ICK.Personally, I've never been white water rafting, but I've always wanted to try it. Er, that is until I read the book "Death in Grand Canyon," which goes into all the gruesome ways people have managed to off themselves there. There is a chapter devoted to drowning in the Colorado, and they too go on and on about the dangers of rafting at low water level, just as you said!
So now I'm being all chicken about it, and would much rather stick to snorkeling, currents (which you have to watch out for) and all. And should anyone decide to try that, my advice is this:
1. NEVER SNORKEL ALONE
2. Always stick your head out of water every so often to orient yourself to the shore -- you'd be amazed at how easy it is to get lost watching/following the fish, and then not realizing just what the current is doing to ya...
3. Always begin by heading into the current... then after you've been out a couple hours (OH yeah, this is an easy thing to do!!) and are tired (you don't realize it) you can let the current carry you back to your initial site. Which brings us to my final little bit of advice:
4. When you first get into the water, stop and memorize your entry point; works best by aligning two objects up on shore at a right angle to where you entered. You'd be surprised how one bit of shoreline can look exactly like another, and there isn't sand everywhere to make it easy getting out!
I'd love to learn to scuba dive, but I don't know if my ears can take it...
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I ride the Stormcloud and the Night!