GATES OF LADORE

Well, I made it home alive. It was exactly like I thought it would be. We met amazing people, made lots of new friends, saw beautiful scenery, nearly froze to death, and had a blast.

Here we are at the put-in. I was so glad S got to come home and go with us. I have missed her so much!

Here is our group (minus one that was already in the water).

This is a shot of the Gates of Ladore. It is a beautiful canyon! Too bad it was RAINING! (and had been all morning and night).

One of the days we stopped and hiked up to see a waterfall. Here are our blisters when we got back. Ouch! But it was a fun hike, a pretty waterfall and nice to get out of the boat and move, so it was worth it. My feet also got sunburned that day. I still can't figure out how that happened... it wasn't that warm...

This was the scene this morning. Note the snow on the mountains that was not there when we went to bed the night before.

Our Big Island campsite was a pretty cool one despite the cold. Here are some of us at breakfast.

The day got colder and colder and the wind blew HARD. At one point it even hailed on us. I truly don't think my feet have ever been as cold as they were on the Split Mountain section of the river. (It was a strange experience to have sunburned and numb feet at the same time- only on a river trip!) We were going through HUGE water and it was VERY cold. I was glad it was the last day.

Now we get to go on another trip (covering some of the same area) next week. Hmmm... Can't decide how to feel about that. I'll have to let you know later...