Nothing beats a day of Upper Yough River Rafting!!  …well, almost nothing, but for the purposes of this discussion at least, we will leave it as nothing. 

Yesterday, I was able to experience one of the great joys of being a river guide in the Laurel Highlands, and I S1-ed (pronounced “esse-whund”) the Upper Yough.  On top of this simply being a brilliant way to spend a Monday, it happened to be the first time I have had the chance to do such!  Now I know what some fellow whitewater junkies may be thinking; “Fuzzy, you’re telling me you’ve spent almost four seasons out here boating, and you are just now S1-ing the Upper..?!?”  To this I can only answer, “Yes.  …but not four full seasons…”

The day began with a slight miscalculation on my part, when it was pointed out that I had grabbed a 4-man Shredder instead of the typical 2-man variety, but I continued undaunted.  The doubters may not have been considering how much easier those 4-man Shredders ferry across current~  Luckily for me, the skills I’ve learned at Wilderness Voyageurs over the years paid off, and thank the Downer I survived!  It is of course much easier to make it down such a river knowing that Kirby, JRod, Brian, Rich, and Mizzle are there to pull out my mangled body to deliver home to mom in the event I mess up…

The Upper Yough is an adventure not suggested for the faint of heart, but for those whom have seen it in all its glory and devastation, not many east coast rafting trips can compare.  All in all, it was certainly the best “sick day” I’ve taken to date!!

~Fuzzy