Thu 12 Jun 2008
Posted by Meg under Outdoors , Weekend Adventures
According to the calendar, summer doesn’t officially start for another week and a half. Even so, the past two months have been oppressively hot in most of the country. If it gets hotter still in the real summer, I think I’ll move to Antarctica and live there until it all melts.
It is incredibly uncomfortable to be outside for very long in heat like this, but I’m an outdoorsy person, and I belong out there. Getting in the water is usually a nice way to stay cool, but when I went for a swim in my neighborhood pool, it just felt like I was in a giant bathtub. That’s why my friends and I made plans to go tubing down the James River today. Tubing is a summer tradition, and if you’ve got a river, you can go.
No matter how hot the bathwater in my pool gets, I can always count on the James River to be cool and refreshing. Tubing is just what it sounds like — you sit in an inner tube and float down the river for a couple of hours. It’s not exactly an extreme sport, but the route that we’re taking today will take us by a rope swing (slightly extreme) and a part of the river where you can get out and go cliff diving (definitely extreme). If you’ve never gone tubing before (and even if you have, really), you should go with a professional company rather than just blowing up a raft and setting yourself off down the river.
The James River Runners, the company that I’ve always dealt with, doesn’t actually send a guide down the river with your group. They just provide the tubes and life jackets and take you by bus to the launch point so you don’t have to worry about coordinating cars. I’d guess this is how it works with most tubing outfits.
Lots of people take coolers of food and drinks when they tube. You can just put the cooler in another tube (with a bottom instead of a hole) and let it float along with you, but it can be a bitch to keep track of your cooler. Someone always has to tow it and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t flip over. In my opinion, it’s not worth it, but some folks will tell you it’s not tubing without a case of beer.
You should always wear shoes when you go tubing, because the river bottom can have sharp rocks and other hazards. Teva sandals are my preferred tubing footwear, because it’s no problem if they get wet and they won’t come off my feet like flip flops will.
Sunscreen is a must, because you’ll be out on the water for several hours. Since bugs love rivers, I’d recommend a sunscreen that is both waterproof and insect-repellent. If you’ve got somewhere you can put it, bring it down the river with you and reapply every hour or so.
True, you’re just sitting in a tube for three hours and floating, but there’s something really fun about tubing — it’s why five of my buddies are blowing off work this afternoon to come with me, and we keep going back summer after summer. It’s a great group activity, and fun for all ages. Next time the heat drives you back indoors, get your friends together and get in the river.