This wasn't how the trip was supposed to begin. The night before our group of 9 was set to launch our rafts on the Rogue River, we learned that a woman drowned on Blossom Bar earlier that day. Our collective mood was already apprehensive because Blossom had claimed another life four weeks earlier.
We didn't commit to this trip because we wanted to tempt fate. This trip was about re-connecting with old friends over a few days of whitewater and a few nights around the campfire. Sure, we knew the Rogue was dangerous and that mishaps are commonplace. In years past, each of us had perilous encounters---flipping rafts or kayaks, adrift in wild waters struggling to reach a point of safety. Such events take place almost daily on the Rogue.
But never before had Blossom Bar claimed two lives in such a short time period. Was it because the water levels were 50% higher than normal for the summer? Was it merely goulish coincidence? Unable to purge such worries, but determined to proceed with the trip as planned, we committed ourselves to safety and caution. Not that we were especially reckless in earlier trips, but this time, we did things a little differently.
The Rogue trip takes four days. In the past, we tended to drink plenty of beer during the calm stretches on hot afternoons and we often removed our life jackets after passing through dangerous rapids. Not this time. In earlier trips, there was always a point in the trip, usually after passing through Blossom Bar, when we lowered our guard, figuring that since the biggest hazards were behind us, we were somehow immune from the dangers that still remained. Inevitably, this is when most of our mishaps occurred.
This year, our concentration remained high throughout the entire trip. The result---no screw-ups, no scary moments, everyone home safely. But there was one especially unsettling moment. When we arrived at Blossom Bar, just as we were tying up our rafts to scout the life-threatening rapids, a helicopter came in close. Was it there to attempt to remove the body? Was it there to get footage of another rafting party's flirt with death?
Turns out that unlike the earlier drowning victim whose body was unable to be removed from the rapids for over two weeks, the second victim's family was fortunate to recover her body within a day or two. Still, it was weird and ominous that a helicopter would arrive at Blossom Bar at the same time we did. We didn't like it.
Apart from our worries, the trip went like a dream. There's nothing quite like spending time on an outdoor adventure with your best friends. Everyone stayed up late singing, partying and laughing. As expected, my fingertips nearly bled from the many hours of hard guitar playing. We had a ridiculous encounter with a complete asshole who we nicknamed "Pajama Man"---a territorial guy who refused to share a much larger campsite than his party needed---but the result of Pajama Man's ugly behavior was that we met a couple guys who became good friends and joined our party for the last two days of our trip. Mathew and Kelly (who looks like Owen Wilson but with a better nose) became welcome additions to our group.
We're already planning next year's trip. Our hearts feel so badly for the friends and family of those who died on the Rogue. We like to think that we honor their memory by continuing to raft the Rogue's dangerous waters.
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