The Yellow River China
| River: | Other |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 09/20/2014 |
Trip Report Yellow River China
I bet this is a first; The Yellow River in China. But this story is more than just a story about a trip to the Yellow River, it is a story about karma. But then, aren’t all stories about rivers actually stories about karma, the karma of what happens before the river, the karma of what happens on the river, and the karma of what happens after the river.
This story, then, begins with great loss. Loss of a lifetime of work, loss of the recognition and accord of a lifetime’s accomplishment. Loss, I think unjustly, deviously, and dishonestly manufactured and to what end I do not know or understand. But then I am told it is not my place to understand or judge the motives of others but simply to understand my roll, my place and where I should be, and what I should be doing.
A young man who had once been considered a friend became my boss. Over the better part of a year, strangely, he began and then consistently painted me with a brush that I have not been accustomed to. For many years I have been well regarded, my work respected and my contributions very well appreciated and rewarded. One day, celebrating with great excitement, publishing the results of the most advanced innovated methods, the culmination of many years work. And later it is reported I did not do that work. It is confusing, and it continues. In one breath he say, ‘he taught me everything I know’ and in the next say, ‘he thinks his ideas are his own and doesn’t share with others’. It is confusing.
It is confusing and it continues until I find myself in a place, confused, shocked and disoriented I am unable to sleep, the conversation ‘why?’ dominating the timeI should be sleeping. But then I am told ‘why’ is not my concern, but simply to find what is my place, what is my path in this matter.
Finally, an ultimate insult, an ultimate degradation, delivered with such deft and articulate misrepresentation and lies it is mind boggling. I have lived on this earth a long time and have known many different types of people. I have known liars, and thieves, and even murderers, but I have never seen such as this. I try awhile longer but realize the futility.
So one evening, in confusion and despair, I have to face the truth of the matter. It is over. What I had for most of my life, relied on for my self-esteem, was gone. So in confusion and grief, one evening, I make a decision, I make a phone call, I punch a button. I turn a page. And it is a very heavy page. I lifetime of accomplishment, what I should have been accorded for that, is gone.
I board a plane and fly half way around the world … exactly half way. I meet my wife in Shanghai. This was not how we had planned our next meeting, not the time, or the circumstances we had planned. At this point I am not sure about anything, I am confused and uncertain. A state of mind that is not good when you are on the river, or, on this river of life. I don’t know what I am going to do, I don’t know why I am here. I just know that in the midst of confusion and despair, and in the convergence of decreasing options, here I am. And the one thing that I know, is that this is my karma.
In Chinese there is a word, ???hao zai, meaning ‘how fortunate’. I think it carries more meaning than the English translation ‘how fortunate’, with more emphasis on ‘how fortunate that right now … this thing happens’. And so I very soon find a very fortunate event occurs … hao zai. And I arrived in Shanghai exactly at the right time, and I realize I should not have arrived even one day later. Hao zai, I begin to have more confidence in my decision, and although I don’t know what I will do, I begin to trust that this is my karma and that this is the path I should be on.
Slowly I heal a little. I study Mandarin and Chinese cooking. I go to the market every day and buy fresh food to practice my Chinese cooking. I tell you, the study of speaking Mandarin and the study of Chinese cooking are both equally difficult, perhaps cooking even more difficult than the language. What is served in America as ‘Chinese food’ is not at all Chinese. There is no such thing as ‘Chopped Sui’ or ‘Chow Main’ and there is defiantly no such thing as a ‘Fortune Cookie’ in China. These are American marketing techniques. James Beard said there are two great cuisines developed in human history, one is French and the other is Chinese.
Consider, Chinese cooking has developed within a country with the most diverse geography within one country of any country on the planet. This extends from the highest mountain on the planet, to the tropics and every conceivable environment in between. And it has developed over a 5000 year history. Every region has its own special cuisine, and every city, every village every district has its own special twist on the dishes, preparation, and flavors of the region. Even to the point that each family has its own variation.
And, they haven’t written any of this stuff down. It is passed on as oral tradition and teaching in families and restaurants … there are very few recipes or descriptions of the incredibly complex techniques of food preparation. I tried an Intermediate dish, and after six tries, I gave up. The comments from my Chinese friends were, ‘well it tastes ok, but it is not right.’
For me, reaching the Intermediate level in kayaking was a struggle and took a long time. I doubt if I will ever reach Intermediate level in Chinese cooking. On the other hand, I am approaching the Intermediate Level in Chinese Speaking. So I think I have to consider that Chinese Cooking is more difficult to learn than learning the Chinese Language.
So I am passing the time studying and cooking and feeling a little better, but still I don’t know what I should be doing. On one particular Tuesday afternoon, I am missing kayaking a lot. So I go phishing. I had not planned on kayaking in China. I seems like a total mystery with some flat water then some incredibly difficult and dangerous rivers. I search ‘Kayaking China’.
So what comes up but Eric Jackson. On his Website is a report about his trip to China last year. The Jackson Team came here participate in some events and to promote the Jackson brand. I email Eric and as if he can give me some contacts for kayaking in China. On Wednesday if find a reply and he introduces me to Bo Tian. Bo is the Jackson representative in China and runs an outlet on TaoBao to sell kayaks and kayak gear. TaoBao is a huge website where they sell everything.
I contact Bo and ask if he can provide contacts with people who kayak. Bo replies very quickly with a contact to ???, Liu Wen Feng … or Leo. Leo, as I later learn is referred to as: ‘Master Liu’. He is the Master Teacher. He is the main source of teaching Chinese kayakers. And hao zai, Liu is a High School English teacher.
Liu sends me an email welcoming me to China and welcoming me back to Whitewater. He gives me his WeChat contact and we chat a bit. By now it is Thursday. After some introductory chats, Liu invites me to a competition on the Yellow River … THIS Weekend. AND, he says he will pay for my plane ticket to Xi’an, my Bullet Train ticket from Xi’an to San Men Xia, and provide hotel accommodations, all food and transportation to and from the river as well as set me up with kayak and gear.
Ok !!! I scramble to get my plane ticket arranged. I have not one stitch of kayak gear so figure to bring a rain coat and running tops. I go to the little shop just outside our gate and buy a pair of old style Converse high-tops, as I have heard they make fairly good river shoes.
Early Saturday morning, I put on my big boy pants, hail a cab, and prepare to venture out of the city on my own, for the first time. This is not simple or easy. Even in the city, very few people speak English, and outside the city, it is almost impossible to find someone who speaks English. The first time I went to village with Junling, I acquired a nick name … ‘Junling’s tail’. When she would show up someplace without me, the question would be, ‘where’s your tail?’ I am happy to report I am outgrowing that moniker, my language skills are much improved and I can get about on my own, although this is the first time traveling outside the city on my own.
I get to Pudong airport, pick up my ticket, and get and official receipt very smoothly. I find my gate and wait. I am supposed to meet up with Pokka, who also lives in Shanghai and will also be joining this trip. The flight boards, we get on a bus to take us to the plane and at the last minuet a guy carrying a break down paddle jumps onto the bus. ‘You must be Pokka’ , we chat briefly on the bus. He is a very nice soft spoken sincere young guy. He is from Hong Kong, but works in Shanghai.
We meet up again after arriving at the Xi’an airport. We pick up or baggage and proceed to Starbucks … to wait for Master Liu, who is flying in from Hang Zhou and who will accompany us to San Men Xia. Liu’s plane is delayed so we have some time to chat. Pokka is a young Chemical Engineer, I am a Chemical Engineer, he has a PhD, I do not. Since there is no industry in Hong Kong he has to seek work elsewhere so he works in Shanghai. I gather he is a Novice boater, he is one of Liu’s students. He has a roll, but has never done a combat roll. He knows some English, but I try to keep the conversation in Mandarin.
Over cups of Starbucks we have a pretty typical when meeting a new boating friend conversation, except the conversation is in Mandarin. Starbucks cost the same and tastes exactly the same. After a while Master Liu arrives. He is a little shorter than Pokka, and Pokka is shorter than me. He has a wry smile and a bit of a knowing mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He also looks to be in pretty good shape. He is carrying a large box with an inflatable, his paddle, a break-down paddle and his suit case, all with considerable ease. I asked how much it cost to bring his full length paddle on the plane. He replies that it did not cost anything. In China, he says, the airlines will take a paddle and a boat up to 2 meters in length for FREE. I asked about taking a longer boat. They won’t take a boat longer than 2 meters, simply will not take it.
Liu makes a call, we go outside the airport and shortly a driver appears to shuttle us to the train station. The logistics of this trip are impeccable. The train station is very much like the airports. Clean, modern, well lit, comfortable, and very efficient. The floors are marble, the walls are marble or tile and have all manner of art, advertising, and cultural rendition. There are all kinds of convenience stores, restaurants, and always, the upscale name brand stuff … everywhere. Liu and Pokka go off to buy tickets while I remain at the entrance and watch our stuff. When they return we go in the station. It is a very large hall and our train is close to the other end, we walk about 150 meters, find some seats, grab some snacks and wait for our train to be called. About 40 minut.es our train is called, we go through the turnstile, electronic ticket punched and board the train.
We stash our stuff in overhead racks take our seats. The train heads out. It doesn’t seem to be that fast, but the monitor at the front of the car says we are going 180+ Km/hr. The ride is very smooth and quiet, Liu and Pokka and other passengers doze off. I run through a set of Mandarin Character flash cards on my phone dictionary. San Men Xia is about 150 miles east of Xi’an and we arrive in less than one hour. Liu makes a call and a driver appears to take us to the hotel. The hotel is the nicest hotel in San Men Xia, a fairly nice 4 star hotel, see picture.
We have arrived too late to participate in river activities. We learn only a few people went on the river and they have not yet returned. We talk for a while in Liu’s room, some people come in they inflate a boat and practice a little. I learn about the competition. It is a 10 kilometers race between teams of 4 boats and consisting of 5 people. Each team has 2 inflatables with one inflatable being a tandem, and 2 hard kayaks. The team race time is the time of the slowest member of the team. The race starts on river right. There is a check point on river left at 5 kilometers, and the race finish is back on river right at 10 kilometers. The standard takeout is 3 kilometers past the race finish. You can take out at the check point or at the finish, or go on down 3 kilometers where the busses will be.
The event starts below the San Men Xia dam. It is noted that it has been raining for a few days and that they are releasing more water from the dam than expected. As such, there is concern about the inflatables. There are about 90 boaters here. A few very good boaters, but many are inexperienced. They are considering possibly eliminating the inflatables from the competition. I get most of this through Mandarin, with Liu providing a little English translation of the more complicated information.
We go down to dinner, which is a very good Chinese food buffet style, it is real Chinese food. As we finish dinner it is announce we should go to the party. We go to another room, large banquet room with a stage, lights, sound system, and a huge screen with a kayaking video. Well, I thought we would watch Chinese Kayaking Porn, but no. As the evening progresses the program is not what I would have expected of a kayaking gathering. This serves to underscore the cultural differences, and I am sharply reminded I am not in Kansas anymore. There is no alcohol. The program is a seemingly endless parade of cultural acts sandwiched in between speeches and recognition activities. First a large chorus preforms, then some recognition, then a woman dressed in traditional costume sings a traditional song, more speeches then a kid in traditional costume plays a traditional flute, and so on. I keep hoping to see the kayaking porn, but no.
After a while there is some excitement in the area where I am sitting. A tall serious academic looking guy walks by and I learn he is the event organizer, ?? Qiu Feng (Autumn Wind). He is wearing a light yellow windbreaker and horn rimmed glasses. He looks like the stereotypical Chinese PhD student or professor, very studious, nerdy and academic. See his picture at the Yellow River in attached link. Now Liu walks over the greet him. The guy gives Liu a big hug and then completely surprisingly pick him up and practically throws him up in the air. Waaa I think. Then the guy takes off his wind breaker and Waaa again. He is wearing what I call an old man t-shirt, the kind with no sleeves at all, just straps over the shoulder kind. Well, I have to tell you, this guy is build, he is seriously build, he has serious muscle. If I had his muscles I would NEVER wear a shirt.
A bit of an aside here. Later I watch a documentary video of a team who runs the entire length of the Yellow River. They go to a place very high, likely 5000+ meters, where a small spring emerges from the earth. This is considered to be the source of the Yellow River and there is a small Monument there. The team follows the river from that point down to the ocean. And this guy Qiu Feng is part of that team. In a segment in the documentary, the team is having some difficulty and have to make some difficult decisions. Team members are given individual assignments as part of the solution to dealing with the problem. A young guy on the team appears to be a little spoiled and does not like his assignment. He pouts and refuses his assignment. Qiu Feng tell his is assignment a second time and explains why this is his part. They guy continues to pout. Qiu Feng tell him what he is to do, this time is a very serious and stern tone. The guy puts on a bigger pout. At this point, Qiu Feng leaps like a big cat and quickly slaps the guy 3 times and sends him rolling across the ground. This guy Qiu Feng is a serious cat, he is strong, he is serious and he is not to be taken lightly. I have a great deal of respect for this guy.
Back to our celebration, I am told there are some other wai guo ren … foreigners coming and that I should meet with them and sit with them and see if we can form a team. I begin to understand my roll here. They are trying to promote kayaking in China. It is a fledgling effort. As part of this effort, they hold these competitions and publicize and promote as much as possible. As part of this effort, if they can claim it is an ‘international competition’ it helps the effort and they get better support from the sponsors. Hao zai, I’m the token wai guo ren arrived just in time!!!
In a little while the other wai guo ren arrive and sit down at a table. They are a bunch of kids from various countries studying in nearby cities. Four are from Costa Rica, three are from Uzbekistan, and one Asian looking young woman is from Mongolia. I ask them about their experience on the water. One took a raft trip once. I am not happy with the possibility of this being my team especially with the river being a little bigger than expected. I express my thoughts about this situation.
After a woman in traditional costume plays that traditional horizontal stringed instrument, one of the Cost Rican young men is introduced and he pays the instrument. He is pretty good and plays with a little funk that is very cool. I later observe his Mandarin is very good. He has studied the language and culture and is fairly accomplished for a young person. The kids think this is all very funny, they laugh and joke around and mock everything and nudge each other and laugh. They are having a good time, and for their participation they are getting free meals and lodging for a couple of days. What more can you ask for as a young person traveling about?
Later a guy in a military uniform sings a patriotic song and then a kid comes on with klackey klack sticks and tells a story about animals but is an allegory with some moral … and then I realize … I’ve seen these acts before on various television variety shows. I surmise they have hired the night’s entertainment and that it is more a celebration of Chinese culture than a celebration of kayaking. And at the end of the evening we only get to see a little of the kayaking video. The entertainment concludes. I am told we must get up at 7:00, and told where breakfast will be and that we must be ready for the busses to leave at 9:00. It is still raining. I sleep really well.
The next morning it is still raining. They say the dam is releasing even more than yesterday. We board the 2 busses and are off for the river.
The Yellow River
On the banks of the Yellow River is the first signs of human habitation in China. It is hence called ‘The Mother River of China’.
Mother River is a very unique river. She carries more sediment than any river on earth. In the cosmic struggle between water and stone, Mother River is the MVP on water’s team. She is working hard and tirelessly trying to bring down the Himalayas. The river is essential to life in China and has played an important role in the development of China throughout Chinese history. The stretch we will run, it appears Mother River has not yet found a hard bottom. I observe one truck size rock just down from the dam, and one bread box size rock on the river bank during a rescue. No other rocks were seen or any signs of rock in the way the water flowed.
Hao zai that the first river I will run in China is the Yellow River, The Mother River of China. We arrive at the put in. A large plastic sheet forms a ramp from a stage down to the river. The ramp is cordoned off. There are a whole bunch of boats laying around. I am assigned a Magnum 80. Eventually, somehow I manage to acquire the necessary gear. Helmet lent from a guy who is not feeling well and won’t run, pfd from another guy who has a spare, and finally I meet Palo who lends me a paddle.
Palo is from Chile and work with Riot in China. He is a short roundish guy with a thick Spanish accent. He is a bit gruff but is in fact big hearted and generous. He is a great source of information. By the way, Palo will be in Bryson City this summer. He learned his English living in the Bryson City area and working on the Ocoee. He will take his kids there to learn English and work on their kayaking. So if are in the Bryson City area and you see a short round scruffy guy with a thick Spanish accent, say hi, and talk to him awhile. He is a very interesting guy. He has kayaks and gear stashed all over South America and readily offers to lend gear and a modest place to stay if you are in those regions.
So now I have everything except nose plugs. I ask Liu and he looks at me askance. ‘Why do you need nose plugs?’ he asks. ‘I used to wear nose plugs but then I stopped. You get used to it.’ And he is a play boater. A lot of these people don’t wear nose plugs. I see some amazing things here.
Ok we are not ready to go yet, there is more culture and ceremony to observe. First, some people play on big drums in front of the stage, then some women dressed in traditional costume sing traditional songs. Then one of the strangest things. People dressed up like natives dance and carry clay mugs around for various team captains. They serve White Liquor from a clay jar. When everybody is served they make some chant call to the Gods and then everybody drinks and smashes their cups. Then the servers smash the jars, only one of the jars doesn’t break. So the young tall Costa Rican guy jumps out. goes over and smashes the jar. He leaps with joy at his accomplishment and the others laugh and applaud.
So we are getting close. I have to note that by now I have had my picture taken literally hundreds of time with people. Everybody wants to get a picture with the wai guo ren. I walk back over towards the boats to get ready and a young woman accompanied by a couple of guys walk up. She is wearing an ID badge on a lanyard and I recognize the characters ?? which is Reporter. She wants to interview me. I do the whole interview in Mandarin. She asks me if I am afraid. I reply, ‘that is an interesting question.’ And I explain, in Mandarin, about how to manage fear, and how, if one does not have fear, they do not have respect for the river. And I note that one must always have respect for the river. Later I recognize a woman I met last night at dinner. She also had gotten a picture with me. I see she is also wearing a reporters badge and ask her if she is a reporter. She also interviews me.
And I have to note here, both reporters, as well as everybody else I talk to ask the inevitable question … ‘How old are you?’ The question can take several forms in Mandarin, and by now I am accustom to most of them. This is not new. I get up at 4:30 in the morning and go across the street to Fudan University sports facility where they have a soft surface track and I usually run 32 laps, 12 kilometers, which is 8 miles. They allow non-students in from 4:30 until 7:00 am. Typically a bunch of old people are there walking, some running a little and a few dedicated runners and some students. But mostly old people lao ren. And inevitable they have all asked the inevitable question. So I am used to this.
By now I have a joke as a standard answer. I say, in Mandarin, ’my wife would say I am 3 years old.’ It is a great Chinese joke. When I do this, at first people look at me a little puzzled, then they look surprised because it is a good joke and they smile and look at each other. And then they are surprised again when they realize the wai guo ren has told a good joke, and they look at each other with surprise. But then they realize the question has not been answered, so then the question comes back.
So I tell them my age … the reporters … everyone who asks and almost everybody asks. So before I put on the river, I have taken pictures with about 500 people, been interviewed by 2 reporters, and been asked my age at least a hundred times. By now, everybody knows who I am, and I am sure people are paying attention to what will happen next.
The Race – On the River
Now I have to apologize for those of you who might have been expecting a brief description of a river run and the characters who ran the river and the features of the river and the events that happened on the river. I am sorry. But this is the story of how I come to run the Yellow River in China. It is the first river I will run in China, and I think it is the first of many rivers I will run in China. And this is the story of how it is that I come here and end up meeting these people and doing this thing.
It is Sunday mid-day and we are about to put on the Yellow River in China. And so consider, Tuesday afternoon before, I knew nothing of this place, this event or these people. I simply went phishing and here I am. Hao zai !!!
Get ready they announce, get ready. We put on gear, stretch and teams line up on the ramp. As it turns out, I am collected with Liu, Palo and myself in hard boats along with a guy in a single inflatable. We in the sixth slot. Teams are launched a few minutes apart. The next team to launch is given a one minute warning. The team behind helps the go team to get in boats and ready for launch.
Ah, now I have to tell you about the river. From the shore, the river below the dam is big. Big waves crashing and splashing about. I think at the flow they were expecting, the river would be Class II III-. Today this part is solid Class III. Three to four meter waves, whirl pools and some holes in there, and wide strong eddy lines. The water is muddy … it is the Yellow River.
We are up. Palo says get out in the main current. We are off. I head a 45 degree angle out through the huge eddy. My team mates all take a steeper angle out. I am ahead for a while but I am not out far in the current yet. Soon my team mates are ahead of me by 20 meters. Now I am in the current and start to experience the character of the Yellow River. Mother River is a chaos of waves and whirl pools. With nothing hard to impede the flow, the river is a chaos of waves forming and receding from every direction to every direction. Here some of the waves are up to four meters. They form in front from the side and even from the rear. They will be there, right in front of you and then they will disappear only to have another wave for and come at you from the side. The Magnum 80 is stable, but directionally challenged in these conditions. I think a River Runner with edges or a Play Boat would be nice. Heading straight down river, I top a very large wave and to my surprise find a whirl pool forming in the top of the wave. That is how much chaos is going on in this river.
I am getting further behind my team mates in my struggle with Mother Chaos. It is fun, but I am not going fast! Now I find a more difficult feature of the river. When the river turns, it forms some big reactionary waves, somewhat random coming off the river bank. At first I challenge these waves for the added excitement only to find right behind these reactionary waves fall a ferocious eddy line. The first couple of times it is fun and exciting. But I find it is pretty challenging in the Magnum 80 making my way off the eddy line back into the main current. And then on about the third time I try this I slide off the back of a reactionary into the eddy line and flip.
Ok, I haven’t been on the water in 7 months. And although last year I ran a lot, including a good share of Class IV, this year, I have only run on Class II a couple of times. No roll practice, and nothing recent. I have not rolled a kayak in 7 months and then it was a small boat on Class II. Now I am upside down in the Yellow River, on a mean eddy line in the Battle Ship Magnum. My team mates 30 meters ahead by now and I don’t know how far behind the next team is. I can feel the silt of Mother River entering under my rain coat improvised ‘Dry Top’. I can feel the silt and mud in my ears and mouth and on my skin. I am thankful for the nose plugs lent at the last minute before putting on. I set up, execute a lame C to C, lift my head and fail to roll up.
Think … keep your head down … next attempt is better, but I lift my head and fail the second attempt. So now I focus as best I can … on the set up and the moves … focus. And on the third attempt I manage, barely, to roll the beast. It was a classic C to C. So for those of you who are anti Jackson roll, I did a C to C. The truth is I could not even think of any of the other rolls that I know so it was C to C or nothing. Had I had better presence of mind I darn well would have done my Jackson roll. But C to C was the last thing I practiced so that is what came out. So today, I will not join the Yellow River Swim Team. I will, rather, help other who do.
With a sinking heart I see my team members now, maybe almost 100 meters ahead. And then I also see a boat without driver being pushed about by another boater. I ask if he needs help and he declines. I soon encounter the swimmer seemingly just drifting with is paddle. After some difficult communication I convince him to let me have his paddle and for him to grab the back of my boat. I have just recently learned the word for ‘grab’. Hao zai !!! I start trying to get this guy to the side but it is not easy. Getting across the very wide eddy line is exhausting. I make it but even getting through the eddy is hard. We finally get to the mud bank and my rescuee sits in the mud, breathing heavily. I think he is a little cold. He was in the water for maybe 10 minutes, and although it is not really cold, it is cold enough that 10 minutes in the water gives me some concern.
Now I look and see the guy with the boat floating by out in the main current. He doesn’t make much attempt to get the boat to the side. This is where I observe some disconnect. There are about 90 boaters here today. Among them are a hand full of experience very skilled boaters, but there are a lot of inexperience boaters. They do not have the training we have had in American and they have no formal safety training. Kayaking is a brand new activity here and there is so much they don’t know, there is so much to do here.
I get the guy to the side. Now a surprise, the guy pulls out his cell phone and calls his friends on the river to tell them where he is. We have service on the Yellow River and everybody is calling everybody on the river. Every time there is a rescue, when the rescue is done, the rescuer and the rescuee and everybody else around pull out their cell phones and call friends. These people live on their cell phones and China is very well connected. They have service in the subway, in tunnels and now I find even on the river! Hao zai!
I wait with my guy until another guy bouncing an empty boat joins us. And now I see now another swimmer out in the main current. So while the new guy with the new boat makes a cell phone call, I paddle out to the main current in pursuit of the next swimmer. By the time I catch up to this guy and get him to the side, I think he has been in the water a little too long. He is starting to show signs of hypothermia. I think he has been in the water approaching 10 minutes. Although it is not too cold, it is cold enough that 10 minutes in the water can be a problem. The guy is shivering and a little slow to respond. I get the new swimmer to the side very near where the first swimmers boat has landed. He sits in the mud on the side of the river a little stunned but shortly comes around. I talk to him about how it is important to get to the side of the river as quickly as possible. I’m not sure my mandarin conveys the intended meaning or the importance, although I think I am using all the right words. Shortly, the first swimmer arrives in the second swimmers boat so all swimmers and gear are collected together.
Three or four boats arrive and land so I paddle around the eddy considering to do some roll practice. I pull off a roll, C to C. Not bad … not pleasant in Mother River with silt and sand and mud … but it was ok. I need some roll practice. I try a couple of more … slight improvement. Here I am only thinking C to C … none of the other rolls I know come to mind. A young small guy in a Magnum 80 says he is going to show is a hand roll. And he does impressively … on both sides. He is from Beijing and does not get much chance to Whitewater kayak so he teaches and participated in water polo in Beijing. He explains hand rolling is an essential skill in Water Polo, and apparently he is very skilled at this. It is very impressive how he can hand roll this big boat with amazing snap.
I pull off another couple of rolls. One offside sweep roll now then I see another rescue going by in the main current so I’m off to help with the third rescue. There is a group of 4 very capable strong boaters working this rescue. I just paddle along in case they need any help. One guy in a blue and white Karma and a black helmet with a GoPro is the main guy. Both swimmer and boat are in the flotilla. The main guy single handedly hoists the empty boat over his bow and empties the water in short order. They hold the boat stable while the swimmer re-enters his boat and they are off. They are really big on in river rescue and re-entry here.
The second swimmer comes by unaccompanied … I wonder about this. So I tag up with the guy eventually another boater joins our little group and we float on down, the bigger rapids having receded for a while. We spot the river left check point and paddle in. My team is nowhere in sight, they have not waited for me and I think the competition strategy has more or less fallen apart. The people on the shore know who I am, of course, and how old I am. They ask, “Ben, how are you?” In mandarin of course. And they ask if I want to get out of the river here. I’m fine I reply, I just need to get out and stretch, and is there some water here. I did not manage to get a bottle of water in my boat. It is still raining and a little bit muddy and slippery getting onto the side. A bottle of water is brought from a nearby shelter. And ambulance is parked here as well as a host of vehicles, a couple of tent shelters and a lot of curious people.
I get back in my boat and wait with the first 2 swimmers. The rescue team from the 3rd swimmer arrive so we wait for them to head out together. A couple of inflatables head out then our group of swimmers and rescuers take off. The river is just a float here so I scan the scenery. In the greyness there are the characteristic mound mountains surrounding us. Lush with vegetation they rise abruptly and steeply mounds of mud melting into Mother River’s tireless sweep. Wisps of clouds enter twine and veil the green mounds variously here and there, reminiscent of the Great Smokey Mountains. But the steep mounds do not look like melted eroded slopes of the Smokes.
Noise of the river picks up. There is bigger water ahead. The random waves return and then I see all the boaters ahead booking at 90 degrees toward river left. At the turn, the reactionary chases them, and by now most of the boaters do not want to deal with this phenomenon myself included. I set a course 90 degrees left and paddle hard. The tail of the dragon catches me, but it is ok. I surf off the end of the tail into the main current in the rivers new direction and I do not have to deal much with the nasty eddy line. So this gets to be my strategy for dealing with the Reactionary Dragon.
As I clear the Dragons Tail, I see there is another swimmer. Unfortunate victim of the Reactionary Dragon guarding this turn in the river. The guy in the blue and white Karma leads the rescue again. I pick up the paddle and otherwise just stand by. I all, I do little racing this day and participate in four rescues.
The Finish – The Mother of All Eddies
The river calms down to just a few sets of Class II with not so fierce dragons guarding the turns. But there is one remaining obstacle to deal with. Mother River is not yet finished with surprises. We see way down on river right a yellow banner and some flags. The finish is in sight. But then I see it … the monster … a mechanical steel dam stretching from river left to 90% of the way across the river. Sky blue steel with blue teeth biting into the water, gaps between the blue teeth are open gates. Mother River is not happy with this monster. Artificial hard iron dragon impeding Mother’s tireless effort. She is almost at the point of rage provoked by the absurd audacity of this annoying but temporary insult. The angry muddy water piles up boiling against the monster’s iron teeth, breaking white foam roiling back against the monster. Mother’s water snarls as it rushes in unaccustomed squeeze through the gaps between the monster’s teeth. This is no place to even begin to approach with a boat, and the finish is on river right just above this mess. In her utter disdain at this situation, Mother has put up … the Mother of All Eddies on river right just above the monster. The eddy is 600 maybe 700 meters long and 300 meters wide at the widest point. The water in the eddy looks perfectly smooth compared to the main flow and the fierce eddy line. Looks can be deceiving.
I start early, at the very top river left corner of the monster eddy to make my way to the flag. In between the main flow of the river and the monster eddy is … of course … the mother of all eddy lines. Wide, nasty and very disagreeable. I break into the eddy line knowing I am in for a struggle, a long struggle. The eddy line itself is perhaps 50 meters wide. I would say it took 7 to 8 minutes of high level paddling to get through the eddy line. As I finished breaking through the eddy line I thought wow am I glad to be through with that. But slowly it began to dawn on me, the eddy was not easier, in fact the eddy was a harder struggle that the eddy line. Although the surface of the eddy looked calm, the water in the eddy was in fact flowing at a very high rate of speed away from the river bank. I found that if I did not paddle at highest intensity, that I would be going backward, back out toward the eddy line. So I poured it on. It seemed like more than 10 minutes of intense paddling to get across the eddy to the finish line. But finally, still paddling intensely clear to the river bank, I landed right at the flag, out of breath and exhausted. I noted a very narrow thin stream not one meter wide streaming up stream on the river right bank. And I noted that outside of this very narrow boundary, there was high speed laminar flow away from the river bank. Strange.
At the race finish they of course ask how I was feeling and if I wanted to get out here. You can get out here they would say assumingly. I took a stretch break and caught my breath as I walked down to the bottom of the eddy. There is a gap of about 25 meters between the end of the monster dam and the river right bank. But … the inevitable … there is a cable stretching from the end of the steel dam to the river bank and the cable goes most of the way under the water. The cable lifts out of the water leaving a space of only about 8 meters at river right to get under the cable. Anything beyond that is cable under the water and monster steel dam. Not pretty. And all of this, which is the beginning of the last leg of this journey, at the bottom of the Mother of All Eddies. Not pretty.
I decided to just drag my boat down there a put in right where the cable pulled overhead. A road conveniently entered the river right there. But getting my boat from the finish line landing to this place would be a bit of a challenger … of course. Part of the way was simply a drop off cut from the mud bank, with little possibility of climbing over, I would have to walk the boat down in the river. Got it. Drag my boat to the cable, get in, slide under the cable and I’m off for the last 3 kilometers.
It is still raining. I arrive at the take out. A few people are gathered but the main congregating point is up a steep muddy soaked hill. I rest a minute, shoulder my boat and begin the muddy slog. Part is very steep and very muddy. I note someone has lost a pair of shoes. My tie-up Converse High Tops remain bound to my feet. I step in foot steeps ahead and a one point find myself sinking up to my knee in mud. I extract my leg and try another footing. I finally make it to the tent shelter and warm congratulations. And to my delight a hot bowl of noodles. Waaa that was good. There are a few 4WD vehicles here but I am told we have to carry up further to reach the bus.
I shoulder my boat and begin the trudge up the steep dirt/mud road. I encounter sever boaters who give me the thumbs up and “???” ni hen bang … (your are great) I appreciate the complement, but it doesn’t help much with the task at hand. About 100 meters the dirt road reaches a small paved road at a hair pin turn. Just as I arrive there, from the opposite direction comes a small herd of cows herded from behind by the herdsman. The lead animal was a large bull with point horns sticking out in front. He looks at me … like a lot of people look at me here … with the question ‘What kind of strange thing is this?’ He takes a good hard long look … wondering. I am wondering too … I’m acutely aware I am carrying a very large very Red boat. I wonder if it is true about bulls being attracted to the color Red. Finally the bull gives me one last sidelong glance then heads on up the hill.
I hear there is about 500 meter to climb out so I dig in and start trudging. A young man who I talked to on the river joins me in the climb. He notes how he and the other are young and how I am keeping up very well. As we climb, he complains about being tired. I just keep climbing, keeping to myself my aching knees, my aching hip joint, my aching shoulders. I keep quiet and just keep climbing, just staying ahead of my young friend. He notes this with a bit of dismay. I reach the top and the truck where we load our boats. I hoist my boat with a heave of thanks. I make my way to the second bus which is the only bus with seats still available and was not the bus I came on. I gladly collapse into a seat at the back, my stuff is on the other bus but I am just glad to be here.
The bus ride is 2 hours back to San Men Xia. At the hotel I retrieve my stuff from the other bus, and get cleaned up. By the time I get to the dining room dinner is almost over but there is plenty left. I am told we need to hurry because we have to catch the train back to Xi’an at 9:00. There is little time. I grab one plate of what is left, and hurriedly chow down. As it turns out it was absolutely delicious, one of the best meals I have ever had.
I gather my stuff, the driver arrives a whisks us to the train station. We grab a hotel in Xi’an and catch the plane the next morning for Shanghai. I jump on Line to and arrive 15 minutes early for my appointment in Jin Mao Tower in the center of down town. I is a crystal clear day. The sunlight sparkles of the buildings as they reflect into each other against a brilliant blue sky with white puffy clouds passing by. It reminds me of another day, some time ago, strangely, a day on the Cranberry.
On Tuesday we find 3 articles online that mention me. One says, "Using simple Mandarin he describes his kayaking experiance. He explains that it takes a lot of work and practice to build kayaking skills and that one should not go to rivers that are too difficult for their skill level. He says you should always respect the river, and that if you do not have fear maybe just a little for easier river, you probably do not respect the river as you should."
Sometime later, I reflect. On a Tuesday afternoon, while missing kayaking I went surfing on the internet. Eric Jackson came up and put me in touch with, what is now an amazing array of contacts. Saturday I board a plane and Sunday I run the Yellow River in China. And Monday afternoon I arrive city center for my appointment. Hao zai.
I feel better and I realize I feel as if Mother River has scrubbed me, scoured me with the grit and silt from the Himalayas and scrubbed the tarnish and stain that had been painted on me, scrubbed it clean. The foul taint that had been put on me is gone. Where I had felt dirty and violated and wanted to go home and take a shower, Mother River has taken care of that. And now I can go about what I am supposed to be doing right now.
And that my friends is a very very interesting story.
Next up, the clinic at ?? sha wan (sand at the bend) a beautiful small village on a small river called ?? da xi (big creek).
Yellow River Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/sloboat1/TheYellowRiverSept212014?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_su_62u8jDVQ