Ben and Paul slid the canoes from the back of Paul's pickup and down to the edge of the river. Liz was unloading the supplies from the back of the truck. They were about to embark on a two night trip down the river, a trip that Paul and Liz had taken many times before. It was a first time for Ben and he wasn't at all sure about doing it. Being on water wasn't one of his favorite things. The idea of white water ahead made him wish he had just told them no again.
Ben and Paul were college team mates and best friends for several years. Paul played quarterback and Ben running back for the college Tigers. Both were good in college but neither one good enough for the pros.
Liz had been one of the cheerleaders. She and Paul had dated through out college and married as soon as they graduated. She was barely 5 feet and weighed 110 pounds. All hundred and ten pounds were placed perfectly on her 5 feet frame. From her silky blond hair, tied in a pony tail, to her painted toe nails she was enough to make any man drool.
Paul was over six feet and blond just like Liz. His dark blue eyes were the first thing you noticed about him. It wasn't the last for the women he came in contact with. His good looks kept Liz on her toes when other women were around. She had never thought he would cheat on her but he sure had a lot of opportunities.
Ben was still single, not that he was lacking for female companionship. He like women to much to settle down with just one. Being black he was often tempted by the white women at school and now at work. That was a temptation that so far he had avoided. Not that he didn't enjoy looking at the fine young white women; He often thought how lucky Paul was to have Liz for his wife.
Ben lived near Paul and Liz and at least once a month he would stay with them for a night. They were real canoe enthusiast and had invited him to go along many times before. This time they finally wore him down and he agreed to go.
Liz looked up at the clouds gathering in the sky. "Paul, have you taken a look at the clouds? We may get a little wet before the trip is over."
"The weather station said we might have a few showers but they would pass through quickly. If we don't go today we want get to go again this year. The temperature has already dropped off for the time of year."
She didn't put up much of an argument as he usually knew what he was doing and he was very good on the river.
They packed the first canoe with most of the supplies and fastened them down. Paul was going to take that canoe where he could get it through the rapids down river.
Liz and Ben were going to be in the second canoe. Liz knew what to do but Ben was out for his first time. Liz intended to give him a few paddling lessons over the first three miles before they reached the white water area. He was up front and she in the back with a tent and sleeping bag tied down between them. At the last moment Liz set in a cooler with water and a few sandwiches. If she couldn't catch up with Paul they would have something to eat and drink.
It was mid-morning when they pushed away from shore. The sun was now up and the temperature was climbing. All three soon shed there top garments, enjoying the sun for the last weekend before winter came.
Liz gave Ben instructions as they went along. He was a fast learner and picked up on it quick. Paul stayed along side while he got the knack of it. Once he saw Ben was going to be ok he moved ahead to guide them down the river. He knew every rock since he had been down the river numerous times.
They stopped for lunch at the middle of the afternoon. The sun was now clouded over and it looked like they might get wet any moment. None of them were worried about a little rain. All had on shorts and expected to get wet going down the rapids.
Back on the river Paul picked up a little speed. Liz knew he was hurrying faster than he normally would but just thought he was trying to get through the first gorge before the rains came. She told Ben to pick it up.
Liz looked across at the western sky and it was pitch black. They were getting some kind of rain over there. She hoped it stayed over in that direction.
The sky was now black just as Paul led them through the first white water. For a few minutes they were busy and didn't think about the rain.
That run of rapids took less than five minutes and the water smoothed off once they got through it. Liz called to Ben, "How did you like that?"
"That was fun if it doesn't get any worse than that."
She laughed, "That was class one rapid. Depending on the rain we may just have a class 5 before we get through."
The rain came. All at once the bottom fell out and they were all drenched just as the next rapids came up. They didn't have time to slip back on their top garments as they were paddling to keep clear of the rocks. It was three hours before dark and already they couldn't see Paul in front of them. Only when the lighting flashed did they see Paul fighting to keep the canoe steady as he sped down the rapids.
The river at this point ran between canyon walls that went straight up. There wasn't anywhere they could pull over and wait the rain out. There was nothing they could do but stay in the river for a couple of miles until they reached the camping spot for the first night.
Liz and Paul knew that it was about to get worse. Another river joined the one they were on ahead and then it would really get fast. They weren't worried about their ability to get through it as they had been in rougher water before. Only going through in the dark made it so much more difficult.
The rain clouds Liz had been watching all day out west had been dumping as much water in the other river as the one they were in now. When the two streams came together it got to be a mess quickly.
When Paul hit the water from the other river he was sweap down stream before he had time to warn the others. All he could do was keep the boat straight and try to keep it off the rocks.
Liz hit the water the same way. The front of the canoe was swept sideways and she fought to keep the front headed down river. Ben wasn't much help. The noise was so loud that he couldn't hear her tell him to paddle faster.
At that moment disaster hit. A floating tree from the other river swept across the canoe between Ben and Liz. Reaching forward Liz managed to push the limb away from them but not before a hole opened up in the canoe below the water line. Water poured into the canoe and covered Liz's feet. She knew they had to get out of the river are they were going to sink.
When Ben's feet became covered with water he looked at the stricken look on Liz's face. "What?"
She pointed to the water. "We have to get out of this canoe. Look for a place to pull into. All the other trips down the river the water had not been this high. Now the river was wider than normal and she caught sight of a small ledge ahead of them. "There, head for that ledge."
They both paddled for their lives and managed to hit the ledge just before they would have been swept around the edge and down the river.
Ben grabbed a root of a tree stump and pulled the canoe up to the ledge. Liz jumped out and helped him get the canoe up out of the water. The rain was coming down even harder than before. She knew that they had to find higher ground as the water would rise quickly in the canyons.
"Look for a way to get higher."
Ben saw the edge of another ledge above his head. There wasn't anyway they could climb the steep slick sides. "Here, let me hold you up. I think I can get you up where you can get out."
