I have been gym climbing for more than a year but not until last Saturday did I climb on real rock surfaces. It is not because I didn’t have a chance; my climbing partners, Yaroslav and Heather, have been trying very hard to drag me out to taste the real and Yaroslav even gave me a climbing helmet for birthday present so that I would get inspired. However, weekend after weekend, I chose white water kayaking over rock climbing. Believe me, it was a very tough call. “Why can’t I split myself in half?” I asked myself many times.

Last Saturday, we climbed at Shawangunks – a place every east coast rock climber knows about. Before I even climbed, I was amazed by how crowded the local deli store was. I never knew that rock climbing is such a popular sport, although every time I go to my rock gym it always appears to me that I see more people than the previous time. Well, it seemed that they all came to the store to order a mountain man/woman breakfast sandwich, and a cup of coffee to pump up their climbing gauge. No exception for me, of course.


在室內岩場爬岩已經一年出頭了，卻遲到上週六才嚐到戶外攀登的滋味。這些日子來，也不是說沒有機會到戶外攀岩，我的忠實繩伴Yaroslav和Heather也早已經催過我不下百次，死拖活拖要把我拉到戶外去吹吹風、散散心，上個月過生日，Yaroslav還送我岩盔希望我早日醍醐灌頂。善哉，也不是小女子真的這麼難請，偏偏我總是必須在划獨木舟和攀岩中間，做個天人交戰的選擇，終究是分身乏術，獨木舟每每戰勝。

上週六，一行人前往紐約州的Shawangunks山區，這是東岸攀岩者間，無人不知無人不曉的攀岩聖地。在我的手腳能夠觸摸到岩石之前，於當地的小雜貨早餐店，已然深深體會到這聖地的名不虛傳。攀岩的盛況，可不只是「人山人海」可以形容。雖然說每次去家附近的室內岩場，總有每次來、每次看到更多人的感覺，但還是直到到了這裡，才真正嘆服攀岩人口的眾多，真是恆河沙數。而每個攀岩者似乎都得起個早，來這家店買個「山男（山女）三文治（mountain man/woman sandwich），喝杯咖啡，打足攀岩元氣才行。在這樣的氣氛醞染下，我也不爭氣地不免俗地點了個山女三文治。

Alright, this post is totally not related to the outdoors, but after all, this is MY site. Happy Birthday, LittlePo.

On a river trip, this is the most commonly heard and used phrase – “Paddle, paddle, paddle!” It cannot be just “Paddle.” The verb has to be repeated three times in a row with a steady tempo and an affirmative tone to deliver the power. “Paddle, paddle, paddle!” has to be the dogma for every boater; it will not separate the Red Sea for you but it will definitely pave your river way.

A whitewater kayaker should have a snugly fitted boat; the boat is an extension of the boater’s body and the paddle is the arms. The more I kayak, the more I think kayaking is like swimming. Only the parts which engage with the water would be able to maneuver and change the directions of travel. Therefore as long as you always keep the paddle in the water, you have the bargaining chip to negotiate with a river.


「划、划、划」，這振奮人心的三個字，大概是在河上泛舟的人最常使用、也最常聽到的口令了。可不能只是「划啊」或者是「向前划」，一定要以堅定的口吻，精神飽滿地將「划」這個動詞，重複三遍才算及格。嗯，雖然說「划、划、划」不能給我們摩西劈開紅海的神力，必要的時候，它可是指點河上明路的耀眼燈籠。

對於從事激流獨木舟運動的玩家來說，擁有一艘合身的小船，是最重要不過了。必須感覺那小獨木舟，等於是身體的延伸，而兩端備刃的長槳就是左右臂。我多划獨木舟一次，就多感覺一分獨木舟運動和游泳的相似處。只有與水有接觸的部分，擁有操控方向的能力。也因此，隨時保持槳在水中，是獨木舟玩眾必須牢記的心法。

Part III: A Popular Play Spot at the Ledges Rapid

After traversing through the rapids No Way, and Staircase, boaters will arrive at the rapid called Ledges. Here is a highlight of the Lehigh River – on the river right, and not too far away from a big boulder, there is a popular play spot. It’s popular because it’s a perfect place for boaters to practice literally every move – surfing, 360 spins, flip turns etc – and if you get washed out, you can easily return to the eddy behind the big rock and try again. Even if the worst thing happens, say you tip over, what follows is a wide and calm river section where you are free to take your time performing an Eskimo roll. There is one drawback about this play spot though: it’s so popular that, on weekends, there is always a long wait.

Last winter, after numerous practices in a pool, I got my rolls going. I told myself, “When the river season starts, I will go in that hole and surf,” as if playing in the hole should be a ritual for an upper gorge boater and I finally had my sacrifice ready.


第三話：激流Ledges區的熱門玩點

順著Lehigh River而下，穿過激流No Way以及Staircase之後，等待在不遠處的是激流Ledges。這裡是Lehigh River上相當有名的一處景點：河右岸，距離一巨石的不遠處，有一立體的迴流浪潮，是相當受船家歡迎的玩點。這浪潮之所以熱門，關鍵在於：小船玩家幾乎可以在這裡嘗試各種花式，諸如衝浪、360迴轉、小船翻跟斗等等。如果小船被激流衝往下游，船家也可以輕易地回到巨石後面的安靜水域，往上游划去，重新嘗試一遍。最壞的情況也不過就是翻了船，而浪潮之後的河區不單安靜、而且寬敞，容許船家從容地做出eskimo roll的動作，將小船再翻轉回來。真要針對這個玩點挑出一個毛病，就是，它實在太受歡迎了，星期假日等待的人潮總是大排長龍。

去年冬季，很努力地在游泳池裡練習，終於算是學會了eskimo roll。當時，跟自己說：「等船季開始，一定要到那兒玩玩，讓小船衝衝浪。」似乎，進入該玩點嬉戲是到Lehigh River upper gorge必須從事的儀式，而我已經將祭品虔誠地準備妥當，只等神明採納。

Early afternoon on July 14th, I arrived at Anchorage. After checking in the hotel room, it started to rain. I didn’t feel quite well because I had a complicated flight schedule. In between, I stopped at three different airports and caught a cold from a random passenger. I made myself a hot bath and ate a good meal for dinner. “Everything seems fine, and I only have a sore throat,” I comforted myself. In fact, that was a big lie; I knew this cold was going to cost me. (Lesson learned: Take good care of yourself all the time. Keep in good health before a demanding trip.)

The rain never stopped, as the sunlight never really went away. The next morning, a school bus took us 11 students to Palmer, AK where NOLS Alaska branch is located. The instructors, Ben, Nate and Shawn welcomed us in suits. We soon started our orientation, and we exchanged our expectations for instructors, classmates and the expedition itself.


七月十四日，下午約莫兩三點，我抵達Anchorage。在旅館櫃臺辦好相關手續之後，陰沈的天空也等不住，開始下起濛濛細雨。我感覺身體有些不適，大概是因為這趟旅途停留的飛機場太多，不知道何時何處從哪一個陌生人處，惹上了感冒病毒。洗了個熱水澡，吃了頓豐盛的晚餐，我安慰自己說：「好像沒這麼嚴重嘛！只是輕微的喉嚨痛罷了。」唉，自己都知道這是個天大的謊言，心知肚明這小感冒會給我帶來大麻煩。（教訓：無時無刻都要好好照顧自己，保持身體的最佳狀態，尤其在邁進漫長且艱辛的旅途之前。）

雨連綿地下著，沒有停過，好比陽光從來沒有遁去。隔天清早，NOLS用台亮黃色的school bus，將我們一行11位學員，接到位於Palmer, AK的NOLS阿拉斯加分部。三位指導員，Ben、Nate和Shawn襯衫西裝筆挺地迎接我們，很快地，新生訓練展開，個人抒發自我對指導員、其他學員、以及課程本身的期望，還有對自己的期許。

Preface

Looking at the giant K2 poster hanging on the wall in my office, I still can’t believe that I am back from the mixture of rocks, ice and snow to this pan demoniac civilization. I can’t deny that during the 28 field days, several times the thought “I want to go home” crossed my mind; however, in spite of unpleasant conditions we have encountered, living in the wilderness is easier – it is simple and it is intuitive. Now, I want to go back.

Old friends and family members are shocked that I have become an outdooraholic. Before I came to the States, I had never backpacked, neither had I exercised regularly. I didn’t do any sports, and I couldn’t run 3 miles. But I have always admired mountains, I touch and talk to flowers, and I love adventures.


前言

看著掛在工作室的巨幅K2海報，還是不敢相信，我已經從混合著岩石、堅冰、以及白雪的冰河，回到喧囂的文明世界。不可否認的是，在野外生活的這28天，好幾次動了「想要回家」的念頭。一路上是經歷了許多艱辛，結論終究是：野外生活還是比文明生活容易許多—它簡單，而且質樸。

家人和老朋友們聽聞我的戶外經驗，常直呼不可思議。他們問，是什麼轉變了我？來美國之前，沒背過大背，沒走過大山，也沒運動習慣。對什麼運動都不行，也跑不了五千公尺。有的只是對山野從不改變的戀慕，喜歡碰觸花草並與其交談，熱愛冒險嘗新。

After successfully completing the NOLS Alaska mountaineering course, I finally got back home today. I’ll sort out all the notes

Dear Readers, I’ll be away for a month to attend NOLS’ Alaska Mountaineering course, beginning July 15, 2006 and ending

Part II: the No Way rapid

Another famous or infamous rapid is called “No Way.” There is no way not to talk about “No Way” when people mention the upper gorge. The name suits the rapid: not only because there is no way you can remain dry, but also the deployed boulders in this rapid make it seem like there is no way through. Sometimes after passing through this section, we had to scan the river carefully to look for derelict paddles because plenty of people swam in this section for various reasons. You cannot wing it even if you want to, because No Way is the first rapid after the Lunch Rock which is a hard-to-ignore landmark therefore your nerves know exactly when to armor up.

I was alert every time I did No Way, and the route I selected for this time never repeated the previous ones. When a rock appeared, sometimes I wanted to go around from the left, and sometimes I wanted to backward paddle and go to another side of the river so that I could totally avoid the rock. My body had to execute the commands given by my mind in a super fast motion – as if the body and mind were an item – because there was no time for a blink of hesitation, or I would be the next one who needed a rescue.


第二話：激流「沒法子（No Way）」

Upper gorge另一個著名的，或說是惡名昭彰的激流，叫做「沒法子（No Way）」。這名字恰如其份，形容該激流以絕妙。談upper gorge，沒法子不談沒法子。在這一河段，沒法子保持身子乾燥，河床上此起彼落的石塊，有時候真叫人沒法子找出一條安莊大道。常常，過了這激流之後，就得開始以鷹眼掃瞄河面，留心是否有無主的孤槳，太多人由於不同的失誤，必須脫船游泳，泥菩薩過江，就顧不著他們的槳了。就算你刻意漠視即將穿過「沒法子」的事實，以嘗試降低自我過份緊張的心情，恐怕也是沒法子。因為這激流是過了「午餐石（Lunch Rock）」之後的第一關，你的神經在吃午餐的時候，就早就根根豎立了。

每次過沒法子，我就特別警覺，而這次選擇的通關路徑，絕對不會和上一次重複。當大石在河中出現，有時候心裡想要從左邊繞過去，有時候卻想要往後划去，再將船渡遠些，來迴避和該大石的正面交鋒。腦袋裡一盤算好，身體就得馬上執行命令，耽擱不得，腦袋和身體必須合作無間。這裡，不需要一眨眼的遲疑，就可以讓我成為下一個等待救援的受害者。

The upper gorge of the Lehigh River used to be a legend to me. Two years ago, after I entered the kayaking world, I kept hearing “I want to prepare you for the upper gorge” from Nick, my good friend and also my kayaking mentor. Before I set my boat on that section, I pictured it as an exciting but dangerous waterway, which had many wavy and dangerous spots and would sneakily tip my boat over.

So far, I’ve kayaked on the upper gorge five times. It is no longer a far beyond reach legend of adventure. However, I will still sincerely call it legendary, because I am fascinated by its ability to pass on something new to me every time I paddled – the upper gorge is like a patient and methodical school teacher who has enticed me to enjoy growing my strength and boating maneuvers with inspiring new elements which were always accompanied with excitement and challenges.

Part I: the Z rapid


Lehigh River的upper gorge一度只是我夢中的傳奇。兩年前，當我開始泛獨木舟的時候，我的好友兼獨木舟導師常常對我說：「我要你好好練習這些、那些基本動作，才好去泛upper gorge那一部份的河段。」好幾次，我常想，那段河段該是怎麼怎麼地驚險刺激，有許多狂亂的激流，隨時隨地伺機將我的小船打翻。

截至目前為止，我已經駕著小船泛過那個河段五次了，upper gorge不再是可望不可及的傳奇。但是，形容它的時候，還是很難不使用傳奇這個字眼：每次泛舟其上，總是會有新的感覺、新的學習、新的收穫，真難想像為什麼同一河段可以這麼千變萬化；它又好像一個循循善誘的人生導師，每每使用啟發式的範例，伴隨著趣味且有挑戰性的泛舟體驗，導領我心甘情願的認真磨練操舟動作，增加自我的操舟能耐。

第一話：激流「Z」