Lazy River Float or Rapid White Water?

Saturday ... was our last full day celebrating our daughter's big 4-0 in Vancouver. We sipped up leftover coffee from the box with the eager enthusiasm of peaked partiers who needed to summon up the gusto for more fun and frolic.

The plan was to be ready by 11am so we could hit the road for the 90 minutes drive to Chilliwack and enjoy the afternoon lazily floating down the Vedder River. In fact, Sharon had checked it out ahead of time and had a friend who had floated on it many times before and was going to come with us! It sounded like a perfect way to spend a hot sunny day in B.C.

We also thought it would be fun to stop at a winery along the way but we hit the road a little later than we expected … and then … the TRAFFIC. It was bumper to bumper to bumper along the highway. It took us nearly twice as long to arrive at our departure point as we expected … gah. The commute was definitely stressful. I know in our car we opted to embrace the notion that the fun we were about to have would generously compensate for the extra time we spent on the road.

It also took us a bit longer to get the tubes inflated than we expected. John patched a tube that was leaking and Auntie Sharon even made a run back into town to get a few more tubes. I enjoyed a serving of chicken and fries from a food truck while we waited. It was absolutely delicious!!

Now, you should know, I do not like adventure! I do not seek adventure. I am a complete scaredy cat when it comes to any kind of thrill-seeking activity. When I heard that the water was moving quite fast for the first bit … my instinct told me not to go. I even looked at the other options of what | could do to pass the time instead while my peeps were on the water for a couple of hours.

But then … I got to thinking how left out I was going to feel when they were all talking about all the fun they had experienced … reminiscing about this moment … and fondly recalling that moment. I also reassured myself that we had gone white water rafting in Glacier National Park on a family vacation with our daughters about 20 years ago. I was scared spitless back then too … but I ended up enjoying it so very much!!

And so, I decided to get my brave on. I had a good talk with scaredy-cat self and decided that I didn't want to let my 'fear' make me miss out on this part of our daughter's birthday adventure together. And so … that is how I ended up on the tube.

We donned our life jackets … or it might be more accurate to say … some of us donned our life jackets and we scaled down the river's edge to launch into the water. Sharon's friend was with us and had floated the river and said that current was fast for a bit in the beginning but once we got a way down it would settle and be very nice. He suggested that we "stay to the right." And so, that is what we did.

But before I tell you how I ended up out of the tube and into the water ... let me share what I learned about tubing on the Vedder River after we got back. As Sharon had researched, the Vedder was rated as one of the 10 nicest rivers to float. One site rated it as 7 out of 10 in terms of the most desirable floats in B.C.

"7. Vedder River // Chilliwack
This will be a breathtaking rafting ride, but make sure to take it seriously. Though most the river keeps a steadily moderate pace, at times there are some serious rapids. There are multiple places to start and end, so map out the trip before you hit the water. Be safe, have fun and float on!"

I ended up following up on another thread of one person asking for a few more details. One person responded:

“I grew up beside the Vedder river. I've swam and tubed down it multiple times. Watch out for trees or other obstacles on the sides, also watch the river and notice where the current wants to take you. You can also notice where large rocks are by how the water behaves around them. If you fall out of the tube... swim to shore on a diagonal. if you feel stuck in a current, keep your ass up, feet forward, and paddle your arms in a clockwise motion. You'll roll right over any large rocks, and you'll hit a shallow spot eventually. It comes down to reading the river, and paddling where you need to be before you get there. 15 minute walk east on Chilliwack lake road. all the way to the train bridge is the most worth while stretch of river to float down.”

Another person warned: “Be wary of debris, there's a lot of semi-submerged logs in strong current. Getting trapped against one of these isn't fun.”

And, guess what?? We learned that getting tossed into a big log jam was not ideal either. Yep. We learned the hard way that all of those tips and warnings were absolutely TRUE!

Thank goodness we were all paired up so no one was tubing alone. My tube was tied to the old boy's and Sharon came along in our grouping. Within a couple of minutes of getting out on the water, I was getting grumpy with John because he kept putting his hand on my tube. His intention was good! But, in trying to hold me close ... my tube kept turning me backwards so I couldn't see where we were going. 😕

Somehow, our little threesome ended up in the front of everyone else. Not sure how it happened, but we weren't in the water for more than 5 to 8 minutes when we found ourselves careening towards a huge log jam. 😲😨😰😱

Yep. Just like in the movies. Thriller movies. Both the old boy and Auntie Sharon got dumped out of their tubes and swept under the big log that was lodged horizontally and completely traversed the river before us. Somehow, I lunged forward to grab onto that log and I just hung there ... Indiana Jones style, for quite a few minutes until I could figure out how to make my way as safely as possible to John and Sharon. I could see both of them wrestling with the water in the distance … and … although I didn’t really want to head back down into the current, I knew I couldn't/t just hang out there on that log all day. Please excuse the corny pun …

Sharon said that she was yelling at me to let go of the log. I honestly don't remember hearing her. All I remember is deciding to hold my breath and trust that my life jacket would carry me if/when I let myself drop into the rapid water flowing beneath me.

And so, I let go. Once I arrived near Sharon, she went into full protection mode instantly. I felt incredibly supported as we made our way to edge. She reminded me not to stand up ... the current was too strong. She reminded me to sit on my bum. The rocks were incredibly slippery. We made our way together to the edge. That said, I remember emphatically telling her I wanted to go at my own pace. Yep … it was nothing short of downright disastrous.

The old boy had sailed a whole lot further down the water. He finally made his way back to us and we began assessing the injuries. John had clearly been knocked in the head near his eyebrow which was red and bruised and scraped up. He believed he broke his pinky finger. His hand was swelling up as fast as balloon attached to a tank of helium. His toes were chewed up and bleeding.

Auntie Sharon was instantly nauseous and knew her knee was screwed. She also had severe pain in three of her toes. They started to bruise up immediately as well. This was not good because the three of us had to walk all the way back to where we had launched into the water. And, although we had not been in the water long, the current was swift and we had a fair hike to get back to our car.

I was the least injured of us all. My right arm hurt from hanging from the log like a monkey in Africa ... but ... aside from a few bruises, I was pretty much unscathed. We lost all our shoes and belongings. I lost the only pair of expensive sunglasses I had ever bought. Yep. My precious Versace shades were headed down stream. I was so damn grateful that I heeded my instinct to leave my phone safely on shore. Thankfully, all three of us had wisely left our phones on shore.

I think we were all in a bit of shock when we safely got to shore. But then, when it occurred to me that all the rest of our group was heading towards the log jam too .... I absolutely PANICKED. Fortunately, it was not too long before I could see a few of them portaging their tubes away from the log jam. I relaxed when I could see that they were taking a different path channel down the river towards us.

We chatted briefly with Sherisse and Krissy and Sharon's friend to figure out how we were going to get across the river and back to safety. We decided to use the two tubes we had left (one of them had burst when it hit the log jam) and Sharon's friend generously offered to give us his so we could float towards a landing point on the other side that we could see from where we were. He offered to swim to that point.

The rest of the gang continued on floating ... we were all resting somewhat assured that we had already been through the worst of the rough water. I'll spare you the adrenalin and cortisol of that little ride traversing the river to the other side! With the help of so many kind folks ... we were able to scale the banks of the river and make the long walk back to the car. The old boy and Sharon were barefoot on the road. Krissy had been kind enough to give me her own shoes!! What a beautiful heart that girl has …. I wanted to kiss her again. 🥰 Maybe I even did. 💋 I hope I did. I know I hugged her tightly and allowed her compassion and support to fuel my resolve. 💕

Apparently, the stretch that dumped us into the drink was not the only treacherous stretch of the river. I am really glad I didn't know that. Schanell and Janine almost hit a huge log that was jutting out of the water in front of them too. Fortunately ... Janine manhandled that thing and it never got the best of them. I think there is a wee video reflecting upon their experience in that moment. Gah.

I am so glad I was envisioning them having a really good, relaxing float!! And, when all was said and done … they did really have a whole lot of fun. Although Janine said she could see the terror in Schanell's eyes, Schanell says she would do it all over again.

In fact, upon reflection, one of Schanell's favorite memories is of seeing "Tiana and Brittany crushing drinks on the other side of the log that almost killed Janine and I." She also really enjoyed the little break the four of them took on the beach … aka "boulder village."

Once again, there are more videos than I am allowed to post, but the pictures they took confirm that the ultimate in both polarities of agony and ecstasy was experienced on the Vedder that day!Read more