Day 5 - Swimming and swine

Day 5 revolved around a whitewater rafting trip - unlike many of the activites available, this was included int he cost of the trip. However, it had been the maximum cause of headaches when booking insurance. Trek America offer their own policy, but it costs way more than other policies that cover the same stuff. The problem, though, is in finding an equivalent policy. The comparison sites will only take you so far, then you have to go it alone througt he minefields of included, optional and additional covers available. Add to this the fact that several insurers trade under a number of different names, offering basically the same policies but at different prices, and I can see why most people opt to go for Trek's own insurance.

I eventually foudn a policy that offered more cover, plus cancellation cover (not included in the Trek policy) for a year at 70% of the price of Trek's single trip policy. Result! But wading through all the different categories of whitewater rafting, plus a moment of revelation when I realised that much of what we would be doing would count as 'walking at altitude' did take a couple of evenings. I should have kept count of how many evenings I spent looking for the best deals on flights, accommodation etc...

Right. So, the whitewater rafting. They asked for a volunteer from out group of 12 to go in an 8 man raft with 7 other people, while the other 11 went in a 16 man raft (with 5 other people, obviously). I wanted to do whitewater rafting, not whitewater 'sitting in the middle of the raft while big men show how strong they are', so I volunteered. This turned out to be a really good move - for a really surprising reason. Partway through, after a few splashes (and a number of whitewater rafting disaster stories from our guide), we were told 'the next mile or so is quiet, you can get out for a swim if you like'.

After another traveller had a go, I decided to take the plunge. Lifejackets are great. :-) (Mum, I got someone to hold my glasses for me.) And later on, I did it again. I've not been able to have a go at swimming since wrecking various shoulders (OK, I have only two, but it all adds up) so being able to doggie paddle around was great - especially if you consider that the guide had to throw water on the surface of the raft before we sat on it at the start, as it was such a hot day. I also wanted to justify the $5 I'd spent on hiring a wetsuit.

The rafting itself was good - though not as eventful as it would have been in June, where the river is really big due to it being the height of the snow melt on the Teats. No one fell out in our raft, though four people went over from the 16 man raft.

The afternoon was free time in Jackson (I looked for some shorts but found none at reasonable prices) and the evening was billed as a rodeo. Belatedly, we found out that it was the week of the town fair, and the rodeo was replaced by pig wrestling. I'll write that again. Pig Wrestling. There are two main rules:

1. Teams of four take part.


2. The pig is an appropriate size for the participants (the U8s... I'll write that again... U8s got a piglet, the men a 200 lb adult).


3. The team has a minute to complete their task, which is:


4. ... to pick the pig up, and place if, bottom first, in a barrel (the direction is important).


5. Fastest time wins.

Oh, and did I forget to say, the action takes place in deep mud encircled by a fence, which is livened up with additional water every now and then. Yes, and they throw mud at the pig (or rather, at one of a series of pigs). And anyone can enter. And that there's an additional costume competition for the participants?

To prove I've not made this up, here's the entry form and the results.

It was a bit bizarre - the pigs seemed to be OK with it on the whole (though there was some squealing when some fo them got picked up) but I generally came down on their side and was glad when they evaded their pursuers are were able to return, triumphant, to their truck. One team (the U14 winners) employed an excellent strategy of three people sneak up on pig, one waits by fence where it will run to when it spots the people and picks it up when it arrives, but the others were just a bit random.

Dinner was eating out, accompanied by silent footage of animals we hadn't managed to see in Yellowstone playing on a video screen, followed by drinks out, accompanied by silent footage of the Tour de France playing on a TV.