Buses took us from the school this morning to our launch site. Much like BRAG, there was little fanfare or ceremony at the beginning. Just get in your boats and go. It wasn't even difficult to figure out which way to go, because we just went with the current. We were kind of bunched up at the beginning, but just like the bike ride, pretty soon the masses thinned out.
Keep in mind this is NOT white-water rafting. We went over some very mild, Class 1, rapids, and I was scared to death. I became acutely aware of my very limited paddling skills. I remained upright, usually going forward, but that is probably more due to blind luck than any level of skill. We stopped at the Botanical Gardens to have our sack lunches. (Part of the meal plan we wish we hadn't purchased.)
One thing these folks do that BRAG doesn't is check names off as we enter the river and again at the end of the day. I guess it makes sense, since it's not likely that someone is going to venture off down a different river. If he or she doesn't show up at the end of the day, it's likely bad news.
Another big diffence between this event and BRAG is the distance. When I first saw that we would be paddling 12 miles today, I wondered "What are we going to do the REST of the day?" Ha!! We didn't get back here until around 3:00. The last two days are 20 and 22 miles. Yikes! Check with me in November when I finish those.
I heard a story about a kid who had never kayaked or canoed before, and at mile 4 today, a snake fell in his kayak. We've been told to check our boats for snakes before we get in them tomorrow.
It's only been one day, so I'm not going to make any sweeping statements yet. Suffice it to say, though, that if there's a snake in my boat tomorrow morning, he can have it.
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