drinks everyone joined in and the party began………..

I bet none of you knew that a beach picnic dinner tastes better when you are barefoot and wearing a wig.  Or maybe it was the booze.  Or maybe it was the wigs and the booze.  Whatever, it was great fun at the expense of our guides dignity.

Thoroughly enjoying the evening, we partied hard. Much later we literally crawled back to our tents to try to get some sleep before challenging the last big rapids of the Middle Fork. I’m not sure how you traverse a rapids with a hangover, but we were about to find out in the morning.  And believe me, there were some big ones yet to come.

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.