This short image gallery documents a white-water rafting trip on the Red River in western Quebec, organized by Jenn's work colleagues. The rafting itself was operated by a Quebec company called Nouveau Monde (New World).
We were a bit late arriving at New World's facilities. There, we met our guide (Alex), went through a gear briefing, then got on a yellow school bus for the ride up to the top of our route for the day. After a ride of about 15 minutes, we got out at a staging area next to a calm stretch of the Red River, and went through our safety briefing.
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
Alex was a very cheerful, enthusiastic guide, and he went over the full set of commands to which we were to respond over the course of the day. Our group were placed together into a single raft: myself and Jenn, Katie and David, Jayme and Dan, and Maryline and her partner.
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
We set off down the black waters of the Red River (the day was quite overcast - even a little drizzly - so the water appeared quite dark). This was the first time I'd done any sort of rafting, so the entire experience was new to me. It was probably a good thing that the water levels were fairly low.
You'll also notice that all of these pictures are from Jenn's camera. I wasn't about to bring my DSLR camera on an outing such as this. It would get wrecked in short order. Jenn's waterproof Panasonic DMC-TS1 fit the bill, though, and that's where the pictures you see in this report come from.
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
Alex did a good job of gradually introducing us to the various maneuvers, including basic positioning, throwing body weight around, and holding on and 'getting down' when required. We did various optional 'fun' things, like getting into the trough behind a rapid and balancing there in place against the current (this is called 'surfing').
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
Alex also offered to help us deliberately flip the raft, but we were more interested in doing rafting than swimming, so we declined (well, most of us).
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
