Lower Yough, August 2012
| River: | Yough |
| Skill: | Intermediate |
| Trip Date: | 08/23/2012 |
Lower Yough, August 2012
For many years the lower Youghiogheny (Yough) has been a Carolina Canoe Club staple for aspiring intermediate paddlers in CCC. In 1998, the club started running annual events known as SIO (Southern Invasion of Ohiopyle), named for the small Pennsylvania town at the put-in of the lower Yough and the home of Ohiopyle State Park. SIO became the famous child of (Big) Russ Condrey who organized these annual events up to SIO-X in 1998.
In its heyday, SIO attracted between 50 and 70 paddlers for the weekend with possible trips to nearby rivers including the Castleman, Upper and lower Big Sandy, Cheat, and the upper or top Yough. SIO was a mini Week of Rivers.
Not wanting this tradition to fall completely by the wayside, I’ve been posting annual August CCC trips to the lower Yough for the last couple of years to encourage intermediate paddlers to get a taste for this play-river jewel to the north. Meeting in camp of the Ohiopyle State Park’s Kentuck Campgrouund, the 2012 trip led off with a Thursday paddle with Joe and Tammy Laurick (Loiusville, KY), Jeff Hatcher (Greensboro, NC), Mary Ellen Griffin (Sylva, NC) and me (Cary, NC). While I know that my trips scheduled mid-week make it difficult for many to get away, the payoff is extraordinary.
Our group literally had the entire river to ourselves the whole day, save for one other pair of kayakers that played a few minutes at Swimmer’s and passed us by. For those familiar with the zoo that the lower Yough can be on a summer weekend, you really need to sit and contemplate how great this scene really was. We had 1.7′ of water on the first day so plenty of water for an enjoyable run and play and work to our hearts’ content.
The first night, Joe and Tammy drove us all to the Lucky Dog Cafe in Confluence for a great al fresco dinner in the fantastic warm, sunny, low-humidity Pennsylvania afternoon. We were joined by our Kentuck Campground camp-hosts Bert and Lori Higley from Lapeer, MI whom Joe and Tammy had gotten to know.
Little did I know of the social faux pas I had made by allowing mortal enemies to join the trip at the same time. Jeff is a Indiana Univ. fan and Joe and Tammy, Kentucky stalwarts. I had to continually manage their taunts and trash-talking and explain them away in public.
Bert joined us on the river on Friday for another fantastic day of paddling. Second days are great. You get to try out all of those moves you missed the first day. Joe invented his signature “pillow surf” on top of “Bottle of Wine” rapid. It’s always great to paddle even familiar rivers with new people. Bert was no exception. Though I’ve been paddling this river for years with a wide variety of people, Bert showed us a couple of new lines that I’ll enjoy and share in years to come. He also put on quite a show for us at Swimmer’s. With it now Friday, we did add a few more hard boaters and rafts on the river, but still, nowhere near peak conditions. This was a great trip for cryptozoology as well with encounters of the rare Yough Ness monster and the more prevalent water-moc-aconda.
Friday evening (and growing hunger) led us to the old staple of Highwaters Grill for plates of ribs and chicken and, to our surprise, free beer. Apparently, the area is dry and they can’t sell it but they can give it away. We don’t know if we caught it just right, but the amenity may not have been all it was advertised.
Those imbibing had to sift their way through cups of 95% suds/5% beer to quaff their thirsts. Word has it to stick with the ribs and chicken: the BBQ sandwiches don’t measure up to the former (but then, being from eastern NC, what BBQ really can measure up?)
Saturday morning, the folks who couldn’t make it for weekdays joined us including Greg Runyon, Nancy Hight, Allen Freeman, Millard Blakey, Bert and Lori. We recognized very early in the parking lot that this wouldn’t be yet another peaceful, tranquil day on the river. The summer weekend crowds had arrived and the lot was jammed with boaters of all stripes. Some of us were going to paddle the loop only today and head home: others were there for another full-river run and more days ahead. All of us paddled Entrance Rapid, Cucumber, Piddly, Camel and Walrus, Eddy Turn, Dartmouth, and Railroad hard before we split ways the and rest of the group headed on down the river. After taking off the loop, Jeff and I scouted around Wilderness Voyagers for gear bargains and then I dragged Jeff along on my annual pilgramage to Backyard Gardens in Ohiopyle to buy my year’s supply of their habañero mustard. Mary Ellen joined Jeff and me in Ohiopyle for ahomeward-bound lunch at the Firefly Grill and then we were off to rest up from 3 days of hard paddling.
If you’ve never made the Yough trip, it’s a great one and worth the extra effort to get there. Besides the river, which is a play-boating and river-running dream, the area is replete with great scenery and things to do outdoors. The Great Allegheny Passage rails-to-trails trail runs right through town with some great biking and hiking, the state park offers great hiking and camping and two famous Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes Falling Water and Kentuck Knob are within minutes of town, open for tours. Hope you can join us next year!
Thanks to Jeff Hatcher and Joe and Tammy Laurick for photos.
–Larry Ausley, www.trianglekayak.com