FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- Floating down the Upper Gauley River toward the inaptly named Pillow Rock, the lyrics of an old punk rock song reverberate through my helmet-clad brain: ``This ain't no party; this ain't no disco; this ain't no foolin' around.''

The 1979 tune Life During Wartime by the Talking Heads is supposed to be about civil insurrection, but it could just as easily apply to rafting here -- on one of the top 10 white-water rivers in the world, where as much as 2,800 cubic feet of water per second blasts out of Summersville Lake Dam to feed more than 100 rapids over fewer than 30 miles of river.

Unlike the tame ``adventure'' rides at Disney World, you really can get hurt or even killed here. In the first three weeks of ``Gauley season'' -- the annual dam release that lasts from Sept. 11 through Oct. 18 -- three men died in separate accidents during commercial rafting trips on the Upper Gauley, the river's most hazardous section. One of the casualties took place at Pillow Rock, a designated Class V rapid (very steep and challenging), which our group of six middle-aged women and guide Brian ``Squirrel'' Hager were now approaching.

Hager, a 28-year veteran with Class VI-Mountain River outfitters, told us that if we followed his instructions, we would manage Pillow Rock just fine. But then he added an ominous warning: ``You really don't want to fall out here.'' LET THE RAFTING BEGIN

We were as ready as we could be -- sitting three to each gunwales in the 15-foot raft with Hager in the stern -- all clad in wet suits, paddle jackets, deluxe personal flotation devices and helmets. It almost felt like going to war, wielding our paddles like swords against rocks, waterfalls and the inexorable current pounding downstream.

``Ready?'' Hager said.

We nodded. I don't know about the others, but I was nervous.

``Forward two!'' our guide commanded, and like automatons in unison, we all dug down two deep strokes into the current.

Plunging into the roaring foam, the raft kissed the huge sandstone pillar on the right that gives this notorious rapid its name. Cold water drenched us as we dropped five feet down between the rocks. Then -- poof! -- we were out of it, floating placidly in flat water down the river.

Miraculously, none of us fell out. But two groups following us were not so lucky, spilling all of their occupants when the rafts smacked up vertically against the rock and bounced off. We rescued two of the ejected paddlers as they floated down the river, and also managed to collect their missing paddles. The rest were fished out by the crews of other rafts. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

``A little bit bigger than we expected or planned,'' felled guide Ky Burke said sheepishly.

Guided by Hager, our group made the rest of the trip down the Upper Gauley safely -- save for one minor casualty. Bumping down a tricky rapid with the absurd name ``Fluffy Basket of Kittens,'' a member of our group accidentally struck another with her paddle, knocking the woman into the water. But the ejected paddler kept hold of the side of the raft and was quickly pulled aboard. She sustained a bruised lower jaw.

Considering myself fortunate to have made it safely down one of America's most treacherous stretches of white water, I opted to try a much safer adventure the next day: swinging like Tarzan's Jane through the New River Gorge on a TreeTops Canopy Tour.

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