I expect everyone has either a big-rack story or the fish that got away. However, I can unequivocally state that getting thrown out of the raft while floating the Snake River was the most memorable day of my life, in fact, almost the termination of it. It was our second run and everything looked perfect when we lined up on Skull Rock, suddenly the raft swung sideways, and I was airborne. A moment later, I was pulled under. I didn´t think I would ever surface, and when I did I was half drowned. I thought my troubles were over because the raft was right below me, however, I shot by the raft, bounced over rocks, and flew through Class IV rapids for about a mile. If running the rapids in a raft is exciting, try it wearing only a life preserver. When extracted, I was hypothermic, half drowned, shaking violently and could barely walk—a real lesson in mortality.