My Trip Down the Mountain

A couple of weeks ago Sarah, Shannon, Brian, and I decided to go down the canal since Shannon and Brian would be moving out to Cleveland and this might be the last time they could go. It was indeed a very good day for a trip down the canal and I was excited to go. My excitement out weighed my judgement because I should have seen the signs that it was going to end in tears.
Here is a list of signs that this wasn't going to be a good canal ride:
1- Couldn't find tubes due to garage being cleaned recently
2- Couldn't find pump to fill tubes so I could check for holes at home.
3- Went to store to buy pump that was on sale and have to go to customer service because cashier doesn't want to do her job and check the sale price.
4- After an half an hour we still have only one tube filled which was filled already. We attribute the failure to the cheap pump.
5- Go to partake of free air at Foothill gas station. We find that it is no longer free and is also busy.
6- Proceed to 7-eleven because we don't want to go cross town. We find that air is 75 cents now
which we pay for three times. Results- Still have only one tube filled due to the rest having holes.
7- Go to Shopko to purchase tube repair kit. I was unable to locate the much needed glue kit so had to settle for a cheap non-glue kit.
8- Patch a few tubes and go cross town to Chevron to partake in free air. Halfway during the tube refills Man takes nozzle from us to fill his tires. We promptly tell him we are not finished and he promptly takes over. After a few minutes we just let him fill his tires and wait to finish our tubes. Results: Two tubes filled one with a patch. Also, Sarah gets sprayed by one tube due to patch not holding.
9- Decide to buy one tube. Total tubes now: two for us one with a patch, one from Shannon and Brian and one recently purchased one.
10- Keyless entry to my car placed in Shannon and Brian's car at First Dam.
11- Get to drop off and find that patched tube has deflated. Shannon and Brian agree to share the big recently purchased tube.
12- I leave them at drop off and park car 100 feet up road. I lock my key in my car and walk back to find them walking towards me. Sharing of tube had failed.
13- Brainstorming session- Hitchhike back down or I walk while the rest ride down the canal. The last suggestion was mine and due to everything else and my stubborness I won't back down and this is the decision that we take.
14- I walk for forty minutes and decide I am tired of walking on numb feet and uneven canal bottom. Brian offers tube and I find it difficult to ride due to not being able to maintain my balance. I get fed up and start looking for a way down.
15- Brian and I decide to go down together we send word with another group to tell Sarah and Shannon that we went down and not to wait.
16- Brian and I make our way down the mountain with me taking the lead. Initial problems: numb feet and flipflops for hiking boots . Encounters: A huge rock that I put my trust in and it takes me down the mountain for a ride, a rusty piece a metal jutting out mountain a few feet from where I stopped after rock slide and a lone deflated tube (apparently others had problems as well). Last twenty feet are too steep to walk down so we have to slide along with rocks which was enjoyable until we started to stop. Results after descent: My legs bloodied and scrapped from huge rock ride and the rock grinding me against the mountain and back of swim trunks ripped baring my butt. Luckily shirt covers this hole.
17- Brian and I walk back to First Dam and meet Sarah and Shannon.
18- Sarah and Shannon have one tube explode as soon as they reached the pull out for trail at First Dam.
19- I take a shower and spend the next forty five minutes pulling gravel from my leg.
20- Fancy Sandwiches that Shannon and Brian made for lunch had the bag open and got wet from melted ice in cooler. We cook them in oven to salvage them. They were delicious regardless.
And there you have it the perfect way to enjoy a tubing experience with friends. I have learned and relearned a few lessons from it. First, listen to my wife because she didn't want to go all day long and tried to find some other activity for us to do so we wouldn't have to. And second, Don't be stubborn enough to notice that when your having a bad day don't press your luck.