Monday, August 3, 2009

Magic Falls Whitewater Rafting

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After two cold days on boats, we left Bar Harbor for Magic Falls on the Kennebec River. Original plan was to camp two nights there, but the rain convinced us to upgrade to one of their cabins for one night instead. We still got to enjoy a campfire and it only drizzled a little.


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The next morning we donned our wetsuits and prepared to get out on the water. All my worry over needing to use the restroom was for naught. There were bathrooms right before we boarded the boats and the trip wasn’t as long as I thought. So it all worked out fine.


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Here we are getting ready to get on the water. Btw, Dennis took all of these except the first one - and they were all taken with the point and shoot. We had a class of 8th graders go out with us, teenage girls and rapids - hilarious!


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Dennis and I had whitewater rafted one other time - in New Mexico, on the Rio Grande. Haden had never been before. But let me tell you, we had class 2 and 3 rapids AND even a class 4! The class 4, Magic Falls, was so awesome!! My butt left the seat and water covered me entirely! When I opened my eyes and saw only water I thought maybe I had fallen out - then my butt landed back on the seat and I knew I was ok.


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None of us fell out. So the guide had us tap our oars in celebration!


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At one small rapid the guide let anyone out who wanted to swim it. Haden’s the one without the helmet. Thankfully, the lifejackets have handles to help pull the kids back in.


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We paused at a waterfall for a photo - the guide snapped these for us.


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Our guides were great! Wouldn’t mind going back again - who knows, maybe we can gain some experience so we can go on the Dead River and class 5 rapids. J

20 comments:

  1. Lisa,
    Whitewater rafting! How cool!! Reminds me of a trip we did in Idaho last summer. So fun to be out on the river...

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  2. How FUN!!! Great photos too!! I have rafted once before & would LOVE to do it again! Thanks for sharing this great trip with us:)

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  3. This is one thing I've never tried, but always wanted to. I used to work with a bunch of inveterate kayaker/canoer/rafters and they always had the best stories...

    Cool stuff!

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  4. That looks like so much fun! Great pictures!!!

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  5. I enjoyed your story. I marvel at your courage. What a ride!

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  6. How exciting and fun! Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

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  7. That looked like fun! Class 5 rapids are a breeze (obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about).

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  8. Looks like a great experience! I haven´t done this yet, but would love to!

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  9. I'd love to do that up in hells canyon (Snake River) it's not that far of a drive from here ---

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  10. Looks like a blast, but none of you are smiling in the last one!

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  11. I've always wanted to go white water rafting. You make it look like it's really easy. That last picture of you, Dennis and Haden is great, my favorite. Hope all is well.

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  12. Cool, looks like fun! Was the water cold?

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  13. This activities definitely out for me, I'm too chicken-hearted!

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  14. That must have been awfully cold! No?

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  15. OK, I am most def. too much of a chicken for the real fast things there, shudder :D
    But I am glad you guys had fun :D!

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  16. This just looks like too much fun! Can I go too next time? ;-)

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  17. We passed it on hwy 201 going north from hwy 2 in Maine. Somewhere between Skowhegan and the Forks - you can't miss it - if you're going north, it's on the right hand side. There's a map here: http://www.magicfalls.com/location/location.php

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