Sometimes all you need are a few pieces of gear and a rugged landscape to escape and sometimes all you need is a sea kayak on the open water. Some of the most beautiful places on Earth are best seen from the quiet solitude of a kayak.

Whether it’s discovering a hidden cove, a secluded trailhead, or a secret river canyon, exploring by paddle can take you into areas that are often times inaccessible by land, and can offer you a true calmness that one finds only after a few disconnected days in the great outdoors.

Imagine yourself here…

You’ve just flown into some remote part of the world, or perhaps one of the most impressive National Parks known to man. You packed up everything you’d bring on a backpacking trip, but instead of throwing everything on your back and heading out on foot, you toss the gear into a boat so you can make your mileage by water.

Day one on the open water is spent unwinding. Yes, your arms have to work to move you along, but each stroke of the paddle takes you further and further into a meditative place where the burn doesn’t exist. Your arms quickly become a part of the boat and your mind begins to escape to the place where your body has already arrived.  You’re finally away from it all.

By day two, the sunrise is on your mind, not the to-do list you left behind. As you sip your morning coffee, or maybe tea, and stare out at those pristine waters watching the sun rise, you realize that you’re finally ready to take in everything that this trip has to offer—the spectacular scenery, the quietness, the wildlife. You’re determined to access that deep place you haven’t been able to get to lately while living on auto-pilot. You come out of your thoughts for a moment. Is that a moose off in the distance? Or perhaps it was a whale? (Depends on where you are.)

Three days in and your mind is wandering. You just pulled the kayak onto shore for a hike to a vantage point that very few people experience each year. When you reach the top, you can see a hundred miles around in every direction. Now you start to daydream about leaving the rat race and finding your roots again. Remember when you had time on the weekends to go for hikes? You need that back. But for now, you need to remember this moment and this amazing vista that you feel lucky to be seeing.

On day four, you’re feeling like a changed person. Your body is stronger, and paddling takes little effort. You could do this forever. And that’s not all, your head is clear too. This was exactly what was needed—deep meditation by kayak.

Unfortunately, it’s time to head back to reality. But not before seeing a few more rare birds and dipping into one more remote cove. The past few days will stick with you longer than you can imagine. And as you unload the kayak, you begin to start thinking about where you’ll head next time.

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The post Meditation by Kayak appeared first on River Currents.

After 5 days and 4 nights of rugged luxury rafting with O.A.R.S., she changed from an apprehensive first-time rafter, to a wilderness enthusiast.

I completely understood her enthusiasm. This was my first rafting trip, too. I loved the idea of spending more time in the mountains, but with 2 small children at home and a fear of adrenaline-rushing experiences, I put off the idea as too risky and hoped to do it “someday.”

‘Someday’ Arrives

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to change that “someday” to “now” and joined O.A.R.S. on the Rogue River. As Dan, another member of our rafting trip told me one night while sitting in our camp chairs next to the hypnotic white noise of the river, “You need to live your own adventure — otherwise you’ll end up telling other people’s stories instead of your own.”

Those words would stay with me for the duration of the trip.

There were 17 very diverse members of our group. There were brothers, the eldest at 75 years old, and his younger brother who walked with a cane from injuries incurred in the Vietnam War. There were two women, long time friends, in their mid-70‘s — one having been on many rafting trips herself, the other excited about being on her first. There were active young married couples, others with physical limitations, and even some single travelers.

Despite our differences, we quickly formed a tribe and connected over delicious camp meals with wine glasses in hand. Like many people who have never been on a rafting trip before, I made up the story of what it would be like and who it would be with without living the real experience. Reality was far more interesting.

The Preparation

There were 3 different types of rafts that we could choose from while running the river — an oar raft, a paddle boat led by a guide that had seats for six rafters, and the “duckies” which were inflatable kayak rafts. The level of effort you put into the rafting experience was similar to an exercise video with a selection of intensity levels — easy, moderate, and challenging. You were never pressured to go beyond your physical abilities.

After an instructional safety meeting with our expert guides, we were ready to paddle onto the Rogue. Helmets on and personal flotation devices snug, we pushed off. Within moments, as we were passing into the Wild and Scenic part of the trip under Grave Creek Bridge, one of the rafters in a ducky lost control and flipped into the river.

This is when the trip got real. As we were instructed, our guide blew three quick whistles, alerting our tribe that a rafter had become a swimmer. We paid close attention as our guide maneuvered the paddle boat to get the swimmer back to riding the rapids. While initially shocking, it was essentially an effortless non-issue with the guides keeping our trip safe.

Our guide had us lift our paddles in a glistening yellow peak above the paddle raft, “On the count of three —one, two, three — WILD AND SCENIC!” Our adventure got off to an exciting start.

The Magical Journey

We navigated the river through large canyons covered in a thick shag carpet of trees towering above us. We explored waterfalls surrounded by the shimmering emerald leaves of Alder trees, and had fun jumping off cliffs near turquoise pools of creek water. We had a nice mix of rafting time, relaxing moments during our meals, and dry time hiking the banks.

At the end of our days, our guides prepared our gourmet dinner. We sat back and, aside from effortless tent set up, enjoyed a work-free vacation. We delighted in an incredible dinner of ceviche, and caprese salad skewer appetizers paired with Pisco Sours, salmon moussaka entrees paired with Oregon wine, and crème brulee with a wedge of dark chocolate perched on top. It was unbelievable that we were eating so well on the banks of the river.

After dinner, the early risers hit the sack while the night owls spent the evening laughing and discovering constellations under the starry night sky. Basking in the darkness never got old. We slept soundly, lulled by the waves of the Rogue.

My Own Stories To Tell

I decided to experience the single ducky on my own, paddling exhilarating rapids while Steelhead jumped out of the river next to me, and Osprey circled above watching their every move. The water was refreshing, and the adrenaline now addicting.

At camp, we noticed a black bear meander down from the opposite side of the river, snacking on wild blackberries and happening across a gigantic wild salmon in the water. He scooped it from the river and carried it to a rock, where we watched him eat his dinner — slowly savoring every bite and licking his lips. Meanwhile, we relaxed on the rocks sipping wine and craft beer, enjoying a real life National Geographic moment.

At the end of our rafting journey, people began telling stories of previous adventures to pass the time on the drive back to our cars, and Dan’s words echoed in my mind — “You have to live your own adventure, otherwise you’ll be telling other people’s stories instead of your own.” This was certainly not going to be my last wilderness trip, and the next time I go rafting, I’ll be able to share my story about my adventure on the Rogue River.

“I went rafting down the wild Rogue River with O.A.R.S., and had this amazing adventure with bears, almost tipping a raft, and swimming through a rapid, all while eating incredible gourmet food …”

This essay was originally created for the 2012 O.A.R.S. catalog. For more compelling stories from other renowned writers, request your catalog copy today!

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