With a class III rapid approaching, and two huge boulders protruding about twenty feet out of the water in the middle of the river, the two fledgling canoeists warily eyed the path to be taken as the current brought them closer to a point of no return. Pete and Allan were beginning what was to be a weekend trip on the Shenandoah River and had put in earlier that day at the outskirts of Luray, Virginia. They had rented a 17 foot Grumman canoe from Joe Sottosanti of the Shenandoah River Outfitters. Neither of the brothers, who were from Miami, had ever been on a white water river and, since the movie Deliverance had been recently released, this promised to be an adventure.
“Draw left, we’re gonna take this rapid right down the middle of the chute and go right between those two rocks. That’s where the biggest water is.â€
“Draw left, we’re gonna take this rapid right down the middle of the chute and go right between those two rocks. That’s where the biggest water is.â€