Quick Thinking avoids a foot entrapoment!!
Anytime anyone ever talks about the Dryway, all they want to talk about is Dragon’s Tooth. I knew my options going into that rapid inside out. I had even rafted the full stretch a handful of times, so I’d seen it too. I knew all about the “scary ferry” and the “death slot”. I also knew I had no problem charging straight into Rodeo Hole. Even if it flipped me, I was confident in my roll and knew I would come out fine on the other side.
It’s funny, because no matter how much other boaters beat Dragon’s Tooth to death, every one of them will add, “oh, and make sure you have a good line for Labyrinth.” Yet somehow, no one ever tells you what the “good line” thro ugh Labyrinth is. I learned the hard way what isn’t a good line.
The crew consisted of myself, one other kayaker, and one person in a small raft. The raft went first, since he was the slowest, and we gave him plenty of time to get ahead of us. This was my first time kayaking this river, so my companion and I were taking our time, catching eddies so I could boat scout. Two big rocks guard the entrance of Labyrinth, with the main channel dividing them. We eddied out behind the river right entrance rock.
“There’s a pretty nasty hole at the bottom, river right,” my companion said. “Other than that you should be fine!” I watched as he expertly peeled out into the main channel, and promptly dropped out of sight.
Watching him take that drop led to my first mistake. I wanted no part of that drop, and as a result I exited the eddy at the bottom instead of peeling out into the main current. I stayed right of a small rock, and realized too late that I was too far right. I tried to paddle back left. Uncertainty and a little fear held me back. I didn’t get far enough left, and I hit another rock with the right side of my boat.
My second mistake was trying to brace against a rock. I immediately flipped. The water was maybe 8 inches deep, and I found myself being dragged across the bottom. I pulled my skirt, which arguably could be my third mistake. I should have at least tried to roll.
I surfaced and held on to my gear, pointing my feet down river and keeping them as close to the surface as possible. As the current dragged me downstream, I came up against another rock. It briefly stopped me before the current pulled me around it to the left. As I passed it by, my feet dipped just enough. I felt my right foot slip in between two submerged rocks.
I might not be the most advanced whitewater enthusiast, but I knew exactly what would happen if my foot got stuck. For a split second, I was certain that I was about to drown. I didn’t have time to be scared, I just reacted. Before the rest of my body could tumble over my foot, I ditched my gear and pulled my knees to my chest. My foot slid free. My body floated on.
The rest of the story is less eventful. I swam into a massive eddy on river right where my paddle had been thrown by my companion. He chased my kayak downstream, and I was left to recover myself. I ended up swimming the rest of the way to the takeout with my paddle. All gear was recovered, and no one was seriously hurt.
