What’s a trip to the Rockies without white water rafting? It had been a very long time since either of us tried it, so we thought, why not! We called up Wild Water and made reservations to do the Whitewater Exciter. We were quite excited to give it a whirl!
The Whitewater Exciter is described as such, on their website: “There are numerous rapids, such as, “Roller Coaster”, “Hopi Hole”, “Goat Rapid” and “Twin Peaks” that are certain to leave you with big smiles. The most famous rapid is known throughout the area . . . the “Portage” and “Shotgun” rapids! (Cue dramatic music!) Long, continuous, quick and tricky, this section of river is, without question, the most popular and memorable section of true class IV to IV+ rafting in the Alberta area.”
I really enjoyed the Roller Coaster and the Shotgun Rapids the most. Very thrilling!
We showed up mid morning, and met with our guide, Juan. He was a nice enough dude, from Columbia. When they sorted out the crowd, to be allotted to different rafts, they did their best to keep groups together. While I think this is a nicety, I think it’s a bit stupid in some cases. Like ours…we were a group of 10, including Juan. So, there were Dennis & I, and then 7 young Indian gals.
They were not at all athletic, and they were *very* fearfull of the whitewater. Anytime the water would splash up, they would shrink down in the boat and stop rowing.
It took about 30 minutes for them to realize that unless they paddled and contributed, we were just not going to make it through the rapids. Juan, in fact, had to pull over and sternly pronounce to them that they needed to take it seriously.
Dennis & I were hovering between…
fear…(We could capsize if they didn’t put some effort out!…)
and
amazement…(What made these girls think this would be a fun undertaking? Their primary concerns were their hair getting wet or their nails breaking!)
I said a silent prayer for them to have the courage to face the river and actually use their oars! And then I shouted encouraging things, whenever a scary rapid was coming. “Let’s Row Hard!” and “We can do eeeet!”. And, then, Dennis & I started repeating Juan’s commands…because we think that his heavily accented English was hard for them to understand.
In the end, we made it through the rapids, and we headed back to the put-in for some cookies and hot cocoa. Yummy! After the rafting, Dennis & I headed back to Chateau Lake Louise and made reservations for dinner at the Fairfield Restaurant.
Before Dinner, I went on a nice 7 mile run nearly up to the Tea House, past the Plain of Six Glaciers. I ran up switchbacks, experiencing 1100 feet of elevation gain. The run was strenuous, but the views were lovely. I passed a family on my way up, and then on the way back. The Mom shouted out, “Your my hero!”. Geez, what a nice complement! I whispered hoarsely, “Thanks!”, as I was gasping for air…
I got back to the room with just enough time to shower and dress for dinner. Dinner at Fairview Dining Room was amazing. It was our splurge dinner of the trip, but totally worth it. The huge 25 feet windows displayed a view that was utterly gorgeous; Lake Louise, with glaciers and mountains!
We got back to our room, and they had turned down our beds, for night time. How lovely, an old tradition!
Tags: Canada, Class 4, Kicking Horse River, Lake Louise, Run, White Water Rafting