Bittersweet Like a Cranberry
| River: | Cranberry |
| Skill: | Intermediate+ |
| Trip Date: | 04/30/2011 |
CCC Creeking Clinic 2011
Paddlers: Kurt McKissick, Milton Wicker, Jonathan Micancin, Morgan Randell
I have paddled with Kurt before and knew him to be an excellent paddler, trip leader and just a fun person to be around. I would have been the only student had I not invited my best paddling buddy Jonathan to join in this clinic. I was meeting Milton for the first time, but he obviously had a wealth of experience. So, my anticipations for this trip were indeed pretty high. We all met up late on Friday night at the Best Western in Summersville, West Virginia. Water levels were good, weather was good, so we went to sleep Friday night with the anticipation of a great Saturday to come. Sweet dreams… Morning came and we checked levels one last time, before scrambling out the door.
One of the hardest things about creeking is finding the creek.
After an exhaustive exploration of the backroads that circle West Virginia’s Back Fork of the Elk River, I still can’t say for sure where the put in is located. The exact details of how this epic wild goose chase occurred are repeating in my mind, but they are pitiful mistakes and they don’t really matter to ya’ll. At about 2pm our group decided to give up on our original plan and changed course to paddle the middle Cranberry. I don’t know if the Cranberry is a true creek or just creeklike, but we were determined to learn some creeking technique and paddle something. So we took off in a new direction for a place that we were certain to find. The optimistic approach is to look for good lessons from bad experiences. From this one I learned a few:
- Scout the directions better before leaving for a put in.
- Carry a map that doesn’t have a blank white space in the spot you are going to.
- Reading a guidebook and looking at maps while travelling twisty roads makes me carsick.
The remaining clinic lessons involved navigating a kayak down a river. We reviewed creeking etiquette and then focused on crisp eddy catching, boat scouting and evaluating when a shore scout becomes a necessity instead of an option. The Cranberry was cold, clean and refreshing. The instruction was helpful. I feel better prepared to take on rivers without guidance, without knowing what lies around the bend. At the takeout while we were changing into warm dry clothing, Kurt attatched one of his signature fuzzy flowers to each of our boats. This was a much needed pick me up at the end of a very weird day. For Sunday we decided to repeat the Cranberry. Creeking has an air of mystique about it that this clinic only reinforced in my mind. The start of the trip felt like a search for treasure that didn’t pan out, but at the end of it all we realized that we had the beautiful Cranberry river entirely to ourselves on both days. The drive home was bittersweet, I already want to go back.
There is a place in West Virginia that some call Skelt and some call Jumbo. Some say it is gotten to on 18 and others just say that you have to find the dirt road. The old man in the left fork wrong turn is wise. The old man on the lawn mower is unable to hear you. IF you get to Perkins you have gone way too far. I found no evidence that a place called Breece actually exists. There is a creek that flows past a house that has a red VW bug in the driveway. This is where I will put in on my next chance at the Back Fork of the Elk.