Ed’s love of whitewater rafting began in the early 1980s when he joined a friend on a day trip rafting down the Deschutes River of central Oregon. He was immediately hooked. Within a year, Ed had his own rafting gear, including a 14’ raft, a 12’ cataraft, and a 12’ inflatable kayak. Lisa joined Ed’s rafting adventures when they met in 1994. Since then they have rafted many of the whitewater rivers of the West, from the Colorado River flowing through the Grand Canyon to the Tatsenshini River of Canada and Alaska, which passes by 26 glaciers. Among their favorites are the Rogue River of southern Oregon and the Klickitat River of Washington.
Perhaps their most adventurous whitewater rafting trip was on the Babine River in central British Columbia. There they, with four rafting companions, embarked on a five day trip down the remote river canyon experiencing unusually high water levels. The big excitement came at a rapid named Grizzly Drop; no grizzlies were spotted there, but three black bears prevented the group from first scouting the 14 foot drop. Ed’s raft successfully navigated the falls, but their companions’ raft flipped, depositing both of the occupants into the cold water of the Babine. One of them made his way to shore and was picked up by Ed’s son, who brought up the rear in his inflatable kayak. The other rafter and the upturned raft were both washed down the swift moving river, and eventually were chased down by Ed and his crew (ie, Lisa and son-in-law). After a night around a warm campfire, the trip continued on without much further drama. Over the course of the five days on the river, the group spotted nine bears and only two other humans.
These days Ed’s son is the keeper of the rafting gear, while Ed and Lisa have mostly moved on to the much calmer hobby of flatwater kayaking.
Ed & Lisa on the Babine River, 1994
Ed & Lisa on the Deschutes River, 2009
And the calmer days of kayaking — Ed
and Lisa
