Whitewater rafting at Letchworth

[Matt]

we are looking forward to this. should be a good time. First white water trip for me... not sure about Shana.

[cbobcat49]

I'm sure Shana will love it. It's still a lot of fun even when it's cold! You get such a workout that you forget how cold you are. Looks like we're going to have about 15 people. Don't forget to bring a waterproof camera if you can. You should be able to get some shots of Wolf Creek Falls for the site. Hopefully the weather will be a repeat of this past weekend.

[Matt]

I decided not to buy a new waterproof camera for this (I had to buy a new computer). So I will be camera-less.

[Matt]

Angry rapids churn rafters through Letchworth State Park

LETCHWORTH STATE PARK — I knew it was going to be a good day when the skin-tight wet suit Kevin Kretschmer handed me zipped up without having to ask for a larger size.

Maybe the long winter hadn't been that long after all.

Walking our raft to the edge of the chilly Genesee River, our party is feeling nervous, anxious and giddy.

These are normal emotions for what we're about to do — challenge the 51/2 miles of wild water churning through the historic canyon of Letchworth State Park from the put-in below Lower Falls to the take-out at the lost village of St. Helena.

After a safety lesson from our confident guide, Dave Deuel, photographer Jen Rynda, passenger Carrie Yehle and I hop aboard.

Our bright blue raft that can accommodate six paddlers will be manned by just two this day, Carrie, a 25-year-old intrepid lab technician from Rochester, and me, a 50-year-old outdoors writer with a bad rotator cuff and a pocket full of Tylenol.

Jen, who thrives on challenging assignments, will need both hands on her waterproof camera and other gear while Dave, a 55-year-old retired dairy farmer from York whose love for his part-time job as a river guide is contagious, will be steering and hanging on from his perch in back.

"This is the time of year to go," says Dave, securing his guide hat with one last tug. He doesn't need to elaborate.

Rain and snowmelt have turned the Genesee, which last summer slowed to a trickle, into a caldron of whitewater. Lying ahead are eight sets of rapids that rate II to III on a scale of VI, big enough to put a lump in your throat, big enough to make you scream either "Oh no" or "Oh yeah."

Our plan: Leave first, negotiate Entrance Rapids curling left around a big oxbow, and pull over to an island so that Jen can set up and photograph rafts carrying eager Jasper-Troupsburg High School students on their traditional senior day trip.

Within a minute of takeoff, we hit the rapids, no time to think twice and turn back. Our raft hits a wave and the wave hits back. It happens over and over and over again. It is nature's version of bumper cars. Dave and a couple of passengers were tossed from their raft a few days earlier at this very spot, but we make it through fine, laughing all the way.

"Paddle hard left," Dave instructs, pointing to the island.

We eventually get there, only it's about 50 yards from where he wanted. With exhaustion mixing with exhilaration, we scramble up the oil shale to a point where Jen captures some stunning images.

Welcome to the Letchworth Gorge.

Thousands visit the "Grand Canyon of the East" each year and most have their breath stolen by the vistas looking through 25-cent viewfinders from above. But for a different perspective, Adventure Calls Outfitters of LeRoy will give you the view from the river looking up.

From here, fear of heights isn't the problem. Neck cramping from taking in the scene of a glacial tunnel way formed and reshaped by water in the 10,000 years since the last Ice Age is.

"It's pretty impressive," says Kretschmer, ACO's affable owner. "People who visit always ask, 'What's it like down there?' We can give them that perspective."

This is ACO's 25th anniversary year of combining the thrill of a water park ride — albeit a lot more dangerous — with the stunning beauty of nature.

Batavia teacher Terry Shearn started it in 1983, storing gear in a pig shed, and Kretschmer, who answered a newspaper ad to become one of his guides, has run the fun company for the past 10. For Kretschmer, a born-again Christian, safely introducing customers to the rapids and rainbows is more a ministry than a business.

He and his expert guides, including his son Arthur, see themselves as stewards of the land and of people, not entrepreneurs. Many a club or school needing financial assistance to make a trip possible has gotten it.

They feel connected to the Senecas, whose spirit never left these waters and woods. They feel connected to industrialist-turned-conservationist William Pryor Letchworth, whose 1,000-acre donated estate became a 14,000-acre jewel of the New York state park system.

"The fact is, I'm not that much of a water person," Kretschmer says. "But I really enjoy interacting with the people and showing them the bottom of the gorge."

And he means everyone.

"We don't believe in disabilities," Kretschmer says. "We've taken people who are blind, deaf, missing an arm or leg, any physical or mental disability you can think of. We've taken those people down the river because it's all about their desire to go."

And so we go.

Past Red Ball and Lee's Landing, Staircase Rapids, Rock Garden and Mystery Rock, past John's Rock (where a guide named John got tossed), Canoe Eater and Whirlpool.

This time of year when the water is high, confluence rapids dominate in Letchworth's gorge. The river is only so wide, so the water must go up, tossing gleeful rafters about.

The thermometer has risen above 60 degrees and I'm working up a wicked sweat. But the spray of 40-degree water is refreshing. Maybe not so for Jen, who takes the brunt of a wave that jumps over Carrie and me. Dave laughs out loud. He loves this job.

"It's one of mankind's oldest sayings, and I've heard it from Confucius to the ancient Greek philosophers: 'You can never step in the same river twice,'" he says. "The water's here today and it's gone a moment later. And then it's the people in your boat, the weather. Every trip is different."

It is a wild ride to wildlife.

As the late-morning sun warms the canyon walls, red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures soar on the updrafts while kingfishers dive and dart. On some days, you'll glance a bald eagle or the great blue herons in a massive rookery. It is a ride through geological history.

As we round Big Bend below Archery Field, shale and siltstone cliffs here rise 600 feet. Here, 500-year-old cedars and rare Yellow Mountain Saxifrage grow far from the reach of man's hand. Here, the water that carries us left Pennsylvania yesterday and will be in Lake Ontario at the Port of Rochester tomorrow.

Dave points out an exposed geological fault line and the still-frozen tiny waterfalls of "The Seven Sisters." At Wolf Creek, a spectacular feeder stream dropping 225 feet over four cascades, we stop and hike inland a short distance.

The sound of kids having fun competes with the roar of water. One by one, life jackets in place, the Jasper-Troupsburg students take turns jumping into a plunge pool of frigid wetness behind the falls.

Not to be outdone, Carrie jumps. I jump. Now I'm staring at a notepad with blurred ink, elated I took my "leap of faith."

As we near the end of our trip, Dave spins our raft through Whirlpool Rapids "because we can."

He points out a rock formation the guide's call Buffalo Head. Falling pebbles hit the water as we calmly skim along. What started with suspense ends with serenity.

We pull out at St. Helena, the once-thriving 19th century village now covered by 15 feet of mud from the settling flood waters held back by the MountMorris Dam.

We board the old school bus that will carry the bonds of friendship and laughter back to ACO's headquarters. We ride along the main road high above the river below. We feel good about ourselves.

"This is the view normal people see," Dave says. "But once you've been with Adventure Calls, you're not considered normal anymore."

You're a river runner now. Your heart beats for rapids.

Photos and original article here:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/app ... -1/COLUMNS

[cbobcat49]

Cool! Thanks for posting that. Adventure Calls is really all about making sure everyone on the trip has a good time. Even if the weather is crappy or if you're a newbie, the guides do a really good job in getting everyone "into it". Looks like we're going to have cold, wet weather early this week and then partly cloudy and mid-60s Saturday. Perfect rafting weather. The more rain this week the better!

[Matt]

this thread has over 4,400 views.

[cbobcat49]

Which means deep down people really want to come along but they're chicken.

[Brenda]

How many folks have signed up? It sounds like a blast! I hope y'all get lots of photos to post!