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BethTY 2009-2010 BethTY Board:
BethTY's July 09 White Water Rafting Trip
Events: BethTY’s First White Water Rafting Trip a Success
By Joe Kon The first installment in what hopes to be a long tradition of a white water rafting and camping was a rousing success, with over 18 BethTY members participating. Despite some minor setbacks with the weather, senior Brittney Davis said that, “It was the most exciting thing we’ve done as a group before. In addition to being a blast, we all got to know each other better.” The trip was supposed to start off bright and early, with a (planned) departure time of eight in the morning. But anyone who knows adolescent psychology knows that it is scientifically impossible to have eleven teenagers on time to anything before noon. Compounding this was the issue of stuffing 18 people’s bags – plus coolers, tents, sleeping bags and assorted toys and games into four small cars. Finally arriving at the camp site, with dark clouds looming, we decided to get the tents up before the rain. One small problem, nobody knew how to put up a tent. So for about 45 minutes we all pretended like we knew what we were doing, until finally with a little divine intervention we got the tents up. Next, we sat down for an unorthodox Havdalah. Even though the “wine” was cool-aid, and the braided candle wasn’t-so-braided, the connection we all felt while sitting there in the cool of the evening, with our closest friends was astounding. As if by some divine help, the rain held off until the second the service was over. But once it was over, oh boy, did it rain! Dawn brought an ending of the rain, but chilly temperatures. As we packed up our soggy tents and soaked sleeping bags, we were all giddy at the thought of the day’s activities. When we arrived at the rafting site, we were a little apprehensive because the day had not warmed up at all. But after a little assurance from Matt Mazer, “Don’t worry, you’ll only be cold for a little bit,” we got our helmets, life jackets and watched a short safety video. After the bus ride to the start of the river, we met our guide. She said that because of the rain, the rapids would be much faster than normal, and the rafting would take about half as long as normal. This was fine by us, as we were all excited to race down the river as only teenagers can do. The rafting was great, the water freezing and the halfway lunch surprisingly good. When it was over, and we showered and changed, we were ready for the trip back home. Before leaving to our individual houses, the talk amongst ourselves was that this was the best trip we have ever taken. Davis summed it up with, “It rained in our tents, the water was cold, and a fire siren went off. But we still had a good time.” |
