I was not feeling well enough to go to work yesterday, which convieniently happened to be the morning after a HUGE rainfall and snowmelt in West Virginia. I met Scott, Billy and Nathan at the takeout for Seneca Creek around midnight. I have wanted to get on Seneca Creek for quite a while. It is a long, remote, wilderness run deep in a gorge running off the tallest mountain in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. It does not run very often and when it does you have to be right there to catch it when it does...and we were.
I went to bed in the back of my truck Tuesday night to the sound of bowling ball sized boulders crashing into each other and rumbling their way down the raging torrent that was Seneca Creek. We went awoke, we found that the water was still raging at the takeout, a good sign that there is enough water to put on 13 miles and over 1,400 vertical feet upstream.
We hiked about 2 miles in from the parking lot at the top before we decided we would put in. The creek was slowly working its way downstream picking up flow from all the little feeder streams. It wasn't long before the real action started. There were some ledges and fun slides towards the top. Then some boulder gardens and rock dodging. There was also lots of wood dodging. There were some rapids with logs and some logs with rapids.
I went to bed in the back of my truck Tuesday night to the sound of bowling ball sized boulders crashing into each other and rumbling their way down the raging torrent that was Seneca Creek. We went awoke, we found that the water was still raging at the takeout, a good sign that there is enough water to put on 13 miles and over 1,400 vertical feet upstream.
We hiked about 2 miles in from the parking lot at the top before we decided we would put in. The creek was slowly working its way downstream picking up flow from all the little feeder streams. It wasn't long before the real action started. There were some ledges and fun slides towards the top. Then some boulder gardens and rock dodging. There was also lots of wood dodging. There were some rapids with logs and some logs with rapids.
Billy getting ready
Scott at the put in
Billy getting his boof onThere were great boofs and ledges everywhere.
Nice drop with a big holeAfter a few miles of steeper and steeper drops we came around a corner with a big 'ol horizon line. We were pretty sure it was the 30 footer upper Seneca Falls. We got out to scout it and the left side was good to go.
Scott at upper Seneca Falls
We were all pumped to see that Knife's Edge was free of wood and good to go when we got there. What a cool rapid.
Nathan at Knife's EdgeThe nature of this creek, unlike most is actually kind of pool-drop in nature, its just that the pools are hundreds of yards of continuous class 3/4 boogie water with some trees thrown in the mix. The steepest 9 miles averaged 224 feet per mile in gradient and the steepest mile was at 350 feet per mile. Not only was it cold and overcast bit it also snowed on us most of the day, which was a very cool (or cold) feeling.
Billy at Knife's Edge Photo: Nathan Sass
There was lots of wildlife: On the drive down i saw 4 opossums, 1 raccoon, and lots of frogs in the road. On the way to the put in we saw a bald eagle with a fish in its mouth. I saw a brook trout in the creek while paddling, and of course lots of deer on the drive home (both dead and alive).
Billy put it very well in a post paddle email:
"Flood conditions for sure!!! By the time I got to Franklin WV there were raging little streams crossing the highway all over the place. By the time I got to Seneca Rocks lower Seneca Creek was THUMPING, once in a while you could see it well and it would be huge. Their was one hole that was under a street lamp so it could be seen, and it was probably ten feet deep on that tiny little stream bed. You could hear boulders rumbling on the creek bed, and hear them colide with each other...it was wild. I was seriously concerned that the whole canyon that we were camped in would flash flood and wash us and our cars down into the creek...We woke up at the crack of dawn today to see tons of water still, but lower. We hit Seneca Creek. The level was perfect as far as I'm concerned, probably about a medium flow. It was a truly epic day, complete with swims, petons, lost paddles, epic 30 footers, too many ten footers to count, some of the best boofs into steep pillowed out floom slides that I have ever seen, an amazingly steep riverbed flowing through a super steep valley that was claustrophobic at times and completely bedrocked in at others...so many great great rapids....more trees down than you could shake a stick at hahaha....more sketchy tree maneuvers than I am comfortable repeating anytime soon. Some effin sweet rapids, yes Seneca Creek has the goods. Hopefully Curt and Nathans pics will show up soon, they both got some amazing shots, Nathans pics from knife edge were killer....OK I just got home and my phone is dead so I just wanted to give a quick report of the day. It was sweet, but it was also really long, about 9 hours, and really cold, and I'm real tired now but really glad I made it out there, I wish you guys could have been there it is an incredible place, defiantly one to get on at some point."
Check out the rest of the pictures here:
http://www.theperpetualflow.com/gallery/4468546_hRWhi/1/262815031_re5up
Rough day for the red Salto
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