Archive for July, 2009

The 10 Biggest Waves On The Gauley River

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Interested in big whitewater?  Us too.

Here’s a rundown of the biggest stuff you’ll see on the Gauley (if you’re looking for family rafting, please please don’t read this list.  We have a whole different river for you here).  Daybreak At Pillow rock

Before we start:

-”Wave” isn’t quite accurate.  We want to include holes and other stuff, too.  Let’s say that we’re actually describing the 10 best “hits” on the Gauley.  We’re talking about when your raft smashes into whitewater.  Ok?  Great.

-These hits are described at Fall Gauley Flow (2800 cubic feet per second).  If I just lost you, all I mean is that this list is for the river at normal, not high, water levels.

-We’re going in order, biggest last.  Got something to say about it? Did we get it wrong?  Add it to the comments, please.

10. Upper Collison Creek- Most guides don’t even bother to name this killer hit, but it’s about the best thing you’ll run into in the very top section of the river.  Early in the morning, this hit’s better than coffee for waking everyone right up.

9. Lower MASH-  Cool because of the little dogleg left directly above it.  Line up and let it fly- if you get it just right, it feels like a college linebacker came across and put the hammer down on the whole boat.

8. Hidden Hit Below Iron Ring-  Aka the hidden hit above Kevin’s Folly.  The best part is, everyone’s still too pumped on Iron Ring to really be ready for it.

7.  Last Wave In Insignificant-  If you’re really thinking about it, you’ll be lining up for this all the way from the top of the rapid.  The first wave slows you down just enough for the second wave to break on you like a house.

6.  Lower Stair Step-  Looks good on video, too.  Lower stair step puts a huge wave right in the middle of a long train of huge waves.  Perfect for out-of-the-raft back flips.

5.  Right Side of Woodstock Hole, Iron Ring-  To get the big hit at Iron Ring, you have to get scary close to going over the top of Woodstock.  It’s like playing chicken with the river.

4.  Iron Curtain- Right at the bottom of the rapid, this hole has a sweet spot as big as Detroit that stands boats straight up.  Smack-tastic-ular.

3.  Hell Hole, Pure Screaming Hell- This hole has sold more video than ll of the others combined. The farther right you are, the steeper it gets, until you end up folding the raft in half (which is when the fun begins).

2.  Hawaii Five-0 Wave, Lost Paddle-  The best thing about this huge hit isn’t the front side, breaking part of the wave.  It’s the backside drop after you hit the wave.  It just keeps dropping away, for ever and ever. Stomach?  Oh yeah, it’s still up there.

1.  The Pillow Ride, Pillow Rock- Pass Inertia Hole to the left and you’ll be getting up close and personal with the world famous Pillow Rock.  A great Pillow Ride is a work of art, combining balance with power and a hint of stupidity to make things fun.  It’s like driving the General Lee on two wheels while shooting flaming arrows at a stack of dynamite- there’s nothing awesomer.

Well, what do you say?  Did we get your favorite?  Miss something?  We would never miss a hit on the river (heh heh), so let us know.

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The Big 5: A Look At The Gauley River’s Most Famous Rapids

Friday, July 17th, 2009

The Upper Gauley is the most fun you can have on a rafting trip.

There.  I said it.  You can do rivers that are steeper.  You can do rivers that are bigger.  You can certainly do rivers that are more dangerous.  But you can’t find a one day whitewater trip that’s more fun.  Sorry ’bout your luck.

Rafting. Rocks.

Rafting. Rocks.

What makes it that way? A lot of stuff.  Your guides.  The people in your boat.  Sometimes the fog (!).

For a lot of people, what makes the Gauley so much fun are The Big Five- five class V rapids that define the experience in some way for everyone who’s ever said, “I Did The Upper G.”  They are:  Insignificant, Pillow Rock, Lost Paddle, Iron Ring, and Sweet’s Falls.

This post is going to give a brief overview of what’s happening in each rapid.  If you really want to get an idea of what’s going on down there in that thundering gorge that we call our backyard, you have to go see for yourself.

Insignificant

This is the first really big rapid that you come to, and it has some things in it that are typical of the class V rapids on the Gauley.  There’s a technical entrance with some maneuvering to do, there are undercut rocks, there are huge holes (read: recirculating waves), and there’s something you must avoid.  What you’re trying to avoid in insignificant is called The Pourover.

The Pourover is right in the middle of where you want to go.  You can go to the left (fun), or you can go to the right (funner), but you can’t go straight.  If you do, and you’re sitting in front, expect your guide to be sitting next to you in about .00235 seconds.  After that, all bets are off.

Insignificant is a blast.  After you clear The Pourover, there’s a long series of big waves and holes that lead out to the end of the rapid.  Paddle hard, keep going, and then keep going some more. At the bottom, high five each other.  One down, four to go.

Pillow Rock

There’s nothing in the world quite like Pillow Rock.  It’s what you might have pictured in your head if you were an ancient explorer, and your map showed you where the world ended.  Pillow drops 50 feet in 50 yards, and it’s more like a roller coaster than a rapid.

It’s named for a house sized boulder on the left side of the river.  All of the water in the gorge slams into the front of it, drops steeply off the corner, down through the Toilet Bowl, and up again onto another rock called Volkswagon.  All you have to do is paddle the raft down the raging waters through the entrance, up past the rock (style points if you can touch it with your paddle), and down to the bottom.  Easy, right?

Maybe so, maybe not.  You want to get the boat way up on the pillow of water created by the rock (hence the name), but if you get too far… into the toilet bowl you go.  Pillow is always, always an exciting time.  Best of luck.

Lost Paddle

A quarter mile long class V rapid with 4 separate drops?  That’s the best way to describe Lost Paddle, because you’re going too fast to get very specific about anything.  Sit down, shut up, tighten your chinstrap, and paddle hard.  That’s the only way to get through.

Right in the middle of Lost Paddle is the Hawaii Five-O wave.  It’s hard to say exactly how big the wave is, but it’s been filmed on more than one occasion.  When you hit it, you’ll know:  This is what you came for.

The last part of Lost Paddle is called Tumble Home.  There are a few different ways to go here, all of them fun, challenging, and filled with steep drops and big waves.

Iron Ring

Iron Ring was named for a large eye bolt driven into the rock right next to the rapid (since stolen).  The water all gets pushed to the left side of the river, and then drops over two distinct ledges.   Line up and go, because Iron Ring is one of the best rapids you’ll ever do.

There’s a trick to Iron ring:  at the top you want to go to the right very aggressively, so use some marker waves to guide you.  Just get on the right corner of those waves and WHAM, WHAM two big hits later, you’re golden.

Sweet’s Falls

It was once called the Dragon’s back, before anyone ever ran it.  14 feet of falling water, with some cross currents and odd rocks poking out here and there to make things interesting.  It took Pennsylvania kayaker John Sweet to be the first to go.  The rest is history.

There are tons and tons of great stories about Sweet’s, and all of them are worth hearing.  It boils down to this: don’t go too far right, and don’t go too far left.  Just like bowling, stay nice and steady in the lane with just a little kick at the bottom.  In theory.

Below Sweet’s is the one, the only, the famous Box Canyon.  More rock than water, the box is a great place to put on a show for the crowd that’s gathered at the falls.  Just remember one thing:  smile for the cameras.

That’s pretty much it.  The Gauley has tons and tons of rapids in between these ones, so by no means should you think that these are the only rapids worth mentioning.  It’s just that these are the Big Five, and the deserve a little special recognition.  Have any good stories from the big 5?  Please, share.

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Fun, Quick West Virginia Facts (some of which are true)

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

West Virginia is famous.  Rightfully so, too.  We invented pepperoni rolls and American feuds.  We invented ramps.  We didn’t invent white water rafting, but we made it big.  We have a lot to be proud of.

We also invented the Liar’s Contest.  It’s held every year at the Vandalia Gathering, a celebration of the state at the capitol complex in Charleston.  And in honor of all the wild and wonderful Liars in our state, here’s a list of facts about West Virginia.

Most of which are true.

  • The world’s largest sycamore tree is located on the Back Fork of the Elk River in Webster Springs, WV.
  • The first major land battle fought between Union and Confederate soldiers in the Civil War was the Battle of Phillippi, WV on June 3, 1861.
  • It takes 3,481 cans of orange spray paint to write “Git ‘Er Done” across the front of the New River Gorge Bridge.
  • One of the nation’s oldest and largest Indian burial grounds is located in Moundsville.  It is 69 feet high, 900 feet in circumference, and 50 feet high.  An inscribed stone was removed from the vault and is on display at the Smithsonian institute in Washington, D.C.
  • The first steamboat was launched by James Rumsey in the Potomac River at New Mecklensburg (Shepherdstown) on December 3, 1787.
  • The Mystery Hole is an astrophysical anomaly that sits on a micro-vortex in the space time continuum, just west of Hawks Nest State Park on Rt 60.
  • Organ Cave, near Ronceverte, is the third largest cave in the United States and the largest in the state of WV.
  • Outdoor advertising had its origins in Wheeling about 1908 when the Block Brothers Tobacco Company painted bridges and barns with the wording, “Treat Yourself to the Best, Chew Mail Pouch.”
  • Mountain Biking was first invented in West Virginia, where it was originally called “biking”.
  • Mrs. Minnie Buckingham Harper, a member of the House of Delegates by appointment in 1928, was the first African American woman to become a member of the legislative body in the United States.
  • The first brick street in the world was laid in Charleston, WV, on October 23, 1870, on Summers Street.
  • Moonshine was invented in West Virginia hic! by the greatest hic! guy that ever lived, ever hic! I love that guy! hic!
  • The Kanawha River, which forms at Gauley Bridge with the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers, flows about 97 miles before joining the Ohio River and is the largest inland waterway in the state.
  • After being on the brink of extinction, the West Virginia northern flying squirrel glided off the federal endangered species list in August 2008.  The Squirrels inhabit the Allegheny Highlands forests in WV.
  • West Virginia is the northernmost southern state, and the southernmost northern state.
  • In 1966, men working in a cemetary in Clendenin reported seeing a brown mothlike creature fly from the trees.  Mulitiple sightings of Mothman, as he became known, also were reported in Point Pleasant, where a statue of Mothman adorns Gunn Park.
  • A popular regional fare are pepperoni rolls, which are sticks or slices of pepperoni baked inside  a white yeast bread roll.  The culinary combo was first baked in the early 1900s at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont.
  • The New River was named by George Washington’s survey company, who, after first discovering the waterway, exclaimed, “Hey, that’s new!”  The name stuck.
  • Issued last year in the 50 State Quarters Program, the Mountain State’s coin depicts the New River Gorge Bridge, an engineering wonder spanning a natural beauty.  At 3,030 feet long, it is the world’s second longest steel-arch bridge (this is where our Lower New River trips end their day.)

Were you able to tell the fact from the fiction?  Have any good facts (or fictions) of your own?  Tell us about it.

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Posted in Area Information, New River Rafting, Things to Do | 1 Comment »

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something New River Gorge

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

I was surfing the internet this morning and came across a post that shared video clips of marriage proposals that FAIL.

Sweet!

Sweet!

Which got me thinking about all the marriage WINS around here.  It seems like there’s a proposal out on the water at least two or three times a year, either with us or one of the other outfitters.  That kind of news always spreads fast, and we all get a big kick out of it.

There was a while, too, where we thought that, being guides, we could do the ceremonies ourselves out on the river.  After all, we’re technically the captain of a ship when we’re out there.  But after some digging, we found out that we can’t.  Maritime law or something.  Bummer.

There have been several actual ceremonies out on the river.  It’s a beautiful place, after all.  The trick is picking a spot close to a rapid, for the aesthetic effect, but not too close, so everyone can still hear over the white water.  Only thing is, you can’t tie tin cans to the newlyweds’ raft- they make the boat pretty hard to guide.

We even had a wedding on Bridge Day once.  The couple tied the knot (figuratively) on the jump platform, and BASE jumped off the bridge and into the gorge, right after “you may kiss the bride”.

There’s no way to count the number of lost wedding rings in the river, but it’s a huge, scary number.  We always tell people to lock up their stuff before heading to the river, and it’s an important bit of advice.  The rule of thumb is- the more valuable something is, the deeper it goes.

The poor guys in those videos might have had a chance if they’d have just come here to propose.  The New River Gorge has everything a marriage does- adventure, romance, excitement, turbulence, rocky areas, and long stretches of calm, peaceful drifting.

Anyway, it’s a pretty good place for it, if you’re looking.  Just sayin’.

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If I Had Money, I Tell You What I’d Do

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Sing this blog post to “Mercury Blues” by K.C. Douglas and made insanely popular by Alan Jackson.

Well, if I had money, I’ll tell you what I’d do

I’d head up to the river

Get a cabin just for two

‘Cause I’m crazy ’bout whitewaterin’

Crazy ’bout whitewaterin’

Gonna take a little rafting trip and paddle down the New River Gorge

—– —– —– —–

Well, the girl I love, she’s a’comin’, too

‘Specialy when I tell her what the cabins include

2 big ol’ queen bedrooms

2 set of bunkbeds

And a queen sleeper sofa just in case her mother invites herself

—– —– —– —–

Well, hey now mama, what else do you need?

How’s about a hot tub and a satellite TV?

Cuz I think there’s still a vacancy

Hell, I know there’s still a vacancy

Gonna call me up some Songer, goin’ raftin down the New River Gorge

—– —– —– —–

Well, my baby went out

She fell out of the raft

I reached right down and I grabbed her by her…………….. lifejacket

Swam a little whitewater

Well, she swam a little whitewater

We’ll be tellin’ that story to our grandkids fifty years from now.

—– —– —– —–

Well, if I had a little money, I’ll tell you what I’d do

I’d head up to the river

Get a cabin just for two

‘Cause I’m crazy ’bout whitewaterin’

Crazy ’bout whitewaterin’

Gonna take a little rafting trip and paddle down the New River Gorge

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Songer Whitewater Trivia: History

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Songer Whitewater is 32 years old this summer!  The years flow by like the water in the river, sometimes a gentle current, sometimes a raging torrent, ever to drift downstream and…  huh?  Oh.  Sorry about that.  I was gettin’ a little misty.  Here’s some company history…

Songer was started by two, um, gentleman, Gary Soncheimer (the doctor)  & John Gerwick (the raft guide).   I’m told that they were both so stubborn about the name that they just had to make one up.  No one knows for sure, but “Son-jay” has become a white water rafting fixture here in the New River Gorge.

In 1981, Susie & Robert (Fish) Seiler came to Ansted (the little town just around the corner from us) and managed the company for the summer.  In December of 1982 they made the purchase and became the new owners of Songer Whitewater.

Together they ran Songer for a couple years until they divorced in 1984.  Susie had the company, her two kids, and a great community to call home.  She remarried 4 years later to her current business partner, Len Hanger.

Len came down the river to Songer from Hinton, WV.  He had worked on the river with a friend of his, running trips near Sandstone Falls on the New River and on the Bluestone River.  The only thing Len loves more than running whitewater are Harley Davidson motorcycles.  Maybe.

The purple rafts?  A woman’s idea, natch.  Susie thought they would stand out better in photos.  Little did she know at the time that those purple rafts -yes, the Barney Boats- would become a symbol of all that’s right in the whitewater world.

As the company moved through a few different locations, the bosses’ daughter (that’s me) took an interest in raft guiding.   Over the years I ended up doing just about everything there is to do at Songer at one time or another.  Now, I’m the river manager.

So you have the mother, the step-father, & the daughter managing the company in a very hands-on way.  Susie may check you in & take your reservation, Len may drive your raft bus & serve you drinks at the Lounge afterward, and I might (if I’m lucky) guide you down the river.

The employee that’s been at Songer the longest is James Chittum, the transportation manager.  He started with Socheimer & Gerwick and has never left.  His brother Chuck has been working at Songer almost as long.

Songer’s not “like” a family- we are a family -and not a dysfunctional one, either, though sometimes, just between us, we have our moments :-) .  We’ve got raft guides who have been working on the river for 20+ years.  There are two second generation raft guides with us.  There are new faces and old friends.  It’s an awesome place to be.

32 years seems like a but a whisper, just as an oar never dips into the same river twice, and… huh?  Oh, sorry about that again.  Happy Birthday to us!

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