Injury

Whitewater rafting on the Nantahala is not particularly dangerous. Every trip NOC runs carries a med kit, but these kits are rarely opened. Helmets are only worn by the Boy Scouts, because the organization requires it. Generally speaking, the bus ride up to the put-in is far more dangerous than the raft trip down. Still, as I learned last week, injuries do happen.

Not all the rapids on the Nantahala are particularly exciting, so guides do various maneuvers to spice things up. For example, there is a relatively mild rapid called Spin Cycle. Most guides spin their rafts through the length of the rapid, and this has given rise to the nickname Seven Spins. The goal is to complete seven full rotations of the raft from the first wave through the end of the rapid, which is marked by a large rock. Sometimes, my competitive nature overpowers my instincts for self-preservation, and my rafts float dangerously close to that rock.

Last week I finally hit the rock. Hard. So hard, and with so much angle, that the boat spun off it at high speed, and I was nearly flung out of the boat. In fact, it may have been better if I was flung out of the boat. As it was, my right ankle was tucked in the raft so tightly that I wound up staying in the boat and spraining it instead of swimming.

At the moment of impact, the pain was so sharp that it nearly brought tears to my eyes, but my guests were clueless. The trip continued normally, albeit with me dragging my right leg in the cold water beside the raft. Back on shore, I tried limping around for a few minutes before I couldn’t take the pain anymore. Another guide hauled me into the guide lounge in a gear cart, cracked open a med kit to tape up my ankle, and I filled out an accident/injury report.

My ankle is feeling much better now, but my ego is still slightly bruised from being momentarily crippled by the Nantahala. Regardless, I learned my lesson and have not hit that rock again. Now I am willing to settle for six spins.