Friday, January 31, 2014
Guides’ First Rivers Series
River guides are notorious storytellers. And whether they be true or tall, the stories we tell about the river are a part and reflection of our own story. They are a part of who we are and who we will be (deep water, brother…). So, in this spirit of storytelling and in homage to rivers everywhere, we’ve asked our guides to recall a notable “first” paddling experience, broadly defined, and to tell the story of that experience.
For this, our first installment, OTT guide Priscilla Macy (A.K.A., Fukari) writes about first river/paddling experiences through a global and a local lens, ultimately grounding her narrative in her experience running the remotely accessed and magnificent Chetco River in southwest Oregon.
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A young Fukari with her younger brothers (and fellow OTT guides). |
First Experiences and the River
By Priscilla Macy
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Aerial View – The Wild & Scenic Rogue River |
The Rogue is a beautiful study of contrasting character and confluent narratives—starting at its turbulent headwaters at Boundary Springs, where it is seems un-navigable, moving through forested landscapes until it reaches established cities, and running wild yet again upon reaching the Wild and Scenic corridor within the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest. The Rogue will always be “home” to me, my first, and it is this river that precipitated my epiphany: that I will never be capable of pursuing a lifestyle that precludes paddling.
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The Brave and the Beautiful Fukari |