If the weather the week leading up to the rafting trip (Youghiogheny River) was any indicator how the trip would go, it should have been a total washout. The Saturday morning rain coupled with the incorrect destination address by the lesser half of the Petersons(Chris) should have put the troop on the wrong path to start. Nothing could have been further from how the weekend unfolded.
We drove through light rain and heavy fog on the way up to Ohiopyle, PA. Once we arrived at the rafting outfitter the clouds thinned and the sun made the first of many, some extended, appearances of the weekend. Most of the troop opted for wetsuits and splash shirts to keep the 55 degree water from turning us into shivering wimps. The sun stayed out for several hours before we got on the river and everybody was hot and ready for the 55 degree water. After strapping on life vests and helmets, a quick shuttle ride to the river and an entertaining dos and don’ts river rules session we put the boats in the water.
Five minutes into the trip Mr. Forrer decided that his adult boat mates were all hot and needed a dip in the chilly water, so guide and all went for a swim. Within 3 minutes the professional guide had everybody back in the raft and floating down the river. Midway down the river we pulled off on a sandy beach for a deli style lunch provided by the outfitter. Man can those scouts eat a lot of cookies. They also got a chance to jump off a large rock into the river and swim back to the beach and even with the 55 degree water some of the scouts did this many times.
During lunch the scouts got a great lesson in the importance of being able to swim. An adult rafter from another group jumped off the large rock into the river clearly not being able to swim and just started floating down the river. One of the guides sprinted down the beach, dove into the river and hauled the person out just before it looked as if she might go down the next set of rapids.
Right after lunch back on the river we had a short period of rain followed by the wonderfully warm sun. The river level was between 6/7 feet above normal so the dreaded double waivers weren’t necessary and all that extra water increased the speed of the river and made for extremely fun rapids.
Once back at camp the troop worked like a well-oiled machine with all the tents up and loaded in no time at all. That done, they then broke into their patrols and very efficiently had all the stoves and burners fired up and dinner underway. It really was impressive to watch the older scouts leading the effort and the younger scouts pitching in where they could. All four of the patrols produced great meals for both dinner and breakfast the following morning. The rain was very timely in coming right at lights out so everybody scrambled into their tents and the camp got quiet real quick. We woke to nice weather, ate another great scout made meal and after doing roses buds and thorns headed down the road. We had 24 scouts and 11 adults on the trip.
Enjoy the pix over here.