Rafting through raging rivers, riding horses through winding forests and battling each other in a paintball field is my idea of adventure. My fellow members of Boy Scout Crew 220 and I spent this past week camping at at WhiteWater Express.After a 10 hour drive up to the North Carolina-Tennessee border on Monday, our group checked into Ocoee camp for our High Adventure, an outdoors experience Boy Scouts participate in each year. We stayed in cabins at the Bear Camp area, which were far nicer than we had anticipated on a camping trip. They had numerous bunks to sleep in, electricity, running water, plumbing, a shower and even a window air conditioner for maximum comfort. The food selection was also surprisingly decent for a scout camp, with the daily meals ranging from chicken alfredo, pizza and even fajitas. It wasn’t gourmet, but it wasn’t bad.

The trip truly began on Tuesday when we went white water rafting on the Nantahala River in North Carolina. After donning helmets and life jackets and grabbing paddles, we rode down to the beginning of the river route and boarded our raft. The Nantahala has class one and two rapids, leading to a fairly exciting but lower risk experience than other rivers. We had no guide and only a loose understandi of how to do everything, leading to unsynchronized rowing and many collisions into rocks. The fact that we constantly and intentionally spun the raft in circles as we went down the river backwards didn’t help our navigation difficulties, but it made the ride a lot more exciting. We soared past the trees and land beside us as we traveled down the river, and raced against another group in the final stretch.

We spent the next day exploring the camp and participating in other activities, starting with a round of paintball. I didn’t last very long in the match, managing to miss even the trees before I was out. I ended up opting out of the “Iron Man” match where you play until either time runs out or the pain prevents you from playing anymore. After my friends finished shooting each other with rainbow colored paint, we headed to the ranch and got on our horses. I attempted to follow the guide down the trail as the others raced on, with my slow horse, Scout, who constantly attempted to deviate off the path, avoid moving or making any efforts at all. We made a great pair. Despite traveling at a snail’s pace, we were the third pair back to the ranch when the trail was done.

After spending a day on the land, we went rafting down the Ocoee River on Thursday. This river consisted of class three and four rapids, leading to a much more fast paced and exciting experience than that of the Nantahala. Wisely, the company assigned us to a guide who instructed us on safety techniques and helped us carry the raft to the bottom of a dam. When we got onto the water we rafted through an intense series of rapids, each one better than the last. Between the adrenaline, the waves, and the 48 degree fahrenheit water we had a great time.

We returned to the Ocoee River for round two on Friday, the final day of our trip.The route was mostly the same, but this trip was far more exciting than the last. The rapids were just as intense as before, but the new guide’s enthusiasm helped make them even more exciting. On one of the rapids, Flipper, we got stuck at the base as the raft spun around. We had to lean into the raft in order to stay on, but one of the other scouts, Dallin WIlson, ended up falling out of the raft and into the raging river. Luckily he was a strong swimmer and managed to return to the boat, but his paddle was sacrificed in the process. He wasn’t the only one to fall out, though. Noticing my lack of desire to get into the river, our guide tipped the raft and made all of us except him and Dallin fall in. It was startling and freezing, but the adrenaline and sheer humor it brought made it worthwhile.

Afterward we finished rafting, we went on the high and low ropes courses at the camp. The high ropes course was great, consisting over a series of obstacles and increasing height. I strapped into my harness and then scaled a rope ladder, walked across a thin cable, climbed up a wooden ladder and navigated a wooden bridge with huge gaps between the slender boards. After embracing my inner Spider-Man, we went to the underwhelming low ropes course. This course consisted of a series of trust building exercises, like trying to balance all of us on a wooden board without it touching the ground. We also did an exercise that involved switching spots on a log without stepping off. After the activities were done, we packed up and prepared for the long drive back to Florida.