The place that stayed with me: on a wild, misty river I learned I have the strength for almost anything

"A helicopter will not winch me out because my only injuries are the agonies of dodgy hips, screaming arm muscles and deeply wounded pride. And there are miles and days to go before I sleep again on a mattress with clean sheets and a pillow and luxuriate in a hot shower and can be propelled forward in ways that do not require the use of my arms. But I am stubborn too. And I have wanted to be here on the Franklin River for so long."

"I was a teenager, barely grown out of the free-range childhood I'd spent scrambling around the creek below my family home on the edge of the range in Toowoomba, Queensland, following it to a sheer-drop waterfall, maybe 10 metres high, which I scaled in bare feet. My kingdom: the moss and lichen and ferns, the tadpoles, the bowerbird's nest. I whispered into tree hollows (too much Enid Blyton), climbed trees and jealously guarded the location of a secret cave."

"I still hadn't found myself when an image of a misty stretch of the Franklin River flashed past me on social media. I emailed the rafting company to ask if middle-aged women with average (really, less than) fitness and no paddling skills could join its eight-day group journey down a river famous for its perilous, roaring white water. Why yes, they said. With barely a thought I clicked confirm payment."

An older, unfit traveler endures cold, aching hips, sore arm muscles and wounded pride while stuck on a multi-day Franklin River rafting trip. A helicopter evacuation is impossible because the injuries are pain and exhaustion rather than acute trauma. The traveler endures miles and days before rest on a mattress with clean sheets, a pillow and a hot shower. Longstanding stubbornness and a deep desire to reach the Franklin River motivate the journey. Childhood memories of exploring a creek in Toowoomba, discovering moss, ferns, tadpoles and a secret cave contrast with years of education, city life and affectation. A misty river image on social media prompts contacting a rafting company and booking an eight-day trip despite low fitness and no paddling skills, while guides recount the merciless white water that the traveler chooses not to dwell on.

Read at www.theguardian.com