It was out last day of the trip but we still hoped to eke out a little more packrafting joy with a double hitter. We started with a chilly 8.5 mile run down the Snake River between West Table and Sheep Creek. This was actually the first time I was cold on the entire trip and correspondingly the first time I was trying to avoid the meat of the rapids to take a less splashy route through. The Snake was pleasant enough. Many of the longer rapids felt more like riffles at this flow but a couple of the steeper constriction related rapids still had some decent wave trains. We passed a few raft groups on the way down. I think between the moderate interest in the run (compared to the highly stimulating Teton Gorge the day before) and the concern over getting to our flight in Idaho Falls, motivation for another run was lukewarm. After lunch in Alpine, Jeff managed to get us all to rally for another run by talking up the 2.5 mile run on the Greys River from Squaw Creek to the Bridge.
A few minutes later we were staging a car at the takeout, and as it turned out, shuttling some between-run raft guides' two-person catamarans awkwardly to the put-in. This was a much smaller river than the Snake but with considerably better scenery and rapids with fun little drops in them. Before long we caught up to the raft guides and they kept a watchful eye on us, seemingly worried at our capabilities.
The one rapid of consequence on the run is Snaggletooth, a long complex rapid with several holes and a wave train followed by a tight ninety degree turn around a prominent boulder (the "snaggletooth"), then two more notable holes and a run-out wave train. I was to go last, following Dan through the run. I gave him roughly a hundred feet gap to start but as I powered through the rapid I noticed I was quickly gaining on him. Dan made it past the snaggletooth but then flipped and stuck in the large hole just past. I was only fifteen or twenty feet behind him at this point, insufficient time to find another course to take (especially since one of the cats was waiting in the smaller hole to the right) so I went forward, hit his raft and unsurprisingly unflipped. The crew on the cat were quick to fish me out with their panicked guide-like instincts and that was that. I felt robbed knowing I would have made it through the prized rapid upright without last minute boats and people in the way, but guess I learned the value in maintaining a safe trailing distance.
The rest of the run went without incident and we were soon at our take-out. We enjoyed a beer or two and some story swapping with the raft guides before the time came to get to Idaho Falls for our flight back to California.
Thanks to Jeff for masterminding a pleasant week of paddling. Thanks to Kristina, Jesse, and Jeff for all the driving they suffered through!
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