My Second Swim

My first swim was really inconsequential. I was in the back of a raft, we bumped a rock, and I fell out. The guide was able to grab hold of me and several people pulled me back in before I knew what had happened. My second swim was quite a bit more interesting, as it resulted in an actual injuty rather than just flopping around in the water.

I had just bought my new IK and was taking it down the South Fork American in California. The original plan had been to join some former coworkers who were doing a standard commercial trip in rafts - the (lower) Gorge run on Saturday followed by the (upper) Chili Bar run on Sunday. Since I had my own gear, the rafting company allowed me to come along for free. The week before the trip, a group of boater friends invited me to run with them. I had to refuse, since I already had plans, but they told me they were going to run the entire river, meaning starting at Chili Bar and running the Gorge. So, I told them I would run the Chili Bar section with them and then join my other group to run the Gorge.

This was only my second IK run on Chili Bar and my 3rd in my new IK, but I was feeling a little cocky. One of my friends said he was going to run further left than the main line, and I agreed to follow him. We made it through a little more than half of the rapid when I hit a hole sideways. I flipped and lost track of the boat. I swam to the bottom of the rapid and got out on the right. A solo rafter came by and informed me that my boat had eddyed out on the right about 50 yards upstream, not far from where I had flipped. He also pointed at my right leg and mentioned that I was bleeding. I hadn't noticed, but I had a nice hole punched in my shin, about an inch long. I didn't own a wetsuit at that time, and it was hot enough that I hadn't really needed one for warmth, and a rock had gotten me.

I went up and got into my boat and finished the rapid. There was nothing else I could really do at that point, so I continued on and met up with my other friends. After about an hour, my leg had swollen enough that I didn't feel like kayaking anymore. I should have gone to a doctor and had the hole stitched up, but I decided instead to go home. That was a tough drive. A couple of weeks later, I visited my doctor for other reasons, and he admonished me for not getting it stiched up, but he admitted that it was healing.

That was one of the rare occasions where I've gotten hurt on a swim. I've been hurt on scouts and portages more than in the river. I hope my luck continues.