I am talking about my “river trip” virginity of course. I just returned from one of the best experiences of my life. My mom tells me that I say that every time I come back from an adventure. Yes, she is right, but for now, this one is way up there.

When my husband and I were asked a couple of months ago to go down to the Salt River in Arizona for a river trip we came up with the usual excuses such as, we could never get away from work, can’t leave the geriatric dogs, blah blah blah. Well, truth be it, we could not BOTH leave the bike shop for 9 days, but one of us could. And yes, that one was me.

A little background: I am super afraid of water. I am even afraid of snorkeling…yeah. The idea of NOT breathing just does not do it for me. Leading up to this trip I was very nervous and concerned about getting tossed from the raft and forever being recirculated in a monster hole. Of course, before the trip I did not really understand what “re-circulating” and “hole” meant in regards to river running.

There were 11 of us total on this trip. My good friend Dave was the permit holder and organizer. LUCKILY, I was in his boat. I have known Dave for 6 years now. My husband went to college with him and his wife Tara. Dave is now officially THE MAN. I figured I would go screaming through every rapid we faced, but he made it look easy. He paddled Class IV’s with the same confidence and grace as he would a small riffle.

The 10 other people that I traveled with over the 6 days on the river were amazing! Some people I knew and others I just met. Our ages ranged from mid-twenties to the sixties. You would never have known there was any age difference based on all of our adventurous spirits and laughter. (Okay, maybe the older folks could hold their whiskey better than some of the younger folk…except you TW…who’s your Daddy). We had pranksters, singers, drinkers, hikers (More like death marchers…I had a few foul words for the cacti that kept attacking me. Luckily I had a personal guide who held back most of the scary attackers…thanks JJ), potty-mouth’s, sunbathers, drinkers, laughers, good cooks, not so good cooks, and drinkers of course. It is this eclectic group that made this trip one of the best experiences of my life.

Aside from the pure indulgences of eating, cocktailing, and laughing until you wanted to puke, there are other aspects of this river life that is so endearing. The beauty of traveling through this desert by water was amazing. We had tons of saguaro cacti watching over us like guardians the entire way. It almost appeared at times that they were waving at us (No really, that’s not the 4th Heineken by 1:00pm talking). We would float in and out of these gorgeous white granite canyons, scout out upcoming rapids, and then run them with huge smiles on our faces. This peaceful lifestyle is beyond addicting. It so quickly gets into your veins.

Everyone said that I would immediately become addicted and I was a bit skeptical due to my water fears. Well, they were right. I have only been back a few days and I already logged on as a user for the Grand Canyon Permitting process. Everything on the river is SO MUCH better. I miss my tent, I miss my river coffee, I miss the raft, but mostly I miss my new friends. Look forward to future adventures with you all. Happy journeys until then!

GEAR REVIEW FROM TRIP:

The ladies from Carve Design were nice enough to send this “Rocky Mountain” girl some cute, swim friendly, products to test out on the river. Considering most of my gear consists of poly-pro and bike chamois, I was glad to add some new cute things to my “gear” collection. I’d also like to thank Atlantis for providing me with a great rain piece.

The Beachcomber Short was super cute. Must admit that the sizing was a bit weird on me…that is usually the case with my “larger” quad size. The large was too big and the mediums were just a bit snug on the thighs. These shorts fit great around my waist and were super comfy. I really like the design. The material dried quickly and allowed me to move with ease. This was important since you are always moving, hauling, and loading on river trips. Once on shore I was easily able to hike around in these shorts also.

The Paddler Short was designed more for the “athletic build”. The large was a bit too big for me so I was unable to really test them out. But I could tell that these shorts were for me. Otherwise, the material and versatility seems to transfer from the Beachcomber. I am looking forward to getting these in a medium. I have a feeling that I will be living in these

The Salt River is fed by snowmelt and only runs in the spring from March to May. Therefore, the water was freezing. Because I played a SUPER important role as a “high-sider” incase we flipped, that meant I spent the entire time in the front of the raft getting soaked in each rapid. (Some people would call me a paperweight…whatever!) Therefore, it was usually cooler than the 80-degree temps on shore. The first couple of days were much cooler and I would not get on the boat without the Carve Design Sunset Raglan Rash Guard. LOVED this layer. The material was super cozy and it did a great job at insulating me from the cooler temps. It was also nice at keeping the extreme sun off of me. So happens that we had a Hawaiian theme night on the river and with the beautiful floral pattern I fit right in no problem.

Most of the time during those cooler days I combined the rash guard along with the Atlantis Women’s Microburst Jacket. I originally was sent this product for a sailing trip I did last November. But I didn’t really use it much for that. It was a critical piece for this trip. I did not have a proper splashguard, but this jacket was perfect for the conditions. It kept me dry and warm. The hood kept me toasty as well. The rest of the crew thought they would never see me NOT in my rain layers.

Thankfully the weather heated up the last few days and I was finally able to sport the Carve Design Hanalei Top and Bottom Swim Suit and Trestles Tank Rash Guard. The swimsuit fit extremely well. It had super cute properties but fit the more athletic build really well. No wedgies and such. Loved it. The Tank Rash Guard also was a critical piece in keeping the sun off of my Wyoming white stomach and back until I could work a bit on my tan. I wore it the entire time. Again, this piece worked great for my afternoon hikes (death marches…every cacti wanted to attack me). I just rinsed in the river, let in dry and game on the next day.