River Trip at the end of summer
On the last weekend in September, the Arrowleaf Team (includings kids, pups and spouses) went on a rafting trip down segment 3 of the Deschutes River.
It was a perfect warm and sunny September afternoon at the Buckhollow boat launch, rafts were being inflated, dogs were sprinting through the sand and grass, life jackets were being handed out, and consumables were being stashed in coolers. After a safety announcement from Kat (our assistant/ vet med student/raft guide) it was time to launch - we were due to meet some more people at Pine Tree for Lunch and had a class 3 rapid to get through before that. We had all our safety gear, snacks, lightly fizzy beverages and dogs on board. What could go wrong?
The first miscalculation happened shortly after “Wreck Rapid”. Fizzy drinks were handed out and opened, to celebrate how easily we’d made it through. What a success. Our guide – who (full disclosure) hadn’t been on this section of the Deschutes before – wondered about this, because it had seemed awfully small for a class 3 rapid. Putting 2 and 2 together – small rapid, no take out shortly after, no lunch waiting on the shore (what the heck!) – everyone quickly realized that they had in fact not just gone over the rapid – but that the big hole known as Wreck rapid was still ahead, open fizzy drinks and all.
The class 3 rapid came up not too long after the discovery, and it delivered all it promised. Lots of splashing, hooting from the rafts inhabitants, and some excellent oar navigation from Kat. Very few sips of fizzy water were wasted and no one left their seats, which is always a bonus. Immediately after the rapid, there was Pine Tree and the lunch that was promised.
We all shared some snacks – Kathryn set up a beautiful charcuterie board on Melodie’s paddleboard, and the dogs “guarded” the cheese and meats, just to make sure no one tried to steal a taste. After lunch, we headed back out onto the water – this time Kylie, Kat, Kathryn and her daughter Lark were on the oar boat, Dr Johnson and her husband Matt were in a 2 person raft, Andrew (Kathryn’s husband) got into his Kayak, and Melodie and Wes hopped on to their paddleboards.
The rest of the float was pretty mellow – there was a watergun fight(!) and some baby rapids which most of us (all those that were on something steadier than a paddleboard) made it through ok, but if you’re ever curious how the water is in September on the Deschutes – ask Melodie, who went swimming a couple of times, not entirely of her own volition.
Overall, it was a beautiful day spent with friends. At Arrowleaf Veterinary, we all feel so blessed to have coworkers who we enjoy spending time together on our days off, even though we already spend every weekday with each other. Our hope for the future is that we will always remain this close as a team, and that we will navigate challenges in our work just as well as we navigated Wreck rapid – with great skill, good humor and unwavering support of each other.
