- Colette Miles (guide school student)Mad River trainees met at the boathouse on a bright sunny morning. Decked in sleek wetsuits, we boarded a bus and began an epic day. The bus dropped us at West Table Boat Ramp where the guides enthusiastically met us and passed out splash gear and PFDs. For our first run down the Snake we were the tourists and experienced what a commercial run would be. 8 miles and 6 raging rapids later we emerged at Sheep Gulch Boat Ramp. After safely stowing the rafts we were ready for round two. This time, we would be the guides. Each raft carried about 5 trainees and a guide school instructor. We learned how to give the safety speech, which we all more or less butchered our first time- giving it a go from memory. Working as a team our captain would give commands and guide us through the treacherous (aka FUN) parts of the river. We spent a large portion of the afternoon practicing ferrying techniques, in a heavy current with large eddies on either side. Thoroughly drained of energy we completed our second and final trip of the day. Loading once more into the bus we headed south of Sheep Gulch and went on an excursion to scout a gnarly rapid on the Greys River. We wrote our interpretation of the hazards, problems and route we would choose. This individualized examination of the rapid gave our instructors a better idea of our knowledge of river morphology. An exhausted crew returned to Mad River and we reviewed the day, learned some knots and were given a reading assignment for the next day. Good first day.
