Row Row Row your Raft

Finishing off the month of September in the Outdoor Adventure program we were privileged to spend 6 days rafting in Quebec. Moving from the Gatineau to the Rouge and finally to the Jacques Cartier, we developed our skills in raft guiding, camp-craft, and swift-water rescue.

My favorite part of the trip is a tough tie between guiding our raft on the technical rapids of the Jacques and viewing the near-perfectly clear stars at our valley campground in Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, QC. While I find the power of big volume rapids exciting, the execution is boring without any technicality. This made the rocky channels of the Jacques my favorite; if you weren't on your toes, you were pinned. 

While not a major bummer, my least favorite part of the trip was trying to guess the intentions of the course coordinators. Often the timing of meetings or events were vague and almost hidden from the group. Usually, in order to be on time, I would need to ask at least five people about details to get a sense as to what was expected of us, not always successfully. I also learned that putting on wet neoprene gloves near freezing temperatures will give me some of the worst pain I've ever experienced: I rate that experience 0/10, I will not do that again.

When I think about the professionalism of our instructors I think there is some value in my inability to think of examples. In my opinion, the only things that are obvious to a neutral observer are amazing professionalism and poor professionalism. Our instructors kept a semi-regular format including morning and post-trip briefing, maintained safety, and gave us the opportunity to be well-fed and geared up. However, I did not enjoy the lack of clear cut communication; it is easiest to be well organized when you know how much time you have to do any given task.

My rafting group with our guide: Seth Ashworth