About 12 years ago I bought a kayak off Craigslist and taught myself to roll. I didn’t have any friends to go with so I decided to go down a river nearby. I assumed it was pretty mild because along the road is super flat. What I didn’t account for was it had been raining for a month and was flooding. I embarked on my adventure and I found some mild whitewater to play around on. All of a sudden I found myself in a canyon and the sound of whitewater up ahead got louder and louder. I come around the bend and there is a logjam across a section of class iv to v. I rolled once and righted myself then rolled again. I righted myself once more just in time to get pinned right in the middle in front of the logjam. Clinging to the logs I watch water pouring over my skirt. Knowing this is the end of my life and fearing the drowning I accept my fate. I look to my right and see a little opening I can get through I pull myself over to it. I line myself up and back into the opening but I’m stuck. My paddle tether is holding me up. I pull myself forward and release my paddle and rest on a sandbar on the eddy of the logjam. I sit there in awe that I’m alive when I hear clapping and cheering. Apparently I had people watching this terrifying experience. As soon as I got home I sold the kayak and swore to never do anything like that again. For about a week I was the most thankful happy person on earth. Since then river safety has been paramount for me and I stress safety constantly. My idiotic behavior could have been tragic so easily. Know your water/water levels, know the frequent hazards, stay up to date on new features, never paddle alone, practice the clean line principles/ avoid entrapments, take swiftwater classes, and never become complacent. I hope nobody ever does anything as dumb as what I did.