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Juniors whitewater raft for class trip
Courtesy of Chris Hailey
Students and teachers prepare to start rafting. Each raft had six or seven people as well as a guide.
Members of the junior class went whitewater rafting on the American River for their class trip yesterday.
The students and their advisors met at 6:10 a.m. in front of Main to drive four hours in four busses to O.A.R.S., east of Sacramento, an internationally-recognized rafting company that has been functioning for over 40 years.
“The rafting was extremely fun, and the experience was quite unique,” Arnav Tandon (11) said. “The trip overall provided a fun and enjoyable way to begin the school year.”
Students and advisors split into groups of six or seven per raft to navigate down the South Fork of the American River, traversing class one, two and three rapids. Rafters who want to try class four and five rapids must first pass a swimming test.
Each raft was accompanied by an O.A.R.S. rafting instructor who gave rowing instructions and guided the group through a cumulative 800 foot drop in elevation.
Although class three rapids are beginner to intermediate, some students still found the ride tumultuous.
“During this wave, [my friend] Kavya and I got thrown off the boat,” Crystal Jin (11) said. “Kavya lost a shoe in the process.”
Despite the occasional involuntary dousing, most rafters took to the opportunity to cool off by jumping out and swimming with life jackets when the rafts paused to drift in the slackening current. Other rafters hoisted their classmates back into the boats before they reached another series of rapids.
River levels remained high enough to sustain rafting despite the drought due to damming efforts. Even so, students and advisors alike noted that the water levels had dropped up to 30 feet in some places from peak levels.
Buses returned to the Upper School around 7:30 p.m., an hour and a half earlier than the predicted 9 p.m. arrival.
“I think from beginning to end, it was a perfect team building activity,” Junior advisor John Docherty said. “You see your advisees in a school setting all the time, and it gives that dimension, but when you add physical activity, beautiful natural surroundings, it adds an interesting dimension to the interactions you have with your advisees.”
The juniors will not embark on another class trip until their senior trip to Disneyland in May 2017.
Meilan Steimle (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post. She was a reporter her freshman year, Winged Post Opinion Editor her sophomore year and Winged...