Day One – River Crossing
Very cool to be back at Wilderness Tours. And nostalgic.

Seventeen years ago I was working for WT on the weekends… while slogging away at an engineering job during the week. It was the exhilaration of the rapids, the beauty of nature, and the camaraderie of my fellow guides that lead me to quit my office job and head off in search of a better life.

Hardly any of the old guides remain from those days, but the river is the same. So is the sense of camaraderie. Mark, the Head of River Operations (one of the most senior positions at WT) started working at ‘The Tours’ the year after I left. And we have a good friend in common. He is married to a gal I guided with on the Nahanni. Mark and his crew welcome me back as if I never left, and we begin to work at setting up our river challenges.

The roar of rapids make communication challenging, and we start by teaching the television crew all the universal river signals: both arms spread wide to say stop, single arm straight over head to say go, tap of the helmet to say OK, always point to the good route, never point to the danger, etc.

A few of the crew are sceptical that the section of river we have selected for our challengers to wade is difficult enough. “Come on! That is a piece of cake! Isn’t it?” Walking through moving water is much more challenging than it looks. As soon as the water hits waist height, all but the most experienced waders will be swept away. It only takes a few seconds to prove that….

Day Two – Running the Rapids
Mark and Kelly will have a two-fold challenge today. First they will have to learn the rudiments of steering a raft, then they will have to command a crew as it navigates a fairly pushy section of whitewater – The Lorne Rapid.

Having spent hundreds, if not thousands, of days on rafts in the last two decades, steering one is like walking – I barely think about it. But as soon as I put our challengers at the helm, I realize just how much skill is involved, and how much they will have to learn. Both get frustrated at first, as the rubber boats spin out of control on flat water. Both are leery to really yell commands at their crew, but as they will learn on the river, doing something - anything, even the wrong thing – is often better than being swept helplessly along. And with a bit of prodding, both start to pick up the requisite skills.

Before we send Mark and Kelly down the rapids, I want to show them the ramifications of making a bad run. Basically, I want to flip a raft on the first wave. I remember the trepidation with which I used to approach the blind drop into the Lorne Rapid as a junior guide. Now I have the crew back paddle, slow our approach, tweak our position, and diddle around at the top of the tongue leading into the mayhem – basically everything a guide shouldn’t do! Funnily enough, my concern now is that I won’t flip the raft on my first try!

A few junior guides have agreed to join me on the run down. It never crosses my mind that they might find this exercise stressful, until one turns back and looks at me, a bit white in the face, “For goddsake! Backpaddling on top of the Lorne? You are gonna kill me!”

And then the current catches us and sweeps us on…

Day Three – The Regatta
Threat of thunderstorms and no wind! What could be worse. We have to film the regatta this afternoon. Tomorrow I’ll be on a plane bound for Africa! But Mother Nature doesn’t appear to be cooperating. We manage to sneak in a bit of practice in the morning, then spend the afternoon in the club house as rain pelts against the tin roof.

The storms clear by six p.m., but still no wind, so we motor out into the Bay in the vague hope something will pick up. Other boats from other clubs converge on the race course, but still no wind. The race committee is minutes away from cancelling the race… when…yes, a little puff comes! And it continues to build. Race on!

Both Mark and Kelly do an outstanding job commanding their boats. It doesn’t look easy from my perch on the chase boat. As they cross the finish line I reflect on how busy this episode has been (lots of travel and logistics). I really like Mark and Kelly, and don’t feel I have had as much time as I would have liked to connect. I ask the chase boat to drop me off with Kelly, so I can chat for a few minutes as she sails back to harbour.

Am I ever glad I did! With the stress of the challenges behind, and the cameras gone, Kelly opens up about what a huge experience NOW has been. And she tells me just how closely her and Mark have bonded. She was ready to call it quits on Day One, and only his encouragement kept her going.

Back at the dock, as we film the final wrap up and champagne toast, I ask Kelly if she minds sharing what she just told me. It is an emotional moment, and a fitting end to our three-day experience.