Page 165 of Reinventing Cato
Vigge changed his footwear and tied the laces tightly.
“The van’s arriving,” Cato said. “We need to lock everything in the boot.”
As they walked over, Cato secured the car keys to a loop in the pocket of his trunks. Vigge spotted the name on the van,Whitewater Expeditions, and smiled.
“I thought you weren’t an adrenaline junkie?” Vigge slung his arm over Cato’s shoulder.
“Guys at work said this was fun. Eighteen miles on the Middle Fork. Sounds sexy. All we need to be able to do is swim confidently and paddle when told to.”
They joined a couple of families with teenagers and two other guys at the van. Names were checked and they set off. Vigge sat pressed next to Cato at the back of the vehicle and held his hand. He’d missed doing that. The sky was a brilliant blue and the scenery they travelled through was beautiful. The guy driving told them they were passing through the American River canyon and into the foothills of the heavily forested Sierra Nevada.
“I can’t remember when I was last so excited,” Cato said.
Vigge mock-glared. “Not when you used yourkærlighed sværd?”
Cato hummed. “I might have to think about that.”
Once they’d arrived at the put-in point, the guides unloaded the rafts, handed out helmets and life vests, and gave them a safety talk.Don’t try to swim, keep your feet downstream and float. Ship oars when told to. Paddle when told to. Forms were filled in, small print ignored because they weren’t not going to do this now, though Vigge noticed Cato was reading the details.
Cato had a broad smile on his face as they climbed into the inflatable. They were at the front, the two other guys from the van, Americans from Georgia, sat behind. The guide, Matt, who stood at the back and steered, looked like he’d not started shaving. Another four boats were out on the river.
Cato’s first swipe with the oar sent a wave of water over Vigge.
“I hope that wasn’t deliberate.” Vigge wiped water from his eyes.
“Sorry.”
“Try to look it.”
Cato laughed.
Not long after they’d set off, they found themselves in what Matt said were Class 3 rapids and had their first drenching. Cato was yipping with delight as he paddled furiously and Vigge’s heart pounded. It was like being on a rollercoaster, not that Vigge had been on one for years.
“Ready for the tunnel?” Matt called. “The river’s going to drop 80 feet through a very narrow chute, 18 feet at its widest. Then we’ll be underground for 90 feet travelling through a tunnel blasted by gold miners. This is only one of two rivers in the world where you get to raft through a tunnel.”
Vigge was speechless with excitement, fired up on adrenaline. They were thrown around, banged on the rocks, soaked with spray and neither of them, nor anyone else on board, stopped smiling and laughing.
Between the big drops and the rapids there were long calm pools to drift through where they had time to take in the amazing beauty of the deep canyon they were in. They took pictures of each other and hopefully the GoPro was capturing their trip.
An osprey plunged into the water ahead and emerged with a fish. Other birds skimmed the surface of the water and Matt spotted otters and pointed them out. Vigge didn’t want this day to end.
But it did and by late afternoon, they were back at their car and heading for a hotel in Auburn. Another pool to relax in, this time a spa as well and Vigge’s heart was so full, he found it hard to swallow. A holiday with someone he cared about… He wished he’d not had to wait so long to know how good it felt.
After dinner, when it was dark and the stars were out, he and Cato wrapped up warm and went outside into the grounds of the hotel. Cato took his hand as they made their way to the edge of the hotel property. There was a little garden with benches and Cato pulled him down onto one.
“This has been the best day,” Vigge said.
“And not over yet. Are you tired?”
“Not as much as I expected to be. I loved white water rafting. Thank you for arranging that.”
“You’re welcome. I loved it too. So… I brought you out here to show you something you can’t see.”
Vigge laughed. “Right. Are you going to keep your clothes on?”
“Yes, and so are you. Look up. We can only see 3 million light years away with the naked eye, so you’ll have to imagine looking further than that.”
Vigge looked up into a sky full of stars. “Why are the stars so bright here?”
