Winning At Life

   

Evan and I headed out this past weekend to follow up on vague rumors of a beautiful 40 mile float on the Sweetwater River from South Pass Rest Area on Hwy 28 to Sweetwater Station Rest Area on Hwy 287. 

When Yost dropped us off (along with our dry suits, a river kayak for Evan, a pack raft for me, camping gear and no map), all we knew to expect of the adventure ahead was a host of fences across the river and five miles of Class 2-4 whitewater in a canyon about halfway along the route. 

75 miles and 22 hours of paddling later we reached the take out... 

• happy to have been exploring together. 
  
• exhausted by the effort it had taken to trace our way east along a never-ending series of oxbows.
• having seen an amazing amount of wildlife (moose, beaver, cranes, geese, coyotes, marmots, antelope, deer, ducks) in scenic country. 
• having portaged around a Class 5 waterfall and two dams, crossed close to 30 fences, and boated a fun and sustained stretch of technical (or bumpy, depending on your strategy) boulder gardens.

My best moment was in the rest area's family bathroom at 10pm on Sunday night: no pants on, my face and neck covered in baby powder, whimpering in pain as I crouched under the air dryer trying to rewarm my frozen hands so I could finish changing.