How did I not die?
My dad and I were on a float trip down the Bitterroot River between (I think) Hannah Memorial and Hamilton. There was a nice long quite part of the river, and one of us had a tangle in the fly line (probably me). My dad's the best at removing knots, so he took over. He recommended that I get some practice rowing the raft, the kind that sits on top of the water, so it's very high up and lighter than a plexiglass boat for float trips.
As we get to the end of the calm part of the river, I'm still rowing, and the knot is proving to be a tough one to undo. I notice a giant tree, with a lot of its leaves and branches intact, hanging over 90% of the river. There was a tiny section to slip by; however, I didn't get there in time. Mind you, I'm terrible at rowing.
As we get closer and closer, it becomes clear that we're going to run into this tree. The anticipation was killing me at this point: "What is going to happen? Are we going to stop and be forced around the tree? Is the boat going to flip?"
We hit the tree and for a split second everything seems fine. Then, the front of the boat begins to rise into the air. All in an instant, only long enough to think "Oh, shit, JUMP!" the boat completely flips and goes under the tree. You have to understand, this was a faft with big air-filled walls, so it's no small feat of nature to force this thing underwater.
My dad and I are both taken underwater with the raft. I must have blacked out because I don't remember being underwater, but came to as I was floating back up to the surface. My first instinct is to look around for my dad, and he's calling out to me. I cough up some water and doggy paddle to the side of the river (I'm in street clothes, basically, and weighed down by my clothes). Fortunately, neither one of us was wearing waders or else we would surely have been water logged and drowned.
I can't look back and remember thinking "Oh no, I'm going to die." I can only look back and think "How did I not die?"