Wild River Life Column Vol. 1
By Susan Elliott
Photo courtesy of Wild River Life
Editors Note: Susan and Adam Elliott are a whitewater super duo. Susan is a current member of the American Whitewater Board of Directors and has built her life around rivers. Adam is an international guide and respected documentarian working on projects for National Geographic, and RedBull Media House, while producing imagery featured in Kayak Session and Canoe & Kayak magazines. We’ve asked them to write a column for each of the 2018 editions of the American Whitewater Journal so that we can follow along on their Wild River Life project celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
It is hard to point to one reason why we sold most of our belongings, moved into a janky RV, and set out on a two-year journey to paddle 50 Wild & Scenic Rivers. At least, the decision to do it can’t be traced to any one moment. It just became our path.
We saw the 50th anniversary of the WIld and Scenic Rivers Act in 2018 as a great reason to paddle new rivers, learn what makes a river Wild & Scenic, and live a simplified life on the road. Adam, my husband, and I officially began our Wild River Life tour in the spring of 2017. Our goal was to paddle 50 great Wild & Scenic Rivers in different regions and in a variety of boats. Along the way, we’d do our best to spread the love for our protected waterways and share our knowledge of these rivers, mostly through a guidebook we’re writing. We also decided the trip would be a great time to try and get pregnant.
Today, we have completed 39 of our 50 rivers in the Western and Upper Midwestern regions of the country (Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska), and we are a month away from adding a new member to our family. In 2018, after a few months spent at our “home base” in White Salmon, WA, we’ll load back into the RV and head to the east coast to check off the final eleven rivers on our list — with a 3-month-old kid in tow.
Photo courtesy of Wild River Life
Traveling while I was two to seven months pregnant meant I had to say no to a few river trips — like rafting the Tuolumne at 10,000 cfs in May. But, because we have decided to designate these rivers as Wild & Scenic, I can trust that “they will still be there.” That is not always the case. The Great Bend of the Yangtze in China, where Adam and I met, disappeared under a reservoir. I may never experience the Zambezi in Africa before it is dammed, or the Maroñon in Peru. Which awe-inspiring river will be next?
It may seem like we have it pretty good here in the United States. Not many mega-dams are going up in our backyard, but the threats to our rivers are just as real and potentially damaging. Strip mining and oil drilling, loss of clean water regulations, even small hydropower facilities, are among the many threats your favorite local rivers may face.
So we must keep pointing to the value our rivers provide when they remain simply a river. We must celebrate our successes because they propel us into action to stand up for clean water, the recreation economy, healthy ecosystems and all the values that rivers provide. I’ll be sharing more of our journey with you throughout the next year. Share your own Wild & Scenic moments with #wildriverlife and follow along with us @wildriverlife.
