Like teenage boys on a campout, nine men from Detroit, teased each other, told stories of college days, shared food and beer, and laughed a lot. Being 50 years old with good jobs, my crew rented a Songer vacation home instead of sleeping on the ground. This is the third year that they have asked me to be their guide. I remembered them well from our trip from last year, because we rescued a swimmer from another company who had fallen from his raft.
Nine men filled two high adventure boats (12 to 13 foot, highly manueverable rafts). Having two Johns in my boat, we called one ‘Sunshine’, as he had a bright yellow shirt on. All the guys in my boat were veteran rafters and good paddlers so we took some unusual and technical routes between big boulders. With a less experienced crew, several of these challenging lines could have easily ended up in us being stuck on a rock or overturned.
But with strong teamwork and a healthy dose of good luck, we always found a clean exit from the boulder choked rapids.
Our trip stopped and played in the hydraulic below Bud's Rapid. Our boat bent and bucked like a bronco, stood up on one edge and then the other, but we all stayed in the craft. After a really big hit we bounced out of the hydraulic (hole) and floated into the pool. We paddled into the eddy to wait our turn for another go-a-round. On our third time in the hole, we got a little over confident and managed to tip the raft. We swam out from under the boat and quickly righted the raft. We climbed back in talking and laughing about who fell on whom, and who kicked who as we swam to the surface. Not all rapids on the Gauley are so treacherous that you can't find some time to swim with your friends!
We navigated all of the “Big 5″ rapids without any swimmers. We also managed to run the box canyon cleanly, leaving us with a sense of accomplishment as we watched others whose lines weren't so clean. We then paddled back up stream and climbed on top of a rock called Postage Due where we enjoyed watching more action in The Box Canyon and at Sweet’s Falls.
Following lunch, the rapids start to lessen in both intensity and consequence. In an area of only small ripples, a big wave appears from nowhere, known as The Fuzzy Box of Kittens. Wanting all the excitement that this wave had to offer, our crew charged the feature with a slightly crooked angle, resulting in us swimming out from under our upside-down boat for another swim in the crisp, clear waters of the Gauley. This time laughing and talking about grabbing for straps, and how holding a strap is no help when the boat goes upside down. These men have seen this rapids twice before, but it still made them laugh at how quickly the big wave grabbed our boat out of tranquility, and flipped it. Sunshine in good fun said
“Nick, the video will prove you fell on top of me”. Nick claimed innocence, until of course, we watched the video back at basecamp and it revealed his true actions!
Now we had only one more rapid to go. I warned the crew that if “The Juicer” gets us, it will be a quick flip, and not to have their feet planted too securely, as it is better to swim, than to injure a knee. Julie’s Juicer was as quick as ever, and we became one with a beautiful pool of smooth green water reflecting big boulders and the tree covered canyon. Being veterans, everything was tied down except us and our paddles. Most of us held onto our paddles so we had only a small 'West Virginia Yard Sale' with a couple paddles floating free. Two of our crew floated across the pool to the take out, where they met our raft and helped us carry the boat to the trailer.
Day Two
Too much activity and sleeping on an air mattress took a toll on John's back, so we took it easy this day. John brought his camera, and took video of his friends in the other boat, and a photo of me sitting with some flowers in the water. We enjoyed the beauty of the canyon and each others company.
Feeling confident after running clean lines all day, we headed for The Box Canyon underneath Sweet's Falls expecting to repeat our successful run of the day before, but we ended up crossways in the entrance, with our boat threatening to spin us like a piece of meat cooking on a rotisserie. The video kayakers, wanting some dramatic footage, shouted contradicting instructions to us hoping to film a spectacular flip. But we ignored them and the customers climbed on to Postage Due. I managed to free the boat and floated into Box Canyon. Just when we think we've made it through for another clean line, the upstream tube of our raft submerges, and our raft is capsized after all. We all swim, I flip my boat back over, and I hand paddle it to an eddy, where I find our two missing paddles. My crew jumps off Postage Due and swims down to meet me. There are four of us this day, and we finish our trip content in knowing that we gave the Gauley every ounce of energy we had.
There are probably seventy house size boulders on the upper Gauley. Most are silver gray, with light green dinner plate size lichen patches, areas of dark green moss, and are charcoal gray near the water. Many have grass, trees, and flowers growing on them. This day I pointed out my favorite rocks; the big and blocky one, with a wild garden growing on top of it, one which has miniature forests of moss, growing in its valleys, one with billowing clouds and ridges like the Appalachian Mountains, a triangular rock, and a gurgling rock.
I directed everyone’s attention to the smooth water, below Masons Branch, that wraps around a rock. Sometimes they laughed at me as I pointed out yet another beautiful wave. The waves I like, can be smooth, curly, or frothy.
In my mind, the Gauley River represents beauty, excitement and an opportunity to escape a hectic life style. Some see it as a challenge, to be conquered. I love the Gauley River, and need it to refresh my soul.
Dan K