I'd like you western folk to let me know how your whitewater trips
differ from ours back east. As a basis for comparison, here is how a
trip down the Lower Gualey in WV started out....

last month, my dad and i, as part a group, went rafting on the lower
gualey in west virgina. the trip was awesome. the drive up there was
half of the fun. we had 3-4 chocolate milk cans by the time we crossed
into virginia from north carolina - the gas stations were enticing.
the gualey is supposed to be one of the top 10 rafting rivers in the
world. after arriving at the campsite and getting a good - very good -
night's rest, we loaded on to a 50 year old school bus with other
rafting groups and headed down to the lower. the first rapid we went
over was a class V. i was a little nervous at first, but once i found
the previous fact out, i began shaking. drifting downriver, i stared
up at a 300 foot gorge to the right, a steep hillside to the left and
a gulley of rushing water in the center. down the raft went. i thought
i would never live to see the day i would exit the raft, but the ride
was awesome and we all came out fine. after a quick lunch break at the
end of the next moderate rapid, we kept on going and listened to our
guide very accurately predict when the people behind us were going to
fly 10 feet out of the boat. it was quite a show - he was dead right.

the rest can be read at:
http://www.zachdexter.com/adventure/viewtopic.php?t=2