Up in Jim Thorpe, PA, there’s an outfitter with a trip they call the “Big Day Out,” and this weekend our Get Out Philadelphia Adventurers Meetup group tackled the challenge of biking, hiking and rafting all in one long day. After the 25 miles of cycling, I wasn’t sure how much fun the hike would be, since my quads felt shot. In fact, I never would have kept up for the last ten miles on the bike if I hadn’t drafted behind a stronger rider (thanks, Brian!).

I was amazed how well drafting really works. It’s one thing to see professional bike racers do it, and I understood the physics behind it, but when you actually get it working for yourself — especially when you are desperately tired and really need a break — it’s almost miraculous.

Then there was the hike up to see numerous waterfalls. There’s a really nice reward waiting at each waterfall, and I don’t mean the photo opportunities: air conditioning. When you get close to the falls, the temperature drops considerably, and for a tired hiker the change is most welcomed.

The last leg of our journey was whitewater rafting… except the river was so low that there wasn’t much water that was white. That’s okay, as we had a very pleasant float interspersed with a handful of rapids. Not wanting to be denied my fun, I provided my own sound effects as we went through them, to heighten the experience. For some reason, this amused my fellow paddlers.

Brian, CJ, Captain Mickey and I manned one raft. We stayed right with our trip leader, and while the other rafts engaged in splash wars with buckets, we stayed dry, avoided getting stuck on rocks, and led the way through all the rapids for the first portion of the trip. Yes, as Brian put it, we were the brown-nose raft.

Unfortunately, when the other rafts had all soaked each other and saw we were still dry,  Read the rest of this entry »