A little over a year ago, we had a chilly and wild ride rafting down the Shenandoah and Potomac. This year, our intrepid group returned to do the same section of river near Harpers Ferry, though instead of battling 8 feet of water, we had a much tamer 2 feet to deal with. This made for a far chiller ride. Because the water level was so low and the temperatures was so hot, the guide had us spend a fair bit of time floating in the water. Man, was that a huge treat.
As we approached Harpers Ferry I was surprised to see so many folks hanging out on the near the river, wading in and basically treating it like a beach destination. The water temperature was downright spa like, so this was a solid idea. Perhaps on our next feels-like-100°F day, we'll trek out to the river to dip our toes in.
You'd think that experience of going down the river once before would have prepared us to be a cohesive unit. You'd be wrong. Our guide basically pleaded with us the entire trip: paddle *together*. We just didn't have it in us. The fact that the water level was so low didn't help, as it means that the river is far less forgiving about getting hung up. So yeah, we're not going to be forming a rowing team any time soon.
What's that saying about never stepping in the same river, twice? That definitely applied here. While different, both adventures were a blast.
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