Upper Gauley First Timer’s – Ed Boswell
| River: | Gauley |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 08/08/2007 |
Dates: September 8, 2007
Participants: Ed Boswell, Sejal Shah, Ashely Cowan, Ben Gilbert, Jill Dinsdale, James Woods, Raymond Williams, Stuart Samuels, Lee Belknap, John Zadrozny, Lisa Birskovich
Well, pretty much the key thing I can say is “Gauleyyyy” that’s a run. Tighten up your backband, snap on your spray skirt, and make sure your thigh braces and foot pegs are in place, then hang on.
To really start at the beginning, my 1st run on the Gauley really started a year ago. Lisa B. who now-a-days does the annual CCC Gauley 1st timers trip had promised me a year ago when I just missed by one person getting on the 2006 event, that I would be on the list for next year. So about 2 or 3 weeks ago an e-mail arrived from her saying she had me on the list and was I definite, to which a simple message ”in” was returned.
All total there ended up a group of about 11 of us plus one or two CCC folks who tagged in on camping, and or came along to help run shuttles. Thanks to Tony and Wade for all of the help over the weekend. I headed out early Friday afternoon up into West Virginia toward Summersville. By early evening much of the group had arrived with a few more later that night.
Saturday morning arrived, warm, sunny, and clear, Lisa held a short meeting to discuss the strategy for the day. Around 10 AM we headed for the put-in with Lisa reporting to us that the release was 2,800 cfs coming out of the dam at 57 degrees with a whopping 18 or so cfs coming in from the Meadow (meaning for practical purposes the Meadow was just about bone dry) – so it was going to be 2,800 all the way.
Early on rapids on the Gauley are fairly straight forward with the push in the water that’s fairly obvious at release level. Nothing overwhelming or slamming if you’ve run fairly big water. Initiation and some other no name rapids to start the day.
Then there cometh “In-significant”. Getting in the eddy above it and looking down on it as a 1st timer, it’s attention getting to say the least. Now, while its already got your attention looking at it, then comes the advice. Basically, we where told to run just to the left of a wave below and stay the course to the left till we ran just past the end of a huge hole below, then turn back to the right to clear a second huge and very ugly hole below on the left and then turn downstream just past that hole and run out to the bottom of the rapid (oh and if you get pushed up on the large slatted rock toward the bottom lean into it and run down it). Well, my run was more like pass the wave to the left, keep straight, then suddenly I land in this monster hole but somehow plow through but stall a bit on the bottom side as I lean forward and dig in for all I can, and managed to pull through (my pulse jumps about double at this point). Then since I figure that qualifies as “past the hole” I pull right and clear the end of the hole on the left and turn downstream. Everything’s going good for about three waves and holes below, then everything gets really wet. Hang, hang, hang, hang till it feels right, swing under the boat cause its gonna take an off-side roll, then paddle like mad for the bottom of the eddy on river right. The really interesting thing here, is pretty much all someone can do from the eddy above, is tell you start out to the left of the wave below and about maneuvering the holes. Problem is, you can’t see much of the holes or where they begin and end from above. Obviously, I found the upper one, but I was still looking for the left end of it.
After that, it’s on down through “Iron Curtain” and other spots along the way, and on to “Pillow Rock”. “Pillow Rock” is big and its steep and there’s certainly some places to avoid in it but with some study of others running it and a little calm observation we could see a line just left of center, down, left, then back right again just left of a hole off the side of a wave with a rooster tail at the top- then finally moving right. Now, all that said, you gotta mentally decide if you can hang in there and do it. Well, after scouting and watching a bit and taking our break we climbed in for the run. After sitting in the eddy above, river center and letting some rafts and others go, I headed down just after watching the bow of Stuart’s Diesel rise skyward in a serious squirt going down toward the bottom and disappear. I dropped in pretty much on line, but stroking some to make sure I hit the rooster tail topped wave or its right side. At this point it turned into one of those learning experiences, and I found that there is a strong current pushing left just above this wave and one needs to go low into it to the right. So, coming up on it, I found myself at the wave but on the left side. Not wanting to move further left towards ugly things that way, I made my move over to the left side and cut right, which worked for that wave and the next, heading right. And then I found one of those lovely cross-currents that was the reason to go lower coming into the wave above. After some serious bracing, and over the lower drop-off, it transformed into tuck, hang, hang (swirl, swirl), hang and roll. Lisa B. paddled over and asked me which side of VW rock I came down, but as my sonar wasn’t on all I could say was “I missed that part but I think the left”. Anyhow it was an exciting and fun little run, attention getting but quick.
From there it was off again, on down through “Hungry Mother” and others, to the infamous “Lost Paddle” which at the current level required attention and focus but mainly required hitting the lines and being in the right place or end of the drops and getting into the eddies to set up. 2nd drop in particular was quite interesting, as a bit blindly you had to peel out just above and aim at the right end of a “Hawii-five O” wave or curl at its top. Now a bit of coaching from John and Lisa at this point was valuable – lean forward and paddle down and through what was below, then on down through the remaining drops.
Above “Tumble-home”, we were coached down into an eddy on the left wall to line up for a ferry back across the flow to drop down beside a rock on river right, further across and then turn and run it out through some holes and squirrels. Then there was the final drop, digging through a boiling hole at the bottom of a chute. As did most of the group, I did fine on the ferry, but at the turn on the far side the holes wanted to play with the stern of my big H3-255 and I had to work a bit to get turned out of the upstream ferry. Overall, at least at this level, ”Lost Paddle” was fun but required focus.
It was then off down stream through boogie water to “Shipwreck Rock” a huge long impressive rock in the center of the river, go left or go right, part did each side. Then on to “Iron Ring”, our second out of the boat scout of the day. We all climbed up on the rocks on river left, and received some instruction on the line, and watched boats run it with varying results. It was clear without much being said why one absolutely wanted to be down the right side of this rapid, the left is just plain nasty. ‘Go right and keep on line and angled right’ was a key phase (easier perceived than done for the un-initiated). There was a vicious hole to the left, which seemed to be assisted by the wave above, in drawing the bows of paddlers left and flipping many on the edge. After watching several of the group run with varying degrees of success, I headed down, well on line clipping the wave caps on my left and headed right, and came off looking down what appeared to be a nice clean chute. Let me assure you personally, that sucker will wang your bow left at the bottom in a heart beat, and guess what!!! – Well enough said (word is that there is a paddle snake living at the bottom that’s snatching those bows left – at least that’s the story I am sticking to). Well, after collecting myself below, we were off again.
On down to ”Sweets Falls” (aka you have got a 40-50% chance of being upright below per our experienced group). Now, just to get your attention, as you come around the center rock ledge above going into the eddy on the backside; you notice from a distance not only the sound but the mist rising. Yes, that mist has a lot to do with the serious drop. Well, Lee B. who was running with us did the creek line on far right but the rest of us, as part of our initiation, were fated for the main event. An un-initiate might feel a little panic with the main line from the eddy, blindly dropping off, were it not for the number of people who where taking it and showing up below, some upright, some flushing and rolling, but all there. Now in all the noise and goings on I couldn’t quite hear what the line was, and finally after watching and Stuart telling me ‘a bit of left angle’, I went for it. Well, in hind-sight I think I was supposed to be down the right seam and instead ended up more down the middle of a big clean chute, at least to the end of the chute. There it got kinda wet and squirrelly. After a brief session of bottom mapping, I roll up right at the rock tower on the left, and pull out and over.
We ran out the boogie water, surfed a bit and climbed out at the take-out. Loaded boats on the shuttle truck (for boats). Lisa had allowed how the 1st timers need to carryout – I had allowed how I would be carrying my $5 for the driver to do that. Hitting a little trail just up the road on foot (for those who knew it was there), paddles in hand we turned onto a little footpath (and I say this in all seriousness) pretty much straight up the mountain to the top on foot. I elected not to finish 1st, just not last in this endeavor, stopping to recover periodically along the way.
Well, all I can say it was a great day, a wonderful group, good leaders, big thank-you to Lisa B. for putting it together, wonderful run.
Paddlin-ed
Lisa’s Notes: Several things were learned on this trip to improve it for next year. After running the Upper G for many years and leading several years worth of first timers, this is the FIRST TIME that I lost a boater … no, not on the river, but if you don’t know where the trail is, and you don’t keep up with the seasoned boaters at the end of the day, you might just get lost. Next trip, I’ll make sure that everyone knows the drill at the end of the day. Just glad that I knew the paddler was safely off the river and only “lost in the woods”. I’m told that the hike up to Sweets from the take out and then up to the parking lot is doable at the end of a 5 hour paddling day!!!! I promise it will never happen again. It was a great group of folks and a fun day on the river. Thanks again for all the smiles and making this another great trip!!!