They Came Back: The Pickleball Ladies Return to the Clackamas River for a Day of Joy
You're Too Old to Spend the Rest of Your Life on the Couch: Let's Adventure!
Get out, get wet, have fun, no matter what. Do it NOW
The car battery was dead. Damn it. I was going to be late, which is never a good thing when a group of people is eager to get going and you’re the holdup. I had a two-and-a-half hour drive, and I was twenty minutes late.
I was joining the Portland Pickleball ladies, a group of senior women athletes, for the second time. Last year, the group booked a day trip on the Clackamas River to celebrate a birthday. Laura, 77, the trip’s organizer, was doing it again. I wanted to see who was coming back and who was new.
The lively group of women had been a gas. I couldn’t wait to be part of that happiness once more.
In the meantime I was trying hard to get left behind.
The Clackamas waits for nobody. I called Oregon River Experiences, their lead guide, the shop where people put all the rafting gear together. I left multiple messages as I sped north on I-5, hoping to avoid the radar traps.
By the time I got to the staging area, I was indeed twenty minutes late. The group was still in the early stages of figuring out their equipment. One guide had called me as I was gassing up before heading north on the winding highway to the assembly point- there was, in fact, plenty of time.
I saw Laura, waved and started gearing up.
Laura was the only repeat from last year. As the organizer, she’d drawn from different divisions, enough for two boats full of people. A few of the women had experience on various rivers, others were new to rafting, as last year.
The women were pulling on river shoes and wetsuits, getting a last drink of water and chattering excitedly. I didn’t recognize anyone else from last year’s event.
The sky spat light rain as we shoved our extras into dry bags, then loaded up to drive to the put-in spot a few miles down the road. The water was cold, the air was cold, I was cold. That doesn’t last once you start paddling.
The river was low and rocky, a stark contrast to earlier in spring. This is one of the unpredictables. Snowpack, rain and heat all have an impact on the adventure, which proved true today. The lower the river, the higher the rocks and the greater the likelihood that your raft will get hung up.
We were joined by a judge from Florida vacationing with his two young sons. I climbed into their raft, sitting behind the youngest so that the two kids could get the biggest splashes. That way I could watch the festivities and take photos and videos.
Okay, I thought I could take photos and videos.
I was wrong. Because the river was rough and the child in front of me either didn’t hear or didn’t want to follow our guide’s instructions, I paddled full time to ensure that our line through the rapids was successful.
It wasn’t always. On multiple occasions we found ourselves hung up on a rock, which meant that we had to move to different parts of the raft so that the guide could release us.
The other rafts got hung up, too, which is one reason why paying close attention to your paddling instructions and ensuring that your foot is secured in the pockets on the floor of the raft are so important.
A sudden stop can send you flying into the river, where the swift waters can slam you against the rocks. This is part of the excitement, but it’s also a reminder that rafting can be dangerous.
The Clackamas is ORE’s “home river,” hit hard by the Labor Day fires in 2020. Great swaths of the forest were burned, but the ground is burgeoning with new growth. The danger is with all burned spaces; as the trees die and fall over, heavy rains wash these behemoths into the river where they block traffic and create hazards for rafters.
We were lucky that the washed-out trees were high enough that we could float under them. The rocks, however, were another story. Time after time one of our three boats would find itself beached on a rock, and the guide would get creative releasing it.
As the morning wore on, the kids in my boat were more interested in lunch than in the rapids. When we finally pulled into the designated spot where two other river operators were finishing their meals, it was a nice break.
A reminder-if you have family you want to take on these trips, plan to have snacks available. Long periods of quiet water can be broken up by a granola bar or two, and the adults can enjoy the scenery and relative quiet. The guides have dry bags and you can bring anything you want along.
At lunch, I tried to join a few of the small groups of women, but noticed that there wasn’t the same sense of openness as I’d experienced last time. On such trips, when you’re not part of the primary group, you read the room and keep walking.
Instead I spent time with Laura, who explained why she was the only repeat from last year’s fun trip.
According to her, many of the women who had such fun during last year’s inaugural trip on the Clackamas had been sidelined by a combination of family issues and health problems. The latter was the primary concern.
From back problems to cancer, these women, mostly over sixty, had been hit hard.
Another reminder that time is hard on us, and harder still if we keep putting off joyful experiences.
One of the women on this trip had a bum left eye from cataract surgery, but she came anyway. Her rollicking good humor was a pleasure. You’d never know she was dealing with eye issues.
The sun played hooky with us most of the day, so the air stayed cold. That didn’t keep the kids and Phoebe, one of the guides, from leaping off a rock into the cold pools at a designated spot.
Phoebe is 22, and terrific with kids. She was able to keep the two boys engaged as the day wore on and they wore on their dad’s nerves. The best guides are adept with both the very young and the very old, and their skills keep those groups happy.
We finally wound down around 5 pm, pulling our stiff bodies out of the rafts and helping to schlep them back up the rocky riverside to the waiting van. There we stripped off our cold clothing.
The women took no time to gather or celebrate. It was okay, we’re here, we’re heading home BYE.
Laura and I spoke a bit more about whether or not there would be a next year. The pickleball tournaments offer a broad swath of folks who might be interested, but picking a day that most can plan for, getting people committed, then dealing with the inevitable last-minute cancellations is a lot for one person to organize.
Keeping all that in mind, and the age of many of the players, it’s not surprising that this year’s turnout didn’t have more repeats.
Life for many of us just gets in the way of joy.
Which leads me to ask a critical question: can we afford to do this? Let life get in the way of joy?
Joy helps us balance out life’s inevitable uglies. Without enough joy, it’s awfully hard to be hopeful. You can see that play out on the river in real time, as your boat suddenly grinds to a halt in the middle of the rapids and now you’re stuck.
It could get ugly- but you work together to get back into the flow and paddle like crazy people to the bottom.
How is that not like life? And in the middle of all that you’re surrounded by Nature: sky, trees, birds, fish, cold clear water. What a place to work through a challenge with competent guides to help out.
Last year the trip was well before the election. Spirits were high and people had very different things on their minds. This year there’s a cloud over many of us, concerns about family members on Medicaid and all of us in this cohort either on Social Security or about to be.
Still, this was a joyful day.
The boats were full of raucous laughter and excitement powering through the rapids.
If joy was the point, mission accomplished.
The judge’s kids had a great time, even if snacks weren’t plentiful enough. They’ve been to Disney World where the water events have rails ensuring your safety. Here the dangers are real, and the consequences can be worse than simply getting wet.
For my adventure dollar, that, along with the free food and parking, make a day on the river with your kids or grandkids a lot more rewarding: it’s a bonafide adventure, and the memories last forever.
It was nearly 9 pm before I made it home, the rush hour traffic on southbound Interstate 5 long dispersed. The sun collapsed quietly behind the clouds as I pulled into my driveway, tired and happy.
If we’re going to have problems and challenges, and who doesn’t, let’s once in a while have them while having seriously badass fun at the same time. I happen to be a huge fan of rafting for that reason, that so most seniors can do it while other extreme outdoor sports might simply be impossible.
You and I need to be occasional Joy Junkies. There’s enough junk in our lives, especially as we age. Plan for the fun. Whether you decide to spend the day rafting or not isn’t as important as planning for fun, the deeper in Nature the better.
Whatever you do, play like you mean it.
Let’s play.
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I’ve forgotten what kept me off the river last year—probably some health-related thing. I’m aiming to go this year. My schedule is a bit more flexible (I was just laid off), but now I’m worried about money. I’m glad you’re getting out there!
Ah, I just love your rafting stories! Looks like so much fun.