Your life flashes before your eyes, they say, during a near-death experience. If this is true, death must have been further than I thought as I thrashed around in an uncoordinated manner after being plunged in to the Rogue River. The only notion in my mind was that this is what I get for trying to be macho and volunteering to take a kayak when I’m not much of a swimmer.

Of course, impromptu baths are to be expected when white water rafting and the Rogue River in Oregon promises nothing else.

This truly is the New World and rivers, like The Rogue, are how it was discovered. Journeys taken by pioneers who made Oregon what it is today. Their spirit of discovery lives on in the Oregonians who are exceptionally open to new things. Individualism and discovery is the way of life out here.

Our first view of the river was one of utter beauty. All wooded river banks and rocks protruding from the river. The water itself had a silvery sheen to it from the midday sun.

This section of the Rogue River is designated a “wild and scenic river” and is protected by law to maintain the natural beauty and environment of the river. So much of the character of this part of the US is tied up with rivers like this and you get plenty of time to ponder this as you gently make your way from one set of rapids to the next.

After just a short time on your own in a kayak you start to develop your own sense of discovery. You almost can’t believe anyone has made this journey before. Even the log cabins that you glimpse through the trees can’t quite convince you otherwise.

The beauty of the rapids on this trip is that they’re challenging enough for you to get an adrenalin rush while you are sticking your oar in and a sense of satisfaction when you shoot out the other side. All this without you needing any real experience of white water rafting. As someone whose only previous times afloat have been on a ferry or when I’ve over filled the bath, I’m living proof of this.

The rapids are graded one to four, four being those that will get your heart racing. Although if you don’t like the look of one you can swap out of your ducky (rubber kayaks) and ride it from the safety of the raft. Many of the rapids have colourful names like Grave Creek and Hellgate Canyon but don’t let that worry you. In fact the most dangerous is the sweetly named Blossom Bar which, if the conditions are bad, can only be taken on the raft. 

The rapids weren’t the only adrenalin inducer on the river. You could, if you so desired, indulge in a spot of cliff jumping or get out of the rafts and kayaks all together and float through one of the rapids. Your intrepid correspondent drew the line there. To me the object was to stay out of the water.

 While doing my best to stay dry I received a different sort of thrill. The wildlife on display is truly fantastic and not something you could ever see on a similar trip in a less preserved area. Ospreys and turkey vultures wheeled about above while fighting over the fish you had just seen the Osprey catch. Bald Eagles perched in the branches of twisted madrone trees. We even had a black bear swimming along beside us for a while.

 At the end of a long day we would all sit round the camp fire to dry off and be fed and entertained by the guides. And as you gaze up at the star filled sky while listening to someone strum a Woody Guthrie song you realize that forward thinking, progressive Oregon is really just in touch with its pioneering past.