The following is a guest post written by Brad's friend Kelly. The trip was made back in June of 2010.
June 4, 2010
This is
the story of the most dangerous and scariest 1-day river trip that I have ever
been on. I believe that it was a true miracle that all 5 of us came through
alive and basically unscathed that day. The 5 of us were myself (turning age 60
in 3 weeks), my brother Jim (turning age 64 in 1 week), his son Jason (age 38), my nephew Nathan (age 39), and our friend Brad (also in his mid-30s). The trip was intended to be a 3-day, 41-mile river trip,
but ended up being a wild and frightening 1-day, 41-mile river trip.
My journal
states that it took 3 hours to drive from the river take-out to the river put-in
because of all the horrible, bad dirt roads. The descent from the top of the
bluff to the river put-in was especially treacherous, so much so that none of
us other than the driver was willing to ride in the truck. We walked ahead of
Nathan’s truck giving Nathan hand signals as to where to place the tires as he
went very slowly over the rocks on that incredibly narrow and steep drop-off to
the river.
As our
hired shuttle driver started to drive Nathan’s pickup back to the take-out, we
hastily assembled our boats. The plan was to launch as soon as possible and
float the first 5 to 8 miles down the river before camping for the night. Although
there are relatively few places to camp in the Bruneau River canyon, I had done
a considerable amount of research and knew where the main campsites were, and I
had a river map with us. I had also watched several YouTube videos and read
blogs about floating this river. I actually wasn’t all that concerned about
floating this river even though it would be the first time for all 5 of us. The
critical item we didn’t take into consideration was the rain.
The plan
was to float a few miles that late afternoon, about 25 miles the next day, and
the remaining 10 or 11 miles on the 3rd day. The last 10 miles or so
are by far the most hazardous rapids in the canyon.
Jason,
Brad, and I had the exact same boat…13’ Fishcat catarafts. Nathan had a 14’
raft. Jim rode in Nathan’s raft.
Miracle # 1… Leak in my Boat
As we
inflated our boats that afternoon, one of my cataraft tubes had a slow leak in
it. This had never happened before. It seemed it took us quite a bit of time to
find the almost invisible leak and to patch it. As it was now later in the
afternoon we decided to camp right there at the put-in.
Before
dark, I hiked alone a short distance up river to see the confluence of the
Jarbidge River and the West Bruneau River. These 2 rivers combine to form the
beginning of the Bruneau River. And although we had checked the river flow the
day before, once we got to the river we had no idea that the river was indeed
quite high. It looked high, but we didn’t realize that it was considerably
higher than the previous day’s reading. Unbeknownst to us, it had been raining
significantly in the mountain headwaters of this river. We stuck a stick in the
mud near the bank and noticed that by the next morning the river had risen
several more inches overnight. As we launched Fri. morning, it was now raining
on us too, and continued to lightly rain and drizzle all day long.
The
miracle was that because of the leak we did not launch on Thurs. afternoon,
June 3rd, as planned. Had we done so, the campsite that we had hoped
to camp at that night would have been underwater (at least we couldn’t find it
the following day as we floated by). Much of the first part of the canyon is
wall-to-wall cliffs and would have been wall-to-wall water and we could have
easily found ourselves floating in the darkness.
Miracle # 2… Severely Bruised my Big Butt Muscle
Although
the Bruneau River canyon was very beautiful, we seemed to be floating through
it quite quickly. The river map only showed rapids that were Class III or
bigger and didn’t show Class II at all. The Class III rapids seemed to be more
like Class IV rapids. Leading the group, I always tried to take a good line
through the rapids.
At about
mile 10 we came to a pool with a drop off slot to run through. At the bottom of
the slot a lateral wave flipped my cataraft. Until that moment, I had never
before on any river trip flipped in my little cat. Not only did the lateral
wave flip me, but it also flipped both Jason’s and Brad’s catarafts who were
following me. Nathan, seeing the carnage, adjusted his run to hit the wave as
best as he could at a 90° angle and hence did not flip. Thank goodness! It was
bad enough to have 3 boats upside down in the river.
Flipping
over in my boat, and maybe only 2 feet below the surface of the water, my butt
hit a pointed rock that caused me a lot of pain and later significant bruising.
The miracle here was that the rock didn’t hit my lower spine or tailbone which
may have incapacitated me, but the sharp rock missed that area by only a few
inches.
Miracle # 3… Muscle Cramps in my Hands Disappeared
The
previous fall (2009), when I went archery deer hunting, I could not pull my 72
lb. bow back more than once (sometimes twice), whereas in any previous year I
could pull it back and shoot it dozens of times. I just thought at the time
that I was spending too much time in the office so my arms were getting weaker,
when really what was happening was that my ALS was slowly setting in. The
doctors later said I was a “very slow progresser” and I wasn’t officially
diagnosed until 4 years later in 2014.
For me, my
ALS weakness started in my upper arms and shoulders, which are the very muscles
it takes to pull back and shoot a bow, and to also oar a boat. Also with ALS,
muscle cramping is very common and colder weather makes the muscles weaker and
the cramps worse.
Shortly
after launching that morning in the cold and rainy weather, I found that I
couldn’t use the little finger on my left hand to help grip the oar. It kept
cramping and twitching. After another mile or so I found that the ring finger
next to the little finger on my left hand also started cramping and twitching.
Soon the little finger on my right hand could not grip anymore. This
progression continued on both hands until I was oaring basically only with my
thumb and index finger on both hands. This was not a good situation with fairly
poor grip on the oars, and it was progressing to the point that I was wondering
if I could hold the oars at all when my boat capsized.
The
miracle here, and for some reason I don’t understand, was that the cramping and
twitching all completely stopped when my entire body was dumped into the cold
water. Amazingly to me, from that moment forward I could grip the oars just fine
which was extremely critical for the huge rapids we would encounter later on
that day.
Miracle # 4… Only One Oar Lost in 3 Flips
For 3
catarafts to flip in the same rapid and to lose only one oar was fortunate. The
oar that was lost was Jason’s. I was the only cataraft that had an extra oar.
Jason had lost his extra oar on a previous river trip, and Brad didn’t have
one. Fortunately, all 3 cataracts used 8’ oars, so my spare oar would work
perfectly for Jason.
The
miracle here was that for Jason to continue down the river at this water level
with only one oar would have been virtually impossible. Between the 3 of us we
lost one oar, but between the 3 of us we had one extra oar.
Miracle # 5… I did not Lose my Hat
When the 3
of us each capsized, both Jason and Brad lost their hats. Even though I had a
hat string on my hat, I was fortunate that I did not lose mine as well.
With the
outfit that Jason was wearing, he did not get wet when he flipped. Brad, on the
other hand, was wearing his Alaska fishing waders and they totally filled up
with water. Nathan told me that after Brad was helped to shore, rather than
take his waders off, he took out his knife and stabbed his waders all up and
down his legs to let the water out. I got totally 100% drenched as I was
wearing regular clothing.
The
miracle here was that at least I kept my hat. The hat had a brim all the way
around it. The hat kept the rain that fell all that day off my head, and the
brim kept the rain from running down my neck which would have made me colder.
Regardless, I was near hypothermic often and shivered much of the day, but the
hard work of oaring the boat helped keep my body heat up.
Miracle # 6… Jason Impressed to Hike Out at Roberson Trail
Jason knew
that the only way out of the Bruneau River canyon on foot was via an old,
unused trail called the Roberson Trail which was located near mile 30. Mile 30
is just before what is called Five Mile Rapids which are 5 miles of continuous
rapids and holes which was by far the most dangerous part of the trip.
We pulled
over in the area where we thought the trail should start. I jumped out of my
boat and ran up the mountainside a few hundred yards to make sure that what we
thought was the trail was really a trail. One reason I did that was to verify that
there was an old trail, but the other reason was to help build up some body
heat because I was cold.
The float,
thus far, had been pretty hazardous in a few rapids and we knew the worst was
yet to come. The plan was for Jason and his dad, Jim, to hike out from here. We
disassembled Jason’s cataraft and deflated both of his cataraft tubes. The
tubes were strapped onto the floor of Nathan’s raft. With Jim no longer in the
raft, the tubes would add weight and also lower the raft’s center of gravity. Jason’s
huge Cabelas tent, which was big enough to sleep all 5 of us, was then strapped
to the floor of Nathan’s boat. The heaviest half of Jason’s oaring frame was
also strapped to Nathan’s boat. Jason and Jim would haul the smaller
lightweight, other half of the aluminum frame, up the trail. I got back my
extra oar and Brad took Jason’s other oar so he now had an extra oar as well. Jason’s
seat was tied onto Brad’s boat just behind his own seat. Although I tried to
refuse, Jason made me take off my flimsy life jacket that I always wore and
made me put on his much more buoyant lifejacket.
Before we
departed, the 5 of us had a special prayer for safety and good judgment. After
the prayer, we all stood there for a minute or 2 and hugged each other as if
this could be the last time we would see each other.
The
miracle here was that Jason was so prompted and impressed and so persistent
that he and his dad should hike out on the Roberson Trail; and so they did. With
everything said and done, this likely saved Jim’s life.
Miracle # 7… Nathan Flipped but Brad and I Did Not
No sooner
had the 3 of us launched when almost immediately we entered the beginning of
Five Mile Rapids. The first mile or more consisted of long and huge wave
trains. Some of the waves were big enough with high crests that I didn’t dare
take them all straight down the middle but moved to the right of center a few
feet. At the end of the wave trains we entered an area called Devil’s Garden.
This is where it started to get really scary.
A “hole”
is where water is pouring over a large rock creating hydraulics in such a way that
it can trap and often flip boats. Holes are not rapids and they are always to
be avoided when possible. Many named rapids on a river, for example on the
Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, may just be rapids with no holes at
all. Other rapids may have one or 2 holes, with some of the larger named rapids
having 3 or 4 and sometimes more holes.
At the particular water level we had
on the Bruneau that day, when we entered the Devil’s Garden area there seemed
to be holes everywhere, and sometimes wall-to-wall holes. It was virtually
impossible to miss them all. They seemed to come 2 or 3 abreast and one right
after the other. I would oar hard to miss one only to have another one right in
front of me. As I would strain to miss the next one, there often wasn’t enough
time or space to get totally out of the way of the hole. Fortunately, I can’t
remember ever hitting a hole dead on, but many, many times I would hit the
right or left edge of a hole which would spin my cataraft around backwards.
This was horrifying to me as I might drop into a hole going backwards. I would
try to spin my boat around as fast as possible so that I could be facing downstream
again. Often I couldn’t get turned around fast enough and would hit the edge of
another hole spinning my boat again. I was very fortunate and blessed that I
did not flip.
There seemed to be countless holes
that went on for a couple of miles. I remember praying for strength in my arms
to make it through this ordeal because my arms were shot. After steering and
oaring my boat for 30 miles that day, my arms were tired before entering Five
Mile Rapids. Anyone would have had tired arms by then. However, with ALS
already taking its toll gradually on my body, I remember my arms and shoulders
were totally hammered. As I pulled and pushed on the oars to miss so many
holes, I remember that it seemed that my arms and shoulders were very weak and
I didn’t have much power to exert on the oars.
I’ll never forget the horror I felt
when I came around the right side of some tall boulders (that temporarily
blocked my view) only to see what looked like certain carnage as the river
dropped steeply through a myriad of holes. The entire river was white. It was
terrifying. I couldn’t see a clear run! At that moment, after going around
those tall rocks, I was already center right in the river. To go back to river center,
which was left of the boulders immediately in front of me, seemed to spell
certain disaster. But right of the boulders was only a very narrow slot next to
the cliffs. It almost looked too narrow but was my only choice.
The frame on a 13’ Fishcat is only 5
foot wide. But by moving my oars to face straight in front of me or straight
behind me, I made it through the narrow gap to avoid the carnage midstream. I
found out later that Brad was following right behind me, although I never had
time, ever, to take even a split second to look behind me. Nathan, on the other
hand, was in an instant pickle. His raft was too wide to go down the narrow run
next to the cliff and hence had no choice but to go left of the rocks back
towards the middle. This is where it happened.
Pulling hard to the left, Nathan had
no choice but to hit a very big and nasty hole and to hit it almost sideways.
For a 14’ raft, Nathan’s boat was very heavy and with an extra low center of
gravity because Jason’s deflated cataraft tubes and the big tent were tied to
its floor. Nathan’s raft flipped anyway. That’s how bad the hole was. Brad and
I had no clue of his predicament as we were fighting hard dodging holes
ourselves just downstream from him.
Sometimes my arms seemed almost
useless gripping the oars. I felt that if this continued much longer, I would
flip for sure. Suddenly, the rapids and holes started to ease up and I was so
very thankful that I somehow was still right side up. I quickly turned to look
behind me thinking I would not see anybody when there was Brad right behind me
doing well and also right side up. But, no Nathan! In a rapidless but swift
water area, Brad and I quickly pulled over to river right. I remember looking
upstream to where the view of the river disappeared around a big bend looking
and looking for Nathan’s yellow raft… still, no Nathan. My heart sunk.
I was so
happy when after a few minutes coming into view I could see an upside down
yellow raft with Nathan clinging to it. I wasn’t happy because the raft was
upside down; I was happy because I knew Nathan was still alive. Soon the raft
crashed into some boulders near the left bank and got hung up on the rocks
about a block or so upstream from where Brad and I were on the other side of
river.
The
miracle here was that neither Brad nor I ever flipped when we probably both
should have. If either one of us would have flipped we would not have been able
to get Nathan’s boat right side up. The way it was caught on the rocks and as
heavy as it was with river water in the cooler and in the dry box, etc., big
and strong Nathan and Brad could not flip it upright using the flip lines. When
I finally got there, it took all 3 of us with major effort for the raft to
finally and barely flip over with the help of the throw rope.
Miracle # 8… Nathan Flipped near end of Five Mile
I’m so
thankful that Nathan is big and strong. At 6’ 4”, he is not only tall but very
strong. A lesser man, like me at my age of 60, may not have made it. Fortunately,
Nathan was wearing his dry suit which made a huge difference in helping him
keep dry.
After the initial flip, Nathan climbed
out of the water and onto his upside-down raft and reached for his flip lines.
Just then his raft hit the next hole and he was knocked off into the river
again. A second time he pulled himself up onto his upside-down raft. Just about
then, he and his boat hit a massive hole that tipped his raft straight up into
the air and almost flipped it back right side up. Nathan somehow had enough
strength to swim to his raft and climb up onto it for a third time. Exhausted,
he clung to his raft. As his boat went over many more rocks, he heard both of
his oars being torn from their safety straps. After floating around the last
bend the boat got caught on the left shore at the end of the miles-long
continuous rapids and holes.
The
miracle here was that he flipped near the end of Five Mile Rapids. Had he
flipped earlier, say another mile or 2 upstream from where he did, even he may
not have made it. It was a real blessing that Nathan flipped where he did.
Miracle # 9… Jim Hiked out at Roberson Trail too
Jason’s
impression to hike out at Roberson Trail was mostly in concern for his dad’s
safety. His dad, Jim, at almost age 64 was still a very strong and
outdoor-experienced man but would have been riding in Nathan’s raft without a
dry suit.
The
miracle here was that Jim hiked out of the canyon with his son rather than
continuing down the river where his fate could have easily been different than
Nathan’s when Nathan’s raft flipped.
Miracle # 10… Nathan’s Oar went to the only place in the
River possible for Retrieval
Nathan’s raft
flip was violent. Nathan uses 10’ oars and both oars were knocked out of their
oar locks. As the boat continued upside down going on down the river with
Nathan holding on, both oars, even though they had safety straps attached to
them, were torn away from the boat by the rocks.
About the
time Nathan’s raft got stuck on the rocks upstream from Brad and me and on the
opposite shore, I saw one of his oars bobbing down the river. Brad said that he
saw both of his oars. Brad took off to cross the river to help Nathan while I
went chasing his oar downstream. I knew Nathan needed at least one of his oars
along with his spare oar to continue the trip.
A
Cataract-brand oar is very expensive and does not float flat like a piece of
wood, but floats mostly underwater with the last 2 feet sticking out of the
water at an angle. By the time I launched and got out into the swift current I
was about 50 yards behind the oar. The oar was dark gray in color and in the
rainy and drizzly and gloomy weather it was hard to see.
With my arms and shoulders totally
spent, I was not gaining on the oar very fast. I could see that about a block
down river was another huge and violent rapid coming up very quickly. I was
about to abandon the chase when the oar seemed to suddenly stop right in the
middle of the river. I couldn’t believe it. What could have stopped the oar?
As I floated closer and closer to the
stationary oar, I could tell that a narrow
boulder, only a few feet wide, came to within inches of the surface
creating a small currentless area about 3 feet wide and maybe 4 or 5 feet long.
This was perhaps the only mini dead spot in the whole river right there. How
could that oar somehow have gotten perfectly behind that submerged rock?
I floated barely past the rock riffle
and then backstroked hard into the little dead spot. As I backed in, which was
very difficult for me, there was the oar handle sticking out of the water right
behind me and between my 2 cataraft tubes. All I had to do was grab the oar
handle without even having to move out of my seat. I pulled the oar out of the
water and laid it horizontally on my boat and went as fast as possible to the
left shore.
The miracle here was that Nathan’s oar
somehow floated perfectly into the only little tiny dead spot in the whole
river right there and stopped moving long enough for me to retrieve it. Without
this oar, along with his spare oar, Nathan wouldn’t have been able to navigate
his boat through any more dangerous rapids. He literally would have been “up
the creek without a paddle”.
Miracle # 11…Able to Hike Oar back to Nathan’s Boat
Much of
the shoreline in the Bruneau River canyon was composed of cliffs or huge
boulders.
The
miracle here was that, although difficult, I was able to pack Nathan’s oar
through the rocks and ledges about a third of a mile upstream to where he and
Brad were. In many parts of the canyon that wouldn’t have been possible.
Miracle # 12… Was not Wearing River Shorts or River Shoes
Most river
runners wear shorts and sandals. I always hated getting those sunburnt straps
across my ankles by wearing sandals and also getting my big toenails ripped off
in the rocks. I also hated my shins getting scraped up all the time. Therefore,
regardless of the time of year, I always wore long pants and gym shoes for
protection on river trips.
The
miracle here was that I was protected because I was wearing long pants and gym
shoes as the entire riverbank was covered with tall poison ivy where I had to
land with Nathan’s oar. I literally landed in a monstrous patch of poison ivy
and had no choice but to walk through lots of poison ivy as I headed upstream
to Nathan’s raft. I was so glad I didn’t have bare legs and bare feet.
Miracle # 13… I made it through Five Mile Rapids
I remember
specifically that at the head of Five Mile Rapids my arms and shoulders were so
worn out that I could hardly operate the oars. Devil’s Garden was so scary that
I think adrenaline alone, along with blessings from heaven, got my muscles
through there.
The
miracle here was that I actually made it without flipping. Brad was strong and
I’m so glad he made it, but I believe it was a miracle that I made it.
By the way, it was a good thing that
Brad was young and strong because Jason’s seat, which Brad had tied behind his own
seat, came partially untied and fell partially into the water while bouncing
around in Devil’s Garden. For a while there, this created a horrible, almost
anchor-like weight for Brad.
Wild Burro
Rapid, at that particular water level, may just be one of the scariest short
rapids I have ever been through. Water was flowing through some willows on the
left bank and I almost purposely headed through the willows but I didn’t. The
entire river seemed to drop down a short shoot that threw all the water against
the right cliff. It reminded me of the Indy 500 because the river current
banked the water hard on a slant against the cliff. With my boat tipped on a
slant, I zoomed near the cliff. My oars seemed to be of no use. At only 40 or
50 yards ahead of me, a piece of the cliff jutted out to the left. At that spot
a tremendous whirlpool formed that seemed to go all the way to the bottom of
the river. It was by far the scariest whirlpool I had ever seen in a river.
For
several moments there I seemed to be at the total mercy of the river. At the
end of the jutted cliff my boat tipped into the edge of the whirlpool and I was
pulled about a third of the way around it and then thrown out. That scared the
beejeebers out of me. I was so happy that I survived the whirlpool to hell.
Horrible rocks and holes continued for another 2 blocks.
The
miracle here was that none of us ended up in the middle of that whirlpool. That
would’ve been a complete disaster.
Miracle # 15… Nathan’s GPS said Campsite Quarter Mile
Farther down River
A mile or
two before the Roberson Trail started was a campsite marked on the map. We were
considering staying there for the night. We saw the campsite but floated past
it because Nathan’s GPS said that the campsite was a quarter mile farther down
river. At a quarter mile downstream there was no other campsite.
The
miracle here was that the campsite was simply marked incorrectly on the map. If
we had camped, and since the river rose dramatically during that night, the
next day Five Mile Rapids would have been even more hazardous and possibly
deadly.
Miracle # 16… Finding Jim and Jason in the Dark and in the
Rain
After
floating for 41 miles that day we arrived at the take-out right at dark. We
pulled our 3 boats ashore. All 3 of us were exhausted. Still raining and
drizzling, Brad crawled underneath his truck to rest where it was dry. Although
hammered, Nathan and I jumped in Nathan’s truck and took off to try and find
Jim and Jason in the drizzling rain.
As we
drove in the dark from the river, up and onto the high desert bench, all we
could see was sagebrush and several little jeep roads. Some of these jeep
trails were not on Nathan’s electronic mapping database he had displayed on his
dash. Fortunately, I also had a map with me and between the two of us we were
able to figure out which jeep roads to take. However, the bad roads started to
become quite weak and unused and we wondered momentarily if we weren’t on a
wild goose chase when suddenly we saw a light off through the desert. We were
so happy that it was Jim and Jason.
The
miracle here was that we actually found Jim and Jason on that dark and dreary
rainy night in the desert. For the 2 of them to spend a wet, cold night in the
drizzle with only a sagebrush bush for protection could have been serious.
After
finding Jim and Jason, we didn’t get back to the take-out and Brad’s truck
until after 11 pm. Exhausted, we loaded up our boats and started our drive to a
warm hotel room. What an unforgettable day!
Summary
Each of
the predicaments that spawned the 16 Miracles above were serious, with some
more than others. With the onset of ALS, sometimes I felt so helpless and weak
in my upper arms and shoulders. But, when I absolutely needed strength in my arms
it was miraculously given. If even one of the above 16 Miracles didn’t come to
pass, it could’ve spelled significant disaster and even death to one or more of
our group.
It is my
witness to anyone who reads this story that the 5 of us were watched over from
above that day, and that each of our Guardian Angels was perhaps working overtime.
For 16 miracles to fall perfectly into place, one right after another, are just
too many to be coincidences.
Kelly
Nielsen
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