The Lava Falls Event of July 23, 2011
We have no photos (or so I thought) of this event (see before and after photos albums below). True, the photo above was borrowed from another’s raft trip when the water was muddy. We had nice green water on our run but the river during our two weeks was much higher that normal. In some cases this causes the rapids to get washed out, in others, the rapids get bigger, as was the case with Lava Falls on our trip. In the picture above, notice the kayak on the left. It will give you a perspective of the size of the “Ledge”, that big wave in the center of this shot.
While the first three oar boats luckily caught the trough to the left, Charly, Tony, Denise and Barbara were sucked into the Ledge and thrown into the jaws of the treacherous wave. I’m told their 2000 lb oar boat flipped three to four times. Charly followed the boat down river in the rapids with an exhausting swim. Tony, Denise and Barbara Ann were machine-washed in the bowels of the wave, continually pushing them down amongst the sand churned from the river floor. They miraculously popped up behind the wave in the eddy on river right. Alexis and the paddle boat team followed, punching through the first 3 waves and paddling with great strength and determination to get to the three also exhausted swimmers, which they did.
We all came to rest in an eddy down stream. We took deep breaths, embraced and gazed into each other’s eyes. The swimmers were comforted and consoled. It took almost all of us to right the oar boat. We lost a few oranges and melons, V8 juice. Several dry bags were rescued along the shore. We lost an oar and there was a mysterious disappearance of a oar boat D ring that was ripped from the boat were Barbara sat. This is the ring place every four feet or so along the edge of the boat that supports a rope that people hang onto when challenging the rapids. Legend has it that Charly yelled, “hold on tight”, Barbara obviously did as she was told.
I was in the paddle boat along with Chris, Pat, Vaughn, Brooke and Stephanie. I was the only one in our entire group of travelers who knew that Barbara did not swim and had a fear of being underwater. Seeing the boat go into the rapid and come out upside down will stay with me for a long time. It was pure instinct that told me that I had no other choice than to get our boat through the large rapids facing us and find a way to save my wife. Alexis maintained a calm resolution as she steered the paddle boat in the right direction. The six of us stroked as one to break through the waves. I feel fortunate that we ended up where we did, when we did.
It was a very, scary event that obviously traumatize the participants and perhaps brought the group even closer. It was the experience of our guides, our extensive training as well as the cohesiveness of the group that delivered the immediate reactions, recovery, and ensuing sympathy, love and care that were essential to getting us though this event. We did. As Barbara says, she left a little part of herself at Lava Falls. I'd like to think you could say she took a little of the river with her.
Here are some photos (and incredibly, a video) from before, during and after the event:
