So we had an interesting week last week while Brandon’s friends from Missouri were here. They wanted to experience Idaho and do a lot of fun stuff while they were here. They were planning on arriving Sunday the 4th and leaving Saturday the 10th. Brandon decided on some things to do with them while they were here some of which were white water rafting, Eagle Island State Park, and camping. He also decided to meet them in Utah on Sunday and then take them to Temple Square on Monday and then drive home. Monday also happened to be my birthday and Brandon missed it completely so he owes me big time.
For the sake of the story I will call Brandon’s friends: Friend 1, Friend 2, and Friend’s son. On Tuesday we decided to take them floating the river in Emmett. It’s a really easy float (bridge to bridge) and the water is warmer than the Boise River. One thing about this river though is that there are no getting out points between the bridges. There are no roads close to the river and the banks are covered in trees and bushes so there is no shoreline. If you do manage to get through the bushes and trees up the bank there is nothing but open land and farms. There is one little rough spot called the diversion dam (a rock wall built across the river to divert the water to the canal. It’s just fine to go over but you have to go over in a certain spot or you can tip.
I had to take dinner to someone in my ward that night so we decided to head to Emmett after that to float the river. It takes about 1 ½ hours to float the river so we figured even if we got in at 7:00pm we would still have enough time to float before it got dark. Cody and Rebecca Peterson came with us as well as Brandon’s brother. We got over to Emmett and got in the river at 7:00. The plan was to send all keys, towels, and shoes with Brandon’s dad and he would pick us up at the end in 1 ½ hours. I was in a raft with Kyler and Brooklyn and everyone else was in tube. There were four kids on the trip, my three and friend’s son. Brayden and friend’s son were in their own tubes with life jackets. We started floating down the river and looked back to see that the friend’s had still not gotten in the river (they were whining it was cold) so we tried to slow down and wait for them. They eventually caught up with us. There are parts on this river that get really shallow and you have to lift yourself up on your tube so you don’t hit bottom or get stuck on a rock. We were coming up on one of these parts and warned the friends to lift themselves up and let the current carry them. I was in the back of the pack with all the friends and thought they were with me. We go through this part and I actually hit a tree with the raft and managed not to pop it. After the shallow part we look back and see friend 1 and friends son completely stopped near the log in the middle of the river. Friend 2 sees her son and husband and stops her tube and walks back up in the river to them. I yelled to Brandon to tell him that something was wrong and that the friends were stopped. He got over to a sandy spot on the side of the river and yelled for everyone else to get over and wait. I was in a huge raft with the two kids and I am not a very good paddler, I tried to get over to the side but didn’t make it in time. Rebecca, seeing that I couldn’t get over, decided to keep going with me so I wasn’t alone with the kids. So it’s just me and Rebecca floating down the river. We get a little ways and look back and see ONE PERSON coming. We decide to try and slow down and let them catch up to us. They catch up to us and we see that it’s Brandon’s brother, he tells us that they are still stopped up there and he doesn’t know what’s going on but Brandon told him to follow us and help us with the kids and the diversion dam. We float for a little bit and then decided to paddle over to the shore and wait for them. I see a little break in the bushes and we paddled over to it. We sit and wait for 25-30 minutes on the edge for them. It’s starting to get dark, Kyler and Brooklyn are getting cold and scared, me and Rebecca finally decided that something must have happened to friend 1 and so they must have gotten out of the river and tried to walk to a house to use a phone. We decided that they had probably been picked up by Brandon’s dad and they were fine. We knew that we needed to get down the river and get out before it got dark and we couldn’t see. (We tried to send Cameron back up the river to find them but he only made it 10 feet before he could go no farther). I was really worried about Brayden but I knew he was with his dad and that he would be okay.
I had floated this river a ton when I was a kid and I knew there was a spot just before the diversion dam to get out and walk around it and then get back in just below it. We decided with the little kids and the fact that it was getting dark to just get out and walk around. I found the spot and with Cameron’s help we were able to get the kids, the raft, and the tubes around the dam. We quickly got back in and Rebecca decided to get in the raft with me to help paddle so we could move faster, we gave Cameron both tubes and tied him on the raft behind us so we wouldn’t lose him. Side note on that: The raft had a huge rope tied to it and Brandon wanted to take it off but his mom insisted that he leave it one. Good thing we had it.
Now it’s really getting dark and we are starting to worry, me and Rebecca are paddling like crazy trying to get to the end but it seems like we are hardly moving. We realize the problem is Cameron tied behind us, he is acting like an anchor. We decide to unhook him, (don’t worry I knew he would be okay because he has floated this river a bunch too.) Once we unhooked him we went so much faster. I actually noticed a house on a hill close to the river and debated on getting out and walking to it but we decided not to and I am glad we didn’t because a little farther down the river we saw 2 coyotes on the edge. It was getting dark and they were coming down for a drink. Finally we round a corner and see the bridge, Brooklyn was the first to see it and she was so excited, “Yeah, mom it’s the bridge we are almost done.” It’s completely dark by now and when we get to the bridge we are sure that no one will be there waiting for us but we get closer and Brandon’s dad and other brother are there. We asked them where everyone else is and they said they hadn’t seen or heard from them. I am really worried now because Brayden and Brandon are still out there and it’s completely dark, it was 9:50 pm when I got in the car.
Rebecca decides that they must have gotten out and found away to walk back to the cars at the beginning and that they are waiting for us there because they don’t have any keys. She goes with Brandon’s brother to go back to the start and get the cars and them. I have to go back to Brandon’s parent’s house to get Addy, because she is now over starving because we are so late. So me and the two kids go back to the house. I take care of Addy and wait to hear the news. It has been an hour and I am going crazy so I decided to just try calling my cell phone that I know is in our van. I knew Brandon’s brother was going back to the start to drive my van back so I figured I would just get an update from him. I called my phone and he answered, I frantically asked “Where are they, did you find them yet?” He says, “I’m okay, I just got out with Brayden.” It was Brandon and he had just gotten out of the river with Brayden at 11:00pm. He said he was sending Brayden up to the house and that he would call me back. When Brayden got to the house he was freezing cold but okay.
Soon Brandon calls me back to tell me what happened. Apparently friend 1 thought he was going to fast in the shallow part with the log and put his foot down. When he did this he scratch his foot, he stopped and got out of the river with his wife and son. They sat on a little sandy part while Brandon yelled to them. Brandon, Cody, and Brayden were farther down and couldn’t figure out what was wrong and couldn’t get them moving again. Finally Cody and Brandon decide that they need to go up to them. They leave Brayden with all the tubes and try to trek upstream. They go a little ways only to realize that it’s going to be impossible. The only way to get to them is to make there way through the bushes, up the bank, and then walk downstream and go back through the bushes. It takes them 45 minutes to do this. They finally get to them and find out about the scratch and tell them that the only way out is to keep going. They finally convince them to keep going and decide this time to have Brandon and Brayden go in front, have the friends in the middle, and put Cody in the back to keep them moving. They start moving again but by now it’s dark. Brandon has floated this river a couple of times before so he knew about the diversion dam, he knew that you needed to go down in a certain spot, and he also knew that it was pitch black and there was no moon. He can hear it getting closer but he can’t see it. At the last minute he sees it and notices he in the wrong spot. He last minutes shoves Brayden down a good spot and Brayden makes it through just fine. Brandon goes over a rock, tips out, and hits his back on a rock pretty good. Unfortunately, Brayden’s in the current and just keeps going. Brandon has a big decision to make he can either go after Brayden or he can wait there and try to warn the friends and Cody of the upcoming diversion dam. He decides he needs to wait and warn them, he yells to Brayden to just stay on his tube and keep floating and dad will catch up to you in a little bit. So Brayden keeps floating downstream and Brandon is now trying to yell to the others. He had told them before when going over this dam to go single file and go between the rocks. He spots them now all holding on the each other with the little boy in the middle. He tries to yell to them but they can’t hear him over the sound of the water. They go over and manage to not fall out but the friend’s son’s head goes back in the water a little bit. Friend 2 freaks out and starts cussing and yelling and going crazy. The friends paddle over to the spot where me and Rebecca got back in earlier and sit on the bank. Brandon walks over to them as Cody goes down the dam and does fine. As she’s yelling and cussing she informs Brandon that she is not going any further, that she is going to sit on that river bank until someone comes and picks her up. Brandon now has another dilemma. Brayden has now been floating on his own for about 15-20 minutes, he needs to find him quick but the friends aren’t moving. He then asks Cody to stay with them, Brandon is going to go find Brayden, get to the end and then try to find them from the road.
So Cody stays and Brandon takes off. Brandon knows Brayden has been gone a long time and he hopes that he has stayed on the main river and didn’t get swept down any off shoots. He also knows that he has to catch Brayden before he reaches the bridge or he will keep going down stream where I have no idea what lies ahead. Brandon said that he has never paddled as fast or prayed as hard as he did that night. He is yelling and yelling for Brayden the entire time and finally hears him as he rounds the corner and sees the bridge. He can also tell that Brayden is very close to the bridge and still about 100 yards from him. He paddles like crazy and catches Brayden 5 yards from the bridge. We were very lucky because Brayden was on the wrong side of the bridge and even though Cameron was down by the river waiting for the rest of our party to get done he wouldn’t have seen Brayden in the dark on the other side of the river and Brayden would have continued downstream.
Now that Brandon’s out of the river he has to find out where Cody and the friends are. He has no idea where the closest road is to the diversion dam. They decide their best bet is to go to my Aunt and Uncles house and ask them. My Uncle has lived in Emmett his whole life and knows every farmer and person that owns property in the area. Brandon and his dad get to my uncle’s house only to discover that my uncle is away at scout camp and only my aunt and her daughters are home. She makes some phone calls and they think they have found where they need to start looking. They take off with flashlights and cell phones to try and find them. I know they walked down a hill, through blackberry bushes, marshes, puncher weeds, and numerous other things just to reach the river. Once at the river they couldn’t see or hear Cody and the friends and they didn’t know which way to go to get to the diversion dam in the dark. After searching for an hour or more, Brandon and his dad decided to go to the opposite side of the river to see if they could find the diversion dam on that side. Leaving my aunt and her two daughters on the right side, Brandon and his dad planned on directing them to the diversion dam using flashlights and cell phones.
So Brandon and his dad take off to the other side and call me at Brandon’s parent’s house and ask me to Google the river and try to find the diversion dam on the map and then guide them to the nearest road to it. Now Google maps unfortunately doesn’t tell you if the road is a private road, a dirt road, or a chained off road. From the map it looked like they could drive directly to the diversion dam but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. They were able to get close but then they had a hop a chained gate and walk down a dirt road. My aunt called them at this time and told them she could see their headlights which was a good sign. As Brandon and his dad walked closer to the river, they heard shouting from Cody and the friends. Brandon and his dad had finally found them but now they needed to guide my aunt to the friends. Brandon and his dad, using flashlights, guided my aunt to the friends and they were finally found. After they were found Brandon needed to get back to the other side and turn his headlights on at the top of the hill to guide my aunt and the lost ones back to the road. I am guessing they were a good mile from the road, but the walk back was longer because they had to navigate back through the blackberry bushes, puncher weeds, and marshes without their shoes.
The search party, Cody, and the friends finally made it back to the road and to their cars at about 2:30 am. Me and Rebecca needed to be up for work in about 4 hours. We quickly said thank you to my aunt and her daughters for sacrificing their time to find the lost ones and headed to Brandon’s parents house to pick up the kids and head home. We finally got home around 4:00am making it a very long next day. Needless to say, the rafting trip and the camping trip were canceled after this because there was no way we were doing anymore outdoor adventures with them.
We were extremely blessed this night and there were many answered prayers. Everyone returned home safely with only scratches and lots of mosquito bites. The best part is Brayden is not scared of water or the river and we plan on taking him floating again soon to make sure he has a good experience. His only request is that we start floating in the morning so we can get done before it gets dark. I am very proud of my little 6 year old who floated an unknown river in the dark, all by himself. He said he wasn’t scared because he knew his dad would find him. When we asked him what he did the entire time he was floating by himself he replied, “I just prayed to Heavenly Father that my dad would find me before I reached the bridge.” He did something that night that not even friend 1, friend 2, and friends son would do and I am pretty sure he gained a testimony of prayer that night as well.
