WHITE WATER RAFTING and AVALANCHE PEAK
I hate to disappoint, but there aren’t pictures from Day 7. We spent the day white water rafting and swimming in the Boiling River, so my Canon didn’t get much use. The GoPro did. But the videos are so much better than the pictures, so you’ll just have to stay tuned.
I will say that Day 7 was amazing. It was fun to watch my 3 travel buddies white water raft for the first time. The rapids weren’t big which was a shame, but I will admit that “riding the bull” and having a little “rodeo” on board was quite fun. The Boiling River was also a delight. We walked a mile and waded into the rushing river. Parts of it were so cold you could get hypothermia, the other parts were boiling so hot that you could get burned badly. Finding the perfect mixture of both was absolutely wonderful.
Day 8 shall be deemed “unfinished business”. It holds something that all of us regret and now have to carry with us until we can go back and conquer. We took our sweet time getting ready that morning and set off for Avalanche Peak. The drive took about an hour as we had to wait on a hundred bison and at least five hundred tourists to get out of our way. The hike up the peak was unreal. Every 500 hundred feet or so the scenery would change. We would go from forest to wildflowers to birch trees to rocks as the elevation increased. Somehow thanks to the boys we all managed to acquire walking sticks which proved to be the most helpful tool.
Here’s the problem. We started too late. It was a four hour climb at best and we started just before noon. By the time we almost reached the peak a thunderstorm was rolling in. We aren’t scientists, but I am pretty sure climbing a completely desolate peak makes four humans great target practice for lightning. Although the boys persevered as far as they could, we were doomed. It was either risk getting struck or wait it out and walk back in the dark. Both weren’t appealing options. I guess we will be going back.
