White water rafting is like a wet roller coaster with no seat belt.
But safer. And wetter.
You must be at least this tall to ride this ride
We get asked the “What’s it like?” question a lot. Even on the river. “What’s the next rapid like?”
It’s tougher to give an answer than you might think. The whitewater experience is a little different every time. That’s part of the reason it makes it so much fun.
But the roller coaster comparison is a pretty good one. We drift right up to the lip of the rapids, big ones like on the New River, or bigger ones like on the Gauley River. Then, the waves pick us up and we’re on our way.
Things are pretty fast and furious in the middle of a rapid. Or at least it seems that way. The guides are completely (!) aware of what’s going on, even though it seems like the river is crashing all around you (because it is).
And then calm. The rivers here in West Virginia are what we call drop/pool whitewater. It just means that the calm pools are broken up by big rapids. Or that the big rapids are broken up by calm pools. However you want to look at it.
But where the roller coaster analogy really works best is right before the rapids. As guides, we’ve pretty much lost the butterflies-in-the-stomach nervousness above the rapids (mostly). But most guests tell us that it’s just like that moment when the coaster is clicking up the first big incline.
And you hear that chain under you? That’s like the rapids getting louder. And the silence there at the top of the hill? That’s like the moments before you’re paddling, where your guide yells out, “Get ready! Get ready!” and there’s this long wait (actually about 1/3 of a second) before you dig in.
And then the waves are like, you know, the rest of the coaster (corkscrews?).
This is true even on our family trips. Meaning, even when the rapids are small, kid-sized ones, the excitement factor is the same. It all depends of the paddler (that’s you).
And then, of course, when you’re done, you immediately want to do it again.
Yep. A big, wet roller coaster is about right.
It could be the perfect after-Thanksgiving dinner activity.
