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That Time I...

Packrafted Under Gleason Falls During a Flash Flood

I had big plans to packraft through a water-filled mine adit I found a few years prior in the Ottawa National Forest. Packraft in a copper mine, what a treat through would be! Unfortunately, the adit's water levels had decreased to the point where I could just walk inside instead. "Drats." There wasn't anything inside aside from more rocks. "Double drats!"


Disappointed at my good/bad luck, I hiked around some more, aiming to go check out Gleason Falls for a bit of bonus exploring. Suddenly: thunderclaps, and not far from my location either. There was a 10% chance of thunderstorms that day and apparently I drew the short straw because I didn't bring a rain jacket. Just as suddenly as the thunder roared, the trees started to sway furiously. "Triple drats!" I was about to be hit directly by one of those purple blobs you see in the radar and hope never to meet without proper protection.


Lightning blasted the hills overhead as I took cover under the only thing I had with me: my packraft. You know you're at a weird place in your life when you're hiding under your packraft in a hailstorm as trees get zapped by lightning a few hundred yards away when you were only hoping to paddle underground that afternoon.


The storm eventually subsided and I emerged not super soaked, but not super dry either. I hiked on a short distance when another storm unleashed its fury on the forest. I nestled up under a rock outcrop and hoped the new waterfall above me wasn't going to cause a landslide. 


Eventually I made it to Gleason Falls, surprised at the weather's atrocious turn but equally surprised at the results: this tiny waterfall was raging! Normally in mid-summer it's just a trickle. This day, however, it was blasting at nearaly the full force of spring snowmelt. The pool below the falls was full to the brim. My adventure Spidey Senses were tingling.


If I couldn't packraft underground, at least I could packraft below Gleason Falls in a flash flood. So I did! I will bet any amount of money that I was the first to paddle this rocky little creek.


On the way out, I got caught in one last treacherous downpour and hid in the short mining exploration just above the falls for about 20 minutes. Talk about an epic day! Sometimes you lucky and you're in the right place at the right time with totally inappropriate adventure equipment for a regular adventure.

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