Right after closing our eyes we fall asleep. But only a short time later I wake up again – I am sweating…! God, I’m hot! Allthough we only use ONE sleeping bag – all the others are just in case next to us…
Well then, I get rid of my pajama and go back nudism into my bag. Humph. Still hot. And now I also have to go to the toilet. Damn it. If I now crawl out of the tent I wake up Matthias – and he should sleep to recover. Furthermore it is quite a distance to get to the bathroom – and I am naked! I sigh inaudibly and try to get back to sleep.
But my bladder-manager insists: I need to do an urination! Inaudibly I sigh again and jump back into my wet pajama. Roll, more or less athletically trained, over Matthias and open really carefully and quietly the zip of our tent.
It clangs ZZZZZZZZZZZZZippp into the dark silence. I sigh soundlessly. Then I try to get out of the tent – but my head bumps into the fly sheet. “What…?” I curse soundlessly and unclip the fly tent. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZippp it goes again. I cover my ears. And luckily Matthias doesn’t wake up.
Then I pee next to the river (I really don’t wanna hike to the bathroom) and crawl back into the tent. I zip zip number one ZZZZZZZZZZZZZippp, and zip number two ZZZZZZZZZZZZZippp, heave over Matthias, jump out of my pajama and back in my sleeping bag.
I glance at the patient: he is sleeping. Is that a good sign…?
After a deep silent sigh, part two of the night runs unproblematically and it stays very warm.
Happy Birthday to youuuuuu dear Matthias
In the morning we shower to wash away all the sweat – it will be the last one for a long, long time… Then I sing Happy Birthday. And then I fail trying to arrange a nice birthday-breakfast-table…
…because: it is raining! Hello? California, are you feeling allright? We never had to celebrate Matthias’s birthday in the rain – June is one of the most beautiful months in Austria. Yes, you have to go to California if you want to experience something like that …
But armed with raincoats and an umbrella we gourmandize the birthday cake. 🙂
And at the latest when we raft we are wet anyway – since Matthias (still) is fever-free we will dare the adventure!
Most dangerous part: the car ride to the river!
We squeeze into a neoprene suit and a splash jacket (which is supposed to prevent the water as long as possible from touching our body) and then we start with the most dangerous part of our trip: the drive to the river!
Once there we get a short introduction ashore – and already get wet as the rain has now qualified to a real wet shitty weather: it is pouring and in addition it is cold!
Then we raft.
The river is wilder today then usually – but we are high-minded rafters!
Guide René: “Hold your breath! And please! stay in the boat!”
“Yeeeee-haw!”
“Wohoooooo-bubble-gurgle”
Yeaiiiiiii! So cool!!!
It IS so cool! Unfortunately in the truest sense of the word… After about three hours of rafting in the cold rain (55°F), in a ice cold river (55°F) – you are about feeling cold… And we have only half-time! Now it’s lunch time.
Trembling we eat some tortillas while doing some knee bends – we are eating ashore 😉 – and jumping jacks.
Brrrr! I don’t remember the last time beeing that cold. Camping at Point Reyes was nothing!
Having lunch while doing some jumping jacks. Well, there are better ways…
Then we return back into the boat. We paddle strongly to get warm. Ahem. Getting warm? We just try to safe our fingertips from dying…
After six hours on the river we are done. If you are interested: we did the South Fork des American Rivers. I booked the Middle Fork , but, as mentioned before, the river was a bit undisciplined today and we couldn’t do the Middle Fork (nobody could, not even a pro). And the family friendly South Fork today presented itself as a passionate and temperamental river.
But René, our guide, steered us through all the rapids and we always felt safe! In addition the two girls in our boat were nearly profesionals as well – they are in education for beeing a rafting-guide.
We had soooo much fun! And we definately will do it again! And for sure again with American White Water Expeditions! But in a nicer weather 🙂
Even René mentioned, that it never before has been that cold – and saison is from march til september…
The worst, because coldest part is the drive back to the camp. Without any movement you are sitting wet and cold in the bus. Here one shivers a bit.
But the hot shower at the campground is hilarious! And the bathroom does not only have hot showers, it is also nice and clean! In general I want to recommend this campground – and if booking a tour with them you can camp and shower for free!
The weather god is quite nice and gives us two hours without rain.
Thank god the rain stops so we can demount our tent. Because we are going on with our vacation. Allthough…I’m not so sure how far – Matthias isn’t dying so far but this day in this cold river wasn’t that good either for a feverish person. We’ll see!
In any case gets Matthias his next little letter where he can read, that we are going now to Placerville. It’s a little village close to here. After all it’s Matthias’s birthday and on this day we don’t wanna drive but celebrate!
In Placerville waits a room in a motel (I booked that in advance, as if I had known that it could get cold after the rafting…) and we don’t have to sleep in a tent outside in the cold rain 🙂
The National 9 Inn is like any other motel: cheap and okay for sleeping. But please bring your flip flops: in all those rooms lives an old carpet and the bathrooms…well…no problem as long you have flip flops 🙂
Just after our arrival also the fever appears and Matthias is doing a nap. Then he gets up for having a birthday-dinner in downtown (Placerville is such a cute little town!), but after that he gives in a shivering attack…
I read him where we would go tomorrow: Lake Tahoe…
…but thinking of camping I am pessimistic. We’ll see where we’ll go tomorrow…
