The gentle, serene surface of the East Rosebud Creek disguises an overwhelming force. I witnessed this awesome power firsthand as I spent my summer in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana.

My stay started with a storm that gave me a new respect for rain. Rivers flooded, bridges were swept away and homes were lost. Thankfully, my grandma’s cabin was safe from the rising water but we were without electricity and internet for days.

A few weeks after the storm, the creek was still much higher than normal. Nevertheless, I was sick of waiting for it to go down and decided to take my kayak out anyway. As I left the house, grandma told me, “If you have to choose between yourself and the kayak, you save yourself.”

I smiled, nodded and didn’t think much of it. I’d gone down that creek many times with no problems.

The aftermath from the recent flooding was immediately obvious as I shoved off from the bank, new streams had been carved and trees uprooted. As I went around the second bend, I saw an obstacle; a fallen tree across my path.

I dug into the water with my paddle, determined to slide through a narrow gap between the tree and a gravel island. But the unusually strong current had other ideas. I had no control as the rapids drove my kayak directly into the fallen tree. The boat flipped on contact with the mass of branches and dunked me in.

My legs were entangled in the tree as shockingly cold water surged around me. I could barely breathe with the kayak on my head. Panic threatened to overwhelm me, grandma’s words echoing through my mind.

I shoved the kayak up onto the tree with one adrenaline-assisted arm. Getting my legs free was a greater challenge, but I managed to climb out as the current tried to remove my shorts. 

My paddle and kayak were waiting for me atop the branches. I grabbed them and floated to a shallow spot to get back in.

Ultimately, I only lost my sunglasses and my pride. However, without the life jacket I was wearing, I may not be here to write this. Never again will I underestimate the power of water.