Monday, August 2, 2010
Dying on the Jordan
Posted By Stephen Dark on August 2, 2010, 10:36 PM
Reportedly the couple got in at 11400 South and got into difficulties at 6100 South. There's a low bridge at that point which funnels the water into a dangerous rapid and requires significant skill to navigate. It's one of a number of stretches on a river that can look deceivingly peaceful from the bank but can quickly trap the unwary.
When I was researching a cover story called River Rats for City Weekly last year, despite having an hour-long tutorial from a Jordan river advocate in a calm stretch of water, once I tried to get in the river around 11800 South in seconds I realised how little control I had over the kayak and the direction it was going.
The first time I got in to the kayak I tipped over; the second time, after a nervous start I lost control, rolled over, was dragged out of the kayak and into some low-hanging branches, pulled under the branches and for a few seconds contemplated the possibility of a watery grave.
For all its beauty and serenity while traveling in a boat rowed by someone who knows what he or she is doing - indeed there are fewer valley landscapes more beautiful than the Jordan has to offer in Draper for example - as this weekend's tragic news demonstrates, the river and its treacherous undertows and hidden currents should never be underestimated.
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