Adventure in The Poconos

I've never been a thrill seeker, never one who thought I'd enjoy jumping out of perfectly good airplanes or taking impromptu trips to Europe.  However, when my good friend asked me if I'd like to try white water rafting, I decided to take a step outside my comfort zone.  So my husband and I made the hour drive to Jim Thorpe to meet our friends, donned our life jackets, and signed the intimidating paperwork in case of death or loss of limb.  We then rode a bus from the Pocono Whitewater facility into a nature preserve and began the hike down to the water's edge. 

The water was frigid when we first waded in with our six-man raft.  The squeals complaints from the other groups (and my own mouth) were audible.  Once we waded our boat from the stream into the Lehigh River the water got a little warmer and our adventure began.  

My five cohorts and I paddled our hearts out for 12 miles of class three rapids on Dam Release Day and we thought we did pretty darn well for a bunch of amateurs.  We watched other rafts flip over, spilling lunch pails and passengers into the drink.  It seemed luck was on our side... until we hit the rock.  We became wedged upon a hidden rock and trying to shake free when a second raft barreled down upon us, slamming us further onto the rock, we began to take on water.  A LOT of water!  The bucket we'd been using to playfully splash the other rafters with suddenly took on a whole new role as we bailed as fast as we could.  Our boat was submerged now and we stood in knee high water.  It was at that point that one of the Pocono Whitewater employees kayaked by and noticed we were sinking at an accelerated pace.  A few well-placed shoves from his kayak had us free and we were on our way again!  

The day was lovely, the fellowship was fantastic and our adventure was one I enjoyed immensely.  The 12 miles went quickly and my arms weren't even that sore the next day!  Whitewater Rafting is just one of the fantastic adventures available in The Poconos.  To take a look at Pocono Whitewater Rafting, the company that hosted my whitewater adventure, click HERE, the employees were helpful, fun and knowledgeable.