Our group. That's me in the pink hat on the far right.
“Was it scary?” my friend and co-blogger, Chrissy, asked me when I returned to the office on Monday after a weekend whitewater river rafting trip down the Class III/Class IV Upper Salt River. “Nope. Not scary at all. It was thrilling!”
Thrilling, exhilarating, heart-pounding; these are the words I use to describe my first-ever river rafting experience. It’s fitting, then, that the adventure company with which I did this trip is called Exuberance Events. Rafting on the Upper Salt River, about 45 minutes north of Globe, Arizona (about 2.5 hours east of Scottsdale) was not only a day filled with unrestrained joy, it left me with a hangover of happiness for the day or two following.
Thirteen Exuberance participants hopped in a van and drove from Tempe to the Upper Salt River around 6 am. Our Exuberance trip guide, owner Ann Mullins Bulka, had healthy, gourmet homemade breakfast treats laid out for us before we departed – a great touch and one of her signatures. The van was abuzz with anticipation as we began our 2.5 hour drive in great spirits.
After a beautiful scenic drive up highway 60 past Globe, toward Showlow, we crossed a large bridge over the Salt River and arrived at our destination. We met with our trip guides from Wilderness Aware Rafting, and our Trip Leader, AJ, led us through a thorough safety talk and the other guides got us fitted with life jackets and helmets. Soon after, we headed down to the put-in spot and met with our individual guides. Our group took two boats, adeptly guided by Miles and Glenn, two of the country’s best and most accomplished river guides.
A quick paddling lesson and we were off! Photos: exuberanceevents.com
Under clear blue skies and bright sun, we got a few lessons in paddling “Forward 1! Forward 2!” and then we were off! The Upper Salt River Canyon meanders through over a dozen Class III rapids; our group’s favorites included Maytag Chute, Mother Rock, and the powerful waves of Exhibition Rapid and Mescal Rapid.
At midday, we pulled off to the side of the river to our lunch spot. A shaded ramada, hors d’ouevres and a hot lunch of delicious sizzling fajitas made for a tasty and satisfying reprieve. Our guide, Glenn, offered to take our group on a short hike to Travertine Falls, a beautiful shaded oasis tucked into the cliffs the preside over the Salt River. We all enjoyed this leg-stretching hike and were eager to return to the river.
The second half of our day on the river included thrilling rapids, some fancy maneuvering and heart-pounding “surfing” on an eddy in the midst of the powerful Mescal Rapid. All too soon, our day had come to an end and it was time to head back on the bus to our starting point. We climbed aboard the Wilderness Aware “vintage” bus ending our day that was, as described by the guides, “a Class III river trip with a Class V ride home.”
I’m really looking forward to doing this trip again next year. If you’re interested in this kind of trip or even this specific trip for Spring 2010, check out Exuberance Events for more information about their outdoor adventures, hikes and yoga events in the Phoenix area.
