Erin Miller

Swimming in the Arkansas river

I rafted the Royal Gorge with my family yesterday. The trip was a blast and the views of the gorge were awe-inspiring. I hadn't been to the Royal Gorge since I was young and yesterday it became a favorite Colorado tourist destination. I think that rafting or walking the suspension bridge would provide the best views, but I have heard that just walking across the bridge costs upwards of twenty dollars.

White-water rafting is one of my favorite hobbies, I have been rafting almost every year for about ten years and I have rafted one of the most dangerous commercial sections of the Arkansas, called Pine Creek, which is class V white water. I have only fallen out of a raft twice. The first time I fell out at the bottom of class III rapids in Brown's canyon. I lost my composure, and ended up about 20 yards from the raft. I swam the rest of the rapid and hit several rocks before I was dragged back into the boat.

My second swim was yesterday. We were in the middle of a class V, 8 foot waterfall when I was thrown from the boat. OK, I'm lying. I actually fell out when we bumped a rock that was not even in rapids. However, my form was much better the second time around. The temperature of the water was less of a shock (admittedly it was warmer due to being in a more southern stretch of river.) I stayed close to the raft and swam back to it quickly. My 16 year old sister held out the t-grip of her paddle which I was able to grab and pull myself back to the raft. An adrenaline rush to be sure, but I really feel like my white-water swimming is getting better.

Overall it was a great day of big and fun class III and IV whitewater complete with breathtaking views of the gorge and a tiny bit of cliff jumping. The jump was not as much of an adrenaline rush as the swim across the current that was required to get to the jump spot. We didn't get any pictures in the gorge because we were two busy navigating the water, but here is one from the web. If you're ever looking for something to do in Colorado, or with someone who is visiting Colorado, definitely check out the Royal Gorge. And if you can swim and are in good shape, I strongly recommend the rafting.