National Geographic Kids Chapters: White Water. Brenna Maloney

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       Credit 7

      

      When “reading” a river, the main features that kayakers look out for are waves, holes, and eddies (sounds like ED-eez). River waves are similar to waves in the ocean. Usually, they’re safe to paddle over. Holes are recirculating (sounds like ree-SUR-kyuh-late-ing) currents. That means they fall back on themselves. Holes lie behind submerged rocks. They can be dangerous because they can trap kayakers, making it hard for them to move forward down the river. Eddies are places where the water slows down and sometimes even flows back upstream. Eddies are good places for kayakers to pull over and take a break from paddling downstream.

      The sound was deafening. Their calls to each other were swallowed up by the river’s roar. There was no way to be heard. The team began using hand signals to communicate with each other. From above, the scouting team watched and documented as their teammates were battered back and forth.

      Todd had warned the team: Swimming is not an option. Normally, when a kayaker gets knocked out of his kayak, he swims. But on this river, that would be unwise. The current was too strong, and the rapids came one right after another, without a break. If anyone got knocked out of their boat, swimming would be hard. And Todd worried they’d be swept away before their teammates could help them.

      Now, as Todd feverishly paddled, he saw a huge wave flip one of his teammates upside down. Kayakers are used to flipping. Todd knew his teammate would be skilled enough to flip himself upright without coming out of his kayak. Seconds passed before his teammate rolled up to the surface and started paddling again.

      As the kayakers hurdled down the river, the river continued to change. At points, it was as wide as a football field. In other places, it narrowed. Lines of white quartz in the dark rock flashed by the kayakers like lightning.

      Todd looked for a slower place where they could exit the river. He signaled to the others to follow. Wide-eyed and dripping wet, they regrouped on a rocky ledge. The river was wild, but they were running it!

      Ahead, they spotted something they weren’t expecting. The river flattened out for a short stretch. Beyond that lay a series of house-size boulders. At the bottom of this rapid, there were two, huge hydraulic (sounds like hye-DRAW-lik) holes, one immediately after the other. In hydraulic holes, the river rolls over enormous boulders and then recirculates (sounds like ree-SUR-kyuh-lates) upstream.

      They are extremely dangerous. If a paddler were to get stuck in one, it would be like being trapped in a washing machine on the spin cycle. He might spin in his boat over and over, unable to catch a breath of air. Or, the force of the rotation could rip the paddler from his boat and send him barreling downriver.

       Did You Know?

      Kayakers sometimes have to do a “portage.” This means they carry their boat to avoid an obstacle.

      There was no question. Todd would not risk the lives of his teammates. To avoid disaster, each boat had to be hauled up the side of the cliff by rope. Each team member carefully walked along the canyon rim, balancing his boat on his shoulders. Then each boat had to be lowered back to the river, just past the hydraulic holes.