by Cynthia Wall

Created on: September 28, 2008   Last Updated: September 30, 2008

Kevin Bacon has the gun; Meryl Streep has the skill. The only way out in The River Wild is to "run the gauntlet," a level 6 series of rapids. Will they live? The amazing footage shot on the Kootenai River in Montana and the Rogue River in Oregon with Meryl Streep doing her own stunts is enough to make you never want to go near the water again. But for those who live for edge of death adventure, the higher the number, the better the ride.

The first person to go white water rafting didn't do it on purpose. Major John Wesley Powell was exploring a river system in the 1800's. He accidentally ran into the wild rapids of the Colorado River running through Glen Canyon in Utah and on through the Grand Canyon. They were in fragile wooden boats with no safety equipment but amazingly made it through the rapids. It was 100 years later and the WWII technology of rubber rafts that actually made the experience of "running" through wild water a recognized sport. By the 1970's, the sport was in place with streamlined safer rafts and experienced operators to guide eager participants along untamed rivers world wide.

Whitewater occurs when a river's grade drops enough to disturb the flow and create turbulence. The river is graded according to the speed of the flow, the depth of the drops, and the hazards that lurk beneath.

Class 1 has very small rough areas. Your grandmother could do it.
Class 2 has some rough areas, a few drops, and some areas that require maneuvering. Fun and safe as long as you have on your life jacket.
Class 3 has whitewater, medium waves and 5 foot drops that make your stomach lurch. Lots of obstacles to maneuver around and you'll need to be skillful with a paddle.
Class 4 has whitewater, large waves, rocks capable of bashing your skull, big drops. Don't try this one without lots of experience.
Class 5 has whitewater, large waves, large rocks, large drops why would you call this fun?
Class 6 forget it unless you have a death wish. Huge waves, huge rocks, huge drops, and huge hazards to your life from invisible dangers beneath.

Besides the waves, the obstacles, and the drops, white water has other goodies in store:

Strainers are when obstacles block large objects (like your boat) but not smaller ones like the water. Think about getting caught in between the rocks. Sweepers are fallen objects like trees which swirl the water around them at higher speeds. Then there are holes or hydraulics formed when water pours over the edge of a submerged object causing the surface water to flow back upstream. A boater can be caught in the recirculating water and while it may look fun on film, it's very dangerous. Since the floor of a river bed is random, waves, sometimes series of them known as whitecaps are generated. Add pillows (water piling up against a surface) and eddies and you have just some of the tricks of the river.

Whirlpool Rapids Gorge, a section of the Niagara River Gorge is Level 6. It narrows from 750 feet wide to 200 feet with 22 mph water rushing over its 35 foot bottom. The descent is 52 feet in just over a mile. The rapids generated in this strip are considered among the most dangerous in the world. Most sane people prefer to view them from The White Water Walk. There's even an elevator for the handicapped.

A college teacher friend of mine saw me staring at a photo in his office of a seemingly endless wall of water. He pointed to a black speck in the middle. "That's me," he said. He added that when he was choosing a career that he was torn between becoming a mercenary or a professor. Obviously, the professor title got the nod, but I think white water fulfills his road not taken.

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