Back to West Virginia

It has been a week or two since the last trip to West Virginia, so I knew we were due another trip with all the rain. None of the Nelson County creeks came up in Virginia, so Brett, Billy, John and I met up at 5:30 Saturday morning and made the game time decision to head up to the Canaan Valley area to get in some paddling. After lots of driving, scouting, and deliberation, we decided to get on the lower Blackwater. The upper was too high and the North Fork was too low.

Douglas Falls, North Fork Blackwater

Kayaking safety, like climbing, is all about risk management. Sometimes you just gotta go with your gut when things get messy. This was the lesson learned on Saturday. Thats all I will say about that. However, the day ended on a high note however with an awesome Hackensaw Boys show at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, WV. This was followed by the after party at the Mountain State Brewing Company just up the road. We managed to be the odd group of kayakers who knew no one and were not in costume. But we didn't let hat hold us back from having a good time. It was a wet and chilly night but we all huddled in John's 1980s era Eureka tent and made it to the morning.

Sunday was a great day and we got to put on our soaking wet and freezing cold kayaking gear and paddle the Lower Blackwater without incident. On the way home we stopped by Dolly Sods Wilderness area for a quick side trip to Bear Rocks.

Dolly Sods

Self Portrait, Bear Rocks Dolly Sods Wilderness Area

Hackensaw Boys, Purple Fiddle - Thomas, WV

Wet Rocks are Good Rocks (for paddlers anyhow)

This generally means it is raining or has been raining, which hasn't happened around here in almost 90 days. Thank goodness for dam releases and Great Falls, two things you can always count on in times of no water.
The rain started falling yesterday morning so we celebrated with a Wednesday morning Dawn Patrol. We had a good crew for this run, Brett, Ian, and eventually John joined as he couldn't bear the thought of not getting a lap in. We were on the water by 6:30am and made the first decent of the Maryland side just as the sun was rising through the rain clouds.
Ian and I headed up for another run. The scramble back up was made more difficult by the soaked rocks. The second run went off well. Ian had a close call with Horseshoe, but kept it together and was fine. What a great way to start the morning off!

The rain has kept falling which gives a good weekend outlook, but the more imeadiate intrest is the Potomac. It has finally risen enough to run the VA side. Billy and I left work around 1pm today to head out to the falls. WOW, I had almost forgotten how awesome the Virginia side is! Three spectacular drops, each very different from each other or any other rapids I have paddled. I got in two runs and opted to be the photographer for the last. This carry back up is brutal when its nice out, and really tough in the rain.

Curt dropping into U-Hole, the first rapid on the VA side of Great Falls

Billy gettin some good air on the Spout, VA side, Great Falls

What a great lunch break.

The Leaves They are a Changin'

In my effort to give my shoulders a break from any long term injury I have taken a whole week and a half off of paddling. This has been the first two weekends in a row that I haven't paddled since April. However, I still needed to get outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather and scenery. So Jess, Delia (her cool dog) and I headed up towards my old stomping grounds Shenandoah National Park. We Drove a ways up the Rapidan River and found a great campsite. We were getting there just before dark, so I had to stop and get a few pictures.
The drive in felt as if we were driving through the scene of a calender page.

Driving up the holler

The Rapidan River, although crowded at times, is one of my favorite fishing spots in SNP. If you hike up far enough or head out in less than desirable conditions or times of year you can have it to yourself. The fishing is great and the scenery spectacular. The Hughes River is probably my favorite just because of its remoteness.

Nice little pool on the Rapidan

Its no wonder President Hoover had a summer home here during his Presidency.

Another pool on the Rapidan

Sunday we headed upland and hiked to Mary's Rocks, a rock outcrop with a nice 360 degree view. From here you can see out to the tidewater area on the east and the Page Valley and Shenandoah valley to the west.

Looking Northeast from Mary's Rocks

Third time's a charm

After finding out that this past weekend was a long weekend thanks to Chris Columbo, it was a no-brainer that the Gauley was the place to be. This is my third trip up there is Gauley season. The last two times involved at least one marathon trip down the Gauley, (Upper, Middle and Lower) 26.8 miles of great whitewater and beautiful scenery.
I met Billy at my bro's house in Harrisonburg Friday night. We had a nostalgic ride around town, realizing that we no longer knew the people hanging out on the front porches of the houses on Elizabeth Street and other well known and visited college dwellings.
We took off Saturday morning and decided to paddle the lower Gauley and play as much as possible. And play we did. We hit all the major playspots and found some new ones along the way. We spent almost 2 hours at diagonal ledges eventually having it to ourselves, which is a rare feat during Gauley season. It was getting dark by the time we took off the river. What a day, all that playboating is enough to wear you out.

Looking up the gorge on the lower Gauley

We had the best playspot on the river, Diagonal Ledges, to ourselves for a while

On Sunday morning we decided to go to Fayetteville and demo some new boats. It was cool paddling something different. I got the new Jackson Allstar and Billy picked up the Fun. I was a little loose in the boat to really enjoy it and it handled a bit differently than my Project 52. I went through a couple of rapids in a full vertical stern squirt. Good Times. The Gauley is a great river! What nice Gauley season weather.

Looking upstream at Pillow Rock rapid

Feeling very small at Pillow Rock