Going With the Flow

Yesterday the expression “going with the flow” took on new meaning during our 24 mile trip down the Gauley River in West Virginia. This trip is ranked as the 7th most demanding trip in the world, only surpassed in North America by the 21 day trip down the Colorado (one full day is enough thank you, count me out for the 21 day trip). The Gauley is a class IV-VI river, with many Vs becoming VIs during the spring run off and during September when the draw down of the lake and hurricane rains increases the river flow three fold over summer levels and almost twice that of the spring levels. Today’s flow was nearly 2,800 gallons per second.

The trip was demanding, to say the least. We ran 100 rapids, of which 23 were class V or above. The trip included shooting a 14ft waterfall that then tumbles you into two hydraulics. There were several series where you crest over a swell only to plunge into a series of 5 to 9 ft troughs. There were 16 class IVs, 49 class IIIs, 7 class IIs and 2 class Is.

During the middle part of the trip, the river becomes gentle, which affords rafters to get out of the boat and swim in the cool water. At one part of this trip our raft pulled off to the side where four of us, Evie and I included, climbed up a 25ft cliff from which to jump into the river.

Along with the guide, our fellow rafters included extreme enthusiasts from Texas and an equally adventuresome couple (she is a therapist and he is retired from the airborne) from Michigan.

Below are some photos from the day. I will posting two more pic when I get a better connection in a few days.

The first photo is from the morning where we shot a class IV rapid that preceded the Pillow Rapids where I exited (pics to be posted in next blog).

In the afternoon, Evie traded places with a lady in the back who wanted to change positions. The last two are of us bracing for the first of shooting a cascade and the last of me bracing as we hit the first of three troughs. At this point I am trying to secure a leg into a hold as the nose of the boat and my feet go under the trough only to bounce back up again a moment later. We did not lose anyone here as other boats did.

It was a great day that started with breakfast at 5:45 and a 6:30 check-in. Evie and I have some sore muscles and, needless to say, when the lights went off we slept soundly.