Reflection

The leaves are rapidly changing the walls of the Gorge and the heavy rain this week brought the river up a couple feet. Nate took this photo on an overnight raft trip last weekend from a camp named Carter's Landing in Mile Long Rapid. The Hudson was at a very low level and looks this "bony" after the "bubble" of water from the dam release flows downstream. The rafters camped on river right on Carter's flat bivouac. The location is one of several former log driving camps along the river, according to Jeff Dickinson's book , "So There We Were: River Running in the Hudson Gorge". The loggers were some of the first to brave the rapids through the Gorge in the mid 1800s. Get a copy of Jeff's new book at: http://www.amazon.com/So-There-We-Were-Running/dp/1480083313 

This is another great photo Nate took this season. It's a Great Blue Heron most likely watching for it's next meal. In "Medicine Cards" by Jamie Sam and David Carson, "Heron is the power of self-reflection, of knowing the self by discovering its gifts and facing its challenges. It's the ability to accept all feelings and opinions without denying any emotion or thought." This season I discovered gifts such as learning to speak Chinese to converse with rafters from China, mentoring a young girl studying computer science who also hopes to become a guide some day and reconnecting with a childhood friend who owns a tiny 10-ft NOT-self-bailing raft and tagged along with a raft trip.  I also weathered the "storm" of two negative online reviews. In a sea of excellent reviews, two went rogue. We are passionate business owners who've put everything into North Creek Rafting so the reviews felt like a slap in the face. However, we've learned to see the feedback as a gift, for all of us to be better at what we do every day, and for all of us to be better at serving our rafters. And after all of this, North Creek Rafting had a highly fulfilling season. Raft with us year ten, 2016!