Many, many rapids today. Started the morning with an 8, followed by a 9 and a bunch more that ranged from 4 to 8. Add a narrowed canyon, lower temperatures, a breeze … and you have great chances for hypothermia when you don’t have a chance to dry off and warm up between getting wet.
It sounds like this will be the worse day for shear number of rapids (8). When we got off the river today I’d been in a semi-catatonic state for at least an hour. My bodies reaction to extremely stressful situations is that I just shut down.
When we finally landed at our campsite I immediately stripped and put on dry clothes — but apparently Jay found me wandering around with blue cheeks and hands and immediately corralled resources to get my core body temperature back up. Lots of people pitched in — Gena was pressing flesh and administered her homeopathic remedy for hypothermia which is a diluted brandy. All this when I’m supposed to be slaving in the kitchen tonight.
Everyone on the boats was frozen — the beach was littered with clothes as people threw off the wet ones and scurried into dry ones. Uli was probably next in line for hypothermia behind me. Weather supposed to get warmer tomorrow — and I’m hearing rumors of a layover day which I need.
Bean soup with fatback and sausage in it tonight. Opened a five liter bag of the Cote de Rhone. Way early bedtime for me.
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