Jacqueline Smithson, Mark Dubois broken neck, and a lifelong partnership (PDF)

Jacqueline and her partner Fred Dennis tell the story of how Jacqueline ended up on the Stanislaus River in August, 1971, as part of one of the most dramatic events in the river’s rafting history – when a guide, Mark Dubois, broke his neck at night diving into the river! The full story by one of the guides is here – but the key part of it is the fate that brought Jacqueline and her cousin to drive to Duck Bar road and hike down to the river, described in this story – without the car, medical help would have been very far away instead of just a few hours.

This is also a story about connections and partnerships – particularly with Mark’s close friend Fred Dennis, who would become Jacqueline’s lifelong partner after they met the year following this trip (and who would co-found etc with Mark and a third friend). Jacqueline then became a river guide for ARTA in 1972, one of the very first women guides on the Stanislaus River.