White Water Summer

An older and more mature and confident Alan narrates the story. Alan's parents want him to do something worthwhile with his summer, and camp counselor Vic is trying to encourage him to go on a camping adventure with several other boys. Alan, who is smart and kind of a nerd who hates the idea of an outdoor adventure, does not want to go, but his parents manage to persuade him. The other boys are Mitch, George and Chris. Mitch and Alan are the same age and George and Chris are older, in addition to being belligerent and bullying, especially toward Alan. One of the boys buys a Penthouse magazine at their last stop to buy supplies before arriving at their destination, and the boys enjoy looking at that occasionally. On the trail, Alan and Mitch listen on a radio to a broadcast of a New York Mets game when Vic emphatically tells them to turn the radio off. Vic has staunch principles about the hike being free of any urban influence. Alan reluctantly puts the radio away. At their first campsite, Alan is assigned to go get the water. While doing that he uses a knife to carve his initials in a tree. George pops out from a hiding place, scaring Alan and causing him to drop the bucket he was carrying. Vic discovers Alan's damage to the tree and takes away his knife for disturbing nature. When they reach the river, Vic wants one of the boys to go with him and help paddle the canoe, while the others carry their supplies and equipment along a trail. Alan is chosen to go with Vic, but being inexperienced loses his paddle. The hike to their next campsite requires crossing a rickety and scary rope bridge several hundred feet above a gorge. Alan lingers behind, afraid to cross but he eventually crosses, celebrating when he reaches the other side. However he forgets to bring the poles for one of the tents. Vic sends Alan back over his protests that it's too dark. Alan tries to cross and nearly slips off the bridge when one of the support ropes snaps. Too afraid to continue, Alan returns saying it is too dark and he couldn't find the poles, though he has lost his glasses. Vic appears with the poles and curtly tells Alan to get something to eat. The next morning Vic finds a quiet spot in the woods to do tai chi exercises and is interrupted when Alan turns his radio on nearby to listen to music. Vic harshly admonishes him again for using the radio and also tells Alan that he'd seen him the night before when he was scared on the bridge and further tells Alan that he can lie to his guide. The group goes to an island and Vic teaches the boys how to catch fish with their bare hands. Alan is much more creative, building a trap. Infuriated, Vic punishes him by throwing back the fish he caught and tells Alan to clean the fish the others caught while the rest of the group returns to their campsite. When he has cleaned the fish, Alan is to signal that he is ready to be picked up. After a cold and rainy night, Vic orders the other boys to take the canoe and find Alan. Alan has rebelliously refused to clean the fish and had even thrown them back in the river. When the boys return to the campsite, Vic is missing and the boys don't know what to do, but somehow they make it through another rainy night, arguing with each other over where to take shelter after the one tent they have has blown away in a high wind. George has a breakdown, fearing they'll all be stranded and will die. Eventually, Vic reappears, congratulating them all for surviving the night on their own, but Alan isn't very enthused to see him. The final adventure involves rock climbing, and Vic demands the boys behave and work together because what they are doing is very dangerous. Each of them get a turn at a technique where they will "pendulum" to another cliff. Vic rigs a climbing rope and shows them all how to swing. Alan and Mitch are both terrified but Mitch follows the others and, overjoyed, encourages Alan to try it. Alan hooks himself to the rope but doesn't kick hard enough off the ledge and ends up hanging and even more frightened. Vic tries to instruct and encourage him but Alan is too scared, begging Vic to pull him in. After a few minutes, Vic tells Alan to find his own way out of his predicament and orders everyone else to follow the trail. Alan eventually is able to get a handhold on the rock face, climb back to the ledge and kicks off properly, swinging successfully to the other ledge. Further down the trail, the boys argue with Vic and decide that Vic's abandonment of Alan crossed a line. Alan appears and immediately tells Vic he plans to find his own way off the trail and back home. Vic tries to reason with Alan, saying that he'd shown more of a sense of responsibility but Alan refuses to listen. They leave Vic behind and strike out. With Alan mostly leading the way, the eventually find their way back to their base camp. Vic tries to talk them out of leaving, becoming ever more forceful until Chris and the others beat him with the canoe paddles. Vic tries to run and is hit in the head with a rock thrown by Chris and falls off a short cliff, breaking his leg. Alan leads the others in rigging a contraption to hoist Vic back up the cliff. The others want to go for help and just leave Vic, but Alan says someone needs to stay with Vic. As Vic's condition gets worse, Alan realizes he has to try to get Vic medical help, and he figures out how to move Vic to the canoe. With Vic's help, Alan is successful in getting the canoe far enough down the river. However, the rapids further down the river are quite challenging and dangerous and they eventually capsize. Vic is caught in a whirlpool and Alan goes in after him. Safe onshore, Vic praises Alan for his ingenuity and bravery. A helicopter appears and picks them up. The movie ends with the older Alan revealing what happened to Mitch, George and Christ: they'd found their way down river to a ranger's station and were able have help sent for Vic and Alan. Alan also says he's lived near the woods since the adventure, which actually turns out to be Central Park in New York City.