If you read my post about the Natchaug River from yesterday, you might be interested in reading this e-mail I received today from the leader.
Wednesday’s adventure was a bit more than I had anticipated, with the Natchaug River at a very high (and cold) level. The water was 2 feet higher than usual, and the force of water is cubed (3rd power) for every foot so the current was about 64 times more powerful than normal. Just hanging on to the rope was tough enough, and there were a couple of brief moments when I thought one or two of you would float away down the river, but you were all spectacular out there. You should be very proud of your courage and daring, but you also need to know you were safe as long as you could swim. Otherwise, we would not have gone across. The river was not at a deadly level...until Saturday.
I’m not sure if you heard, but there were two fatalities in the Natchaug over the weekend. Friday’s rain exacerbated an already bad situation and the river became deadly. A woman fell into Diana’s Pool (I pointed it out on the way back to campus on Wednesday) while taking photographs; a elderly man fell into the river at Nickerson Campground, IN THE VERY SAME SPOT WHERE WE CROSSED, and was swept downstream. Both people drowned.
Life is a short and fleeting pleasure.
Best wishes for the rest of the term; keep moving.
NW
Monday, October 17, 2005
Natchaug River
Posted by April Anne at 5:15 PM
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6 comments:
wow thats unbelievable. scary!
wow! that is pretty crazy. i've never been out on trails or anything close to it, but it sounds exciting!
Yeah, water can be fearsome. I've had some close calls fishing in spring runoff, but that's nothing like they've been lately.
Beautiful, though...
Wow, this is scary! It shows how you always have to show respect to nature, it can much more powerful than you think it is.
Hello! That's a wake up call. I am glad you're safely over the river.
yikes!
i spent a summer as a rafting guide on the kern river. i started out as the cook for the expedition company, but got to raft with them every day. when i started training for guiding, i got really freaked out by how dangerous the river can be. it's amazing how powerful water truly is. ignorance is bliss, i guess.
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