Friday, January 6, 2012

Pushing To Lava

In July 2010 I was lucky enough to have another chance to raft the Grand Canyon and row for my sister-in-law’s trip. The year before in 2009 I finally had my launch date after a 16 year wait. (The private permit system has since changed to a lottery which means you’ll probably have better odds in Las Vegas. That subject is worthy of it’s own rant/blog/whine, but not now).

This trip was one where the entire group of 18 was family. One of the things we would do every evening is have a little devotional to add a spiritual feel to each day. We each took turns sharing a thought at some point during the trip. My opportunity was on the last evening of our trip, just before taking out at Pearce Ferry, just a few miles upstream from Lake Mead.

I started my devotional message by asking everyone if they happen to notice that from the very beginning of the trip I would rarely row backwards in the flat water sections, mostly using a push stroke instead. Most said they did notice but didn’t know why I would do that.

Anyone who has ever rowed a boat generally learns pretty quickly that the strongest and least strenuous stroke is to pull backwards with straight arms and use leg muscle more than arm muscle.

So why would I spend most of my time pushing? I had two reasons. The first reason was I could see the canyon in front of me, so I didn’t miss out on the spectacular views, and I have always preferred to see where I am going.

But the second reason is really the most important. I was “pushing to Lava.” Lava Falls is the meanest, and one of the most difficult rapids in Grand Canyon. From the day we launched at Lee’s Ferry I had Lava on my mind.

Back in the early days of recreational river running, a man named Nate Galloway came up with the idea of turning his boat around when negotiating rapids. Until then, conventional wisdom was to row backwards, always. Nate decided to turn around. Today it’s unusual to see someone intentionally running a rapid backwards from beginning to end.

Since you are typically facing forward when negotiating the rapid, your backwards “power stroke” is not available to you as you hit large waves. Lava Falls is a series of waves, really big waves, one right after another.

A good boatman/woman knows that in order to maintain momentum through waves, especially big waves is to keep your oars in the water and push as hard as you can through each wave. If you stall out in a wave, the likely result will be to flip the boat as the faster water behind the boat pulls the boat down. I wanted to have as much pushing ability as I possibly could when running Lava.

This same lesson can be applied to everyday life. What are you doing now on a regular basis to be ready for the challenges in the future? Are you strong enough to push through the really big waves of life when they come? They may be waves of opposition and challenge, or they could be waves of opportunity. Luck favors the one who is prepared.

A great business philosopher, Jim Rohn, would say that you can be very sincere and hard working and still end broke and embarrassed. We’ve got to do more than just hope for the best when we reach our “Lava Falls” moments in our lives.

Think about all the challenges and opportunities that could come your way and determine what preparation should be made to take full advantage of the opportunity. Or be fully prepared for the challenge. Better to be prepared and not need the extra preparation than the other way around.

By the way, we all had a great run through Lava and I ended up not needing to push as hard as I anticipated I would need to. And if I ever get the opportunity to run Grand Canyon for a sixth time you can bet that from Lee’s Ferry on down to river mile 180 (Lava Falls) that I’ll be pushing my boat most of the way.

Photo #1) Approx. Mile 243 - Below Separation Canyon, July 2009
Photo #2) First Camp, July 2009
Photo #3) Lava Falls, July 2009
Photo #4) Lava Falls - Right Side Run, August 1982
Photo #5) Upset - Pushing Through the "Wall", August 1982
Photo #6) Hermit - Right Down the Middle, August 1982

© DTE Consulting 2012 “Helping You Do The Extraordinary”

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