The Russell Fork...Finally

After scanning American Whitewater for years, there remained one classic class V run in Virginia that I had always looked at with nervous ambition. The Russell Fork is way off in the far corner of Virginia on the Virginia/Kentucky border, not very close to anything. In addition to its location, the dam feeding it only has scheduled releases for 3 weekends a year in October. Thats not to say that it doesn't regularly flow, however often much lower, on natural flows throughout the year.

For some reason, I never made it out there to paddle this awesome gorge. A few weekends ago I had the chance to head out there with my buddy Billy Armstrong aka Strongarms and we both had our first go at it. It just so happened to also the the annual Russell Fork Rendezvous weekend.

It proved to be every bit of a classic as any good story might make it out to be. It's a pretty short run that is lots of fun and can easily be run multiple times in one day.

Banjo music, a huge fire, kegs of beer on top of a truck...this must be the Russell Fork

Handpaddler at Climax

A stoked Strongarms after a sik boof at Climax

Sunset over the Russell Fork Gorge / Breaks Interstate Park

The most pimpin' shuttle rig ever - Chris from Colorado's WREC Center

Fall foliage in the Gorge

Looking upstream at the first rapid: Tower

What an awesome time.

The rest of the pictures