Rafting the Snake

Ellen had never whitewater rafted before this trip, and today was her second experience -- much more intense than last week's rafting of the Arkansas River, because last week's water flow was 647 cps (cubic feet per second) and today's was 6000 cps -- a much faster ride. As you can tell from her smile, she's enjoying it.



Our guide, Matt from Maryland, is only 26 but has been raft guiding for 9 years already -- the last 3 on this, the Snake River, as it runs through the Grand Canyon of the Snake in Targhee National Forest.



Here are 2 shots showing the other boat in our group and also showing the remarkable scenery of this magnificent canyon. We rafted with the first rafting company started in Jackson over 40 years ago -- the Dave Hansen Whitewater and Scenic Trips company.





There were only 4 paddling on our raft, so all our efforts were required to safely negotiate the class 1, 2, and 3 rapids, which meant I couldn't take photos IN the rapids because I was paddling like mad to keep us out of trouble spots. This sequence shows us hitting the biggest rapid, The Big Kahuna. The shots were by the professional photographer from whom I'll be buying the pictures. Ellen and I are in the front positions.