The rivers are a ragin’. From Idaho to Washington and Oregon to California, an early melt has filled every crevice and crack that holds water. The Wind River is a tributary of the Columbia in Washington, near Hood River. It’s a beast at high water. If you’ve never experienced something like a flooded Class V river, it’s like being shot through a tube. The rapids aren’t impossible, but if you exit your boat, things get extremely dicey as it’s hard to get to the banks with the current and wood. When kayakers die in this manner (unable to get out of the river), it’s called flush drowning.
This is POV from Aniol Serrasolses as he and Benny Marr and a number of other kayakers work to save their friend who’s come out of his boat. You can almost hear the heart rates increase after they see the kayaker swimming.
