New River Trip

Is the level worth the drive? Who’s riding in my car? Should we go? Is there rain in the forecast? I heard bad things about this campsite, are we sure we want to stay there? These questions flew through emails late last week and we tried to keep our New River trip hopes alive. The levels were dropping and doubt started to race through the group. We knew we would be looking at a lower level then what we had seen in the weeks leading up to our scheduled trip but was it going to be worth the effort and enjoyable for the entire group?

Turns out, everything was nice! Real nice Clark. Late Thursday night, a mysterious bump in the gauge sent us into commitment. The level had come up just over 2 feet and we knew there would be enough water. So the plan was solidified and the carpool plans inked. Friday everyone was at work with visions of New River dancing in their minds. When the bell finally rang we all sprinted home to gather gear and race to West Virginia and our camp ground. Carpooling, with the price of gas, has definitely changed the mentality of paddlers and was never more evident to me then this weekend. We had seven Knoxville paddlers in two cars heading north. An Acura and a Focus had seven paddlers, their boats, the gear, and all the camping supplies crammed in and we were on the way. Maybe the increase in price is better for the planet, who knows…

Once we arrived at camp we met Brian. Chestnut Creek campground was to be our staging ground for the weekend and forever etched into memory for the fearless and brazen leadership of Brian (aka the camp Nazi). Brian cares quite a bit about the rules at this well maintained and eerily quiet campsite just a stones throw from Fayetteville and the New River Gorge. Now don’t get us wrong we wanted and did follow every rule and a peaceful campsite is a true gem when you can find it. But Brian had a certain delivery method that could easily rub some people the wrong way. To say big brother is watching never felt more real than at this campsite. By the way, has anyone seen my copy of Mein Kampf?

Saturday morning we slowly rolled out of bed at our peaceful retreat only to be greeted by near perfect temps and the anticipation of a great day on the river. Everyone headed to Biscuit World for a little breakfast and the final touches on the perfect shuttle plan. On the way, we drove over the New River Bridge and learned a rather depressing statistic – this bridge ranks second in suicide destinations. No need to go into more detail, read the local papers for that. We settled into a nice breakfast while Mary Ann hatched the most brilliant shuttle plan that conserved the most fuel while maintaining a high level of functionality. The plan was set and executed perfectly.

Now the adventure was finally a reality. We were on the river. At this point we continue our survey of who had the best knowledge of the river. A few had been here before but it seemed easy to forget the lines. We figured, well it’ll work itself out and we headed down. The first couple of rapids were no real struggle and we were off to a good start. Once we came upon Upper Railroad I decided to follow a video boater on what seemed like a great line. This landed me wide eyed and dropping into a huge hole. To my utter delight, a hole that was not as sticky as it looked. We all bang our way through and kept heading down.

We hit a couple more decent lines and we really started to have some fun with the strong currents and huge wave trains. We then hit our first play spot for the day at Ender Waves. Everyone took turns trying to catch the wave and cheering as others had some great rides. Pictures were taken and smiles were spread around the large eddy.

We then saddled up again and headed for the Keenies. The Keenies had most everyone’s attention and we were excited to be upon them. This rapid is broken into three sections, Upper, Middle, and Lower. Each providing challenging lines and huge waves. We managed to squeak through the Upper and began to set up for the middle. We had one try to run it the hard way and the others headed down the left line. Great rapid and a nice sized recovery pool below. We then got out of the boats and scouted the Lower. The lower has some hazards on river left that we wanted to avoid and a monster wave trail at this level, 1.5-1.6 feet. We shot some video and heard a loud slap from all the air Jason caught on the crest of a wave.

This was a great set of rapids that really let you push on some large water without washing into the next section. Great fun and a hoot to watch others run.

At this point a clear leader of the group started to immerge. Larry became our fearless leader through many of the rapids and led some great lines. However, others took their turns as well and had some amazing lines to add to the mix. Larry really did help us down and we sure appreciate his knowledge of the run.

After the Keenies we picked our way down the run having some fun trying to play and running some great lines. Next significant rapid was Double Z. Double Z had, to me, the most moves to make and some real pushy water. Mary Ann smoked a great line on this one and the entire group made it through upright and grinning big.

After double Z, was the AC rapid, as Larry put it, which had an echoing effect off of a rock that was rather cool. Then we headed to Greyhound Bus Stopper (aka Bushole). Here we grabbed some lunch and talked the idiot in the group into jumping into the raft play spot. Turns out, not so bad after all. Just work your way to river left on the hole and when you go over hold on. This hole tries to remove your helmet, pfd, and paddle from your possession at times. We also found a great surf spot on river right that led to some great rides. Footage again was captured and stunts were tried to everyone’s delight. I must say the camera person here was indeed looking for some carnage, strongly encouraging Doug and I to enter the hole together, which didn’t pan out.

After a long soak at Bushole we headed down. Two more large rapids to go and one rodeo! We worked our way down through Miller’s Folly and found a nice and sticky hole that turned out to be harder to punch than a few thought it would be.

Since no one was injured and no feelings were hurt this mini rodeo became a highlight of the trip. So…at the bottom of another kickin’ rapid a line was followed that led one through the sticky spot and the second to not fair as well. This unintentional surfer was indeed in deep. Especially since a few seconds into their ride they were joined by a large creeker! Mind you this was a large hole but by no means large enough for two. So boater 1, let’s call her Mary Ann, get’s wacked by boat 2, let’s call him Damon. Mary Ann then says, not in my hole, and proceeds to flush Damon. Mary Ann then keeps up her ride and thrashes the hole. I think in all we saw one felix monkey, two air screws, two kick flips and about a dozen loops. Well maybe not that many tricks but the ride was impressive. Thankfully everyone was okay, smiling, and laughing.

From here down we just enjoyed the run and finished with another great rapid right at the takeout.
Everyone changed, loaded gear, and we headed into Fayetteville for dinner. At dinner we discussed the days carnage and shared some balls of cheese and crab. Great food and back to camp.

After a day like that it really was great to return to a quite campsite and we stayed up for a couple of hours being entranced by the fire. Off to bed and thoughts of another day on the New.

Sunday morning brought more perfect weather, a great breakfast in town, and an earlier start on the river. Sunday we had a quicker shuttle and we were on the water again. The temperatures were near perfect and the water just a shade lower.

Sunday’s run was quicker and cleaner but just as exhilarating. Play spots were a hoot and some wave trains seemed bigger. We again enjoyed lunch at Bushole and watched raft guides earn their keep. We made great time and pulled off the river sooner than the day before. We loaded gear and headed into town for a proper meal.

Pies and Pints provided the food and our weekend’s tales provided the entertainment. We discussed future trips and shared the excitement of the weekend.

Weather, the group, the run, and even the camp Nazi really made for an exciting adventure. One that I hope we get to repeat this fall! I want to thank everyone that came on this trip and made it so enjoyable for us all.

Until the next adventure…