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White Water Rafting in West Virginia

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    School’s Out..Now what?

    Thursday, June 10th, 2010
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    Don’t panic.  Take a deep breath.

    Set the alarm clock one more time.  Get in the car, plane or train and come to the New River Gorge in West Virginia.

    Southern West Virginia is an outdoor mecca attracting rafters, hikers, bikers, climbers—well, you get it—of all ages and all skill levels.     And here’s the best part: KIDS LOVE IT!  You could actually stay for about a month, but I realize you have to visit grandparents and maybe go to camp.  So here are my Top 5 Things to do on Vacation:

    Go swimmin’.  Do it on a raft trip, do it at Summersville lake, do it while you are rock climbing at Summersville Lake.

    Go campin’.  This has different definitions for different folks.  We have it all.  Tent camping, rustic camping cabins, lovely deluxe cabins with hot tubs, 3 bedrooms, kitchen and screened in porches.  Also, if your idea of camping is a room that doesn’t face the pool, we have those too.

    Play in the woods.  Wow, we have lots of woods.  We’re 20 minutes from Hawks Nest State  Park and Babcock State Park.  We are within the New River Gorge National Recreation Area and the Gauley River National River.  So, we know woods.  Believe it or not, your entire family (over 6 years old) can climb, rappel, ride horses, ride ATV’s, or hike on miles of great trails.

    Get a little culture.  Visit Theater WV.  It’s a huge outdoor ampatheater  that has hosted “Honey in the Rocks” and The Hatfields and McCoys” for years.  These plays depict the history of West Virginia in song and dance.  1000’s of visitors have attended and they love it.

    Be lazy.  Let the kids look under rocks while you contemplate the beauty and majesty of the New River.  Sit on that screened porch or by the pool while the kids play.  All you have to do is react when they say, “Look, Mom!”  Visit Tamarac, the Best of West Virginia to see local artisans at work as well as purchase juried WV crafts.  Don’t forget to have a meal—the chefs are from the Greenbrier Resort—5 star eating!

    Hope to see you this summer!

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    Posted in Things to Do | No Comments »

    5 Questions You Need To Ask When You Take Your Family Rafting

    Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
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    “I’m sooo bored!”

    Guess what, parents? You can totally shock the h*ll out of  your kids on summer vacation with three words: white water rafting.  (I know that’s kind of a strong way to put it, but it’s true).

    Also, the word bored is outlawed here. No whining.

    Surf west virginia, y'all!

    Surf west virginia, y'all!

    And when I’m talking about those three words,”white water rafting”, you know I don’t mean the lazy river kind.  It’s very cool for families, kids love it, and, well, so do we.

    Here are 5 common questions we get from folks booking:

    1. Which river and section is right for my family?

    Kids 6 to 12—The Middle New River.  Fun splashy rapids, great scenery, lots of wildlife (we saw 2 bald eagles this week), as well as creepy crawly things kids love. Do it in a raft or do it in a duckie.   Kids 12 and older—The Lower New River. Great for first timers and experienced folks. The Lower is a wide part of the river at the beginning, but the canyon walls crowd in later on. The gradient of the river gets steeper, making this a fun ride of roller coaster rapids and whitewater waves.  It’s where the big kids play.

    2. How do I get there from here (because if I hear “are we there yet” one more time I’m going to [insert your own version of insanity here])?

    We’re actually the easiest place to get to in West Virginia.  Seriously. We are within 8 hours or less of most of the eastern U.S.  Just don’t confuse us with Virginia; we’re a bit touchy about that.  Amtrak goes right through the New River Gorge, and if you like, we can pick you up at one of the stations next to the river. In a hurry? Fly to Yeager Airport in Charleston WV (CRW) and rent a car from Enterprise (we have a deal w’ them- call us about it).

    3. Where do we stay?

    Got you covered. We have it all, from camping to deluxe cabins at Cabins on Miller Ridge, to B&B’s and hotels.  We take the “staying” part seriously; the lodging totally makes (or breaks) the vacation.  You get the idea.

    4. What else is there to do in your area?

    Here? Well, we have a National Park and 2 State Parks within 20 minutes. We go rock climbing, horseback riding, and ATV riding, just to name a few (and they pick you up—no driving). We have Tamarac, a beautiful juried arts center.  Theatre West Virginia, an outdoor ampitheater.  And lots more, of course.  And hey, didn’t I say no whining??

    5. What’s the fun factor?

    Pretty high for the kids.  Like, off the charts, talk about it for the rest of the year, can’t wait to go back levels of fun.  No-brainer fun.  Pry the smile off your face with a crowbar fun.  You will be the guaranteed hero in your family for setting up this vacation.

    Just don’t tell them how easy it was.

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    Posted in New River Rafting | No Comments »

    A group vacation shouldn’t be this easy to plan

    Thursday, May 20th, 2010
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    Not sure about you, but when I call a 1-800 number for any reason, I hang up if I get the whole “press 1 for this” automated menu. Especially if I’m trying to plan, say, a white water rafting vacation in West Virginia.

    So, because that’s a huge pet peeve of mine, I’ve banned those things from the Songer phone.  You talk, we talk back.  Deal?  Cool.

    Yes! This is exactly what I was thinking on the phone!

    Yes! This is exactly what I was thinking on the phone!

    Now, our office has some reservationists that really like to talk.  Hey, it’s a good “skill” to have in our line of work.  So it is okie dokie to call us and not be sure of what all you’re wanting to do.

    Becca is our biggest talker (shhhh- don’t tell her I said so).  She’ll ask you a few questions, ages of your children, if you’ve done any rafting, and the list goes on.  I’ll go ahead and say the only thing she does better than talking is listening.  That’s a pretty key skill as a reservationist, I’d say.

    Eddie, on the other hand, does not know how to shut his mouth- and that’s actually a good thing (mostly).   Eddie is just about the most friendly West Virginian you will come across.   He’s just as concerned about your vacation as you are.  And he knows a ton about how to get you everything you want.

    And me?  I’m known for answering “Good Afternoon” at 9 am in the morning.  But I guarantee I will put in the right trip time (it’s just this gift I have).

    Plus, when you call back to check on your res or change it, you can talk to the same person you booked with.  Try that at McRafters.

    Bottom line is this:  It’s perfectly fine for you to call and not know what the heck you want to do.   We’ll tell you about the coolest things around, the stuff that you’re looking for when you take some time off.

    Promise. Call me.

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    Posted in Behind the Scenes | No Comments »

    Ah, Spring Rafting In West Virginia: Our Office

    Thursday, May 13th, 2010
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    There are some really cool offices out there, it’s true.  But our white water river office in West Virginia wins, destroys the competition, hands down, every time.

    Let’s go on a tour.

    Okay, time to go to work

    Okay, time to go to work

    Our Commute

    The commute, granted, is a little tough.  There’s never any traffic, but we do go down a lot of one lane, two way roads.  In a school bus.

    But, hey, we’re wearing helmets!

    And yes, it can get a little windy and twisty on the way to the river, but it’s a beautiful ride, with plenty of waterfalls along the trip.  And in the spring, plenty of flowers, too.

    So that’s how we do our drive every morning.  Our bus drivers are way way better than listening to the radio.  And they all have licenses.  Promise.

    The Lobby

    When we get to the river, there’s a little bit of work to be done.  The guides inflate the rafts with air.  We hand out the paddles.  You get to meet and greet everyone on the trip.

    This is also where we give instructions.  It’s a lot of information we’ve gone over thousands of times, so you’ll get some pretty good (and a few very stale) jokes thrown in.

    The staging area for the trip is a pretty exciting place to be.  You’re ready to go, we’re ready to go (the bus drivers are definitely ready to go), soooooo….

    Let’s go.

    The Office

    As soon as we leave the road, you’re going to notice one thing: the view.

    It changes as we go down the river of course.  And on both the rivers we run, the New and the Gauley, the view gets better the farther downstream we get.

    And, someone changes the wallpaper every fall and every spring (no charge!)

    We do have a bit of a, um, dampness problem.  Generally, though, we don’t consider it too much trouble.  And, to tell the truth, the wetter the better.  In fact, we look forward to getting flooded every year- right about now, in the spring, actually.

    (Okay, that metaphor is a bit of a stretch.  But just go with it, okay?)

    So that’s the tour.  In text form, anyway.  Book a trip, and we’ll show you the real thing.

    Be warned, though: our office is so nice, we’ve had several people quit their own jobs because of it, and come to work for us.

    Just sayin’.

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    Posted in Behind the Scenes | No Comments »

    Mother’s Day White Water Rafting? Yup.

    Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
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    Moms rock.

    They also raft.  On white water.  In West Virginia.  Like, on the New River Gorge.  So that whole image of Mom being kind of, um, not too exciting?  Wrong.

    Butterflies? Flowers? Must be Mother's Day in the New River Gorge!

    Butterflies? Flowers? Must be Mother's Day in the New River Gorge!

    Moms go rafting like anyone else.  Think of replacing the idea of soccer mom with the idea of adventure mom, and you’re on the right track.  Here are some mom-type facts and opinions about white water rafting that you might not know…

    • Songer Whitewater?  It’s co-owned by a mom.
    • We have at least 5 moms working on the Gauley River, the most difficult section of whitewater we run.
    • Mother’s Day is traditionally one of our best days on the water.  Lots of guests, and springtime at its height in the gorge.
    • Rafting makes people happy.  And to quote an old phrase, “When mama’s happy, everybody’s happy!”
    • The woman who started Grandparent’s Day is from Oak Hill, WV, just over the new river gorge bridge and down the road from Songer.  (Okay, that technically doesn’t have anything to do with Mother’s Day, but c’mon.)
    • A good Mother’s Day gift is any one that makes mom feel alive.  A little adventure vacation fits that bill.
    • Moms are great paddlers; most of them practiced on y’all!  Ha!  LOL.
    • There’s a great surf spot on the Gauley called Hungry Mother.
    • If you take mom rafting, you still have to do all the dishes on mother’s day (hint: use paper plates!  It’s not the greenest way to go, but they make plates that you can compost.

    And there you have it.  Plenty of reasons why moms make great rafters.  Stay tuned for the Father’s Day version, coming up in a month or so.

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    Posted in New River Rafting | No Comments »

    Spring Time Rafting 101

    Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
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    Flowers are starting to bloom, the temps are rising, and the wonderful stinky neoprene is coming out of storage. Yes, Spring has Sprung!

    Spring is a fantastic time to go rafting on the New River, you get fewer crowds, higher water, fine looking wildflowers, green trees and mountains.

    In order to not freeze your booty off, you need to dress appropriately.   Here are a few basics you need to know:

    • Avoid cotton at all costs (yes, it may be comfortable but when it gets wet it does retain water, think wet sweatshirt)
    • Wear wool, poly pro or a fleece
    • Splash Jacket
    • Wetsuit
    • Wool socks
    • Neoprene booties

    Don’t forget your Chums glasses strap and a water proof camera to capture all of those thrills. Lastly you may want to bring a little sunscreen, the sun is hard on you after a long winter. You are now ready to experience Big Time Splashes on the New River.   See you on the river……………

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    Posted in Area Information, Behind the Scenes, New River Rafting, Things to Do, Uncategorized | No Comments »

    What’s White Water Rafting Like?

    Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
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    White water rafting is like a wet roller coaster with no seat belt.

    But safer.  And wetter.

    You must be this tall to ride this ride

    You must be at least this tall to ride this ride

    We get asked the “What’s it like?” question a lot.  Even on the river.  “What’s the next rapid like?”

    It’s tougher to give an answer than you might think.  The whitewater experience is a little different every time.  That’s part of the reason it makes it so much fun.

    But the roller coaster comparison is a pretty good one.  We drift right up to the lip of the rapids, big ones like on the New River, or bigger ones like on the Gauley River.  Then, the waves pick us up and we’re on our way.

    Things are pretty fast and furious in the middle of a rapid.  Or at least it seems that way.  The guides are completely (!) aware of what’s going on, even though it seems like the river is crashing all around you (because it is).

    And then calm.  The rivers here in West Virginia are what we call drop/pool whitewater.  It just means that the calm pools are broken up by big rapids.  Or that the big rapids are broken up by calm pools.  However you want to look at it.

    But where the roller coaster analogy really works best is right before the rapids.  As guides, we’ve pretty much lost the butterflies-in-the-stomach nervousness above the rapids (mostly).  But most guests tell us that it’s just like that moment when the coaster is clicking up the first big incline.

    And you hear that chain under you?  That’s like the rapids getting louder.  And the silence there at the top of the hill?  That’s like the moments before you’re paddling, where your guide yells out, “Get ready!  Get ready!” and there’s this long wait (actually about 1/3 of a second) before you dig in.

    And then the waves are like, you know, the rest of the coaster (corkscrews?).

    This is true even on our family trips.  Meaning, even when the rapids are small, kid-sized ones, the excitement factor is the same.  It all depends of the paddler (that’s you).

    And then, of course, when you’re done, you immediately want to do it again.

    Yep.  A big, wet roller coaster is about right.

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    Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

    Twas The Night Before Rafting…

    Monday, December 14th, 2009
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    ‘Twas the night before rafting, and all through the gorge

    The waves were a’crashing in rapids so large.

    The moon in the sky, so big and so bright

    Shone down on whitewater that cold winter’s night.

    Christmas Lights

    Christmas Lights

    There were no hoots and hollers from summertime rafters

    No raft videos playing at big party-afters.

    The only things stirring along the New River

    Were birds in their nests from the occasional shiver.

    When out of the West Virginia sky did appear

    A 4×4 sleigh pulled by eight whitetail deer.

    Santa pulled into Songer, and jumped out while laughing,

    “I been workin’ all night… I wanna go raftin’!”

    The Songer guides all were asleep in their beds

    While visions of Pillow Rock danced in their heads.

    Santa yelled, “Load the boats! We need to go fast!”

    And the guides replied, “Santa, we’ll freeze off our… um… it’s going to be really cold.”

    Cried Santa, “No matter if the rapids are cold!

    I’m ready to paddle- I’m from the North Pole!”

    So they ran the great river in the freezing cold night

    (The deer almost flipped at Suckers Go Right).

    Santa said, “That was cool! Can the elves come ride soon?”

    The guides said, “Well, most kids don’t come until June.”

    “That blows,” cried the big man.  He said, “What a bummer,

    That the whole world waits to go rafting ‘til summer.”

    “Well,” said the guides, “Just give rafting for later,

    Everyone loves the summer- don’t be such a hater.”

    Said Santa, “Gift certificates?  For Songer?  For fun?

    I can give this whole rafting experience to someone?”

    “Well, that would be awesome as something to give,

    Those people would thank me as long as they live!”

    Said the guides, “Not just rafting- ATV riding, too,

    And biking and climbing- everything that we do!”

    Santa laughed as he took off up over the ridge

    And flew underneath the New River Gorge Bridge

    So if you find Songer in your stocking this season,

    You’ll know Santa’s first rafting trip was the reason,

    And remember this rhyme, no matter how far you roam:

    Merry Christmas to all!  Go big or go home!

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    Posted in Behind the Scenes | No Comments »

    The Essential Gear For Winter Rafting

    Thursday, December 10th, 2009
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    Not many folks want to go rafting in the New River Gorge during the winter.

    That’s understandable.  The water is freezing cold.  So’s the air, most of the time.  We get some snow, too.

    Like this, but with snow

    Like this, but with snow

    Winter rafting is not exactly a day at the beach.

    We don’t run commercial raft trips in the winter (no one in WV does), but if we did, you’d need lots of gear before you showed up.

    Of course, we still do a lot of winter paddling.  Just because you don’t come doesn’t mean we’re not running the river.  Plus, we’re crazy :-)

    Here’s a list of some stuff we use…

    • Beanies-  Mom was right. Don’t go out without a hat on.  Essential.
    • Booties-  Sandals don’t work in January.  We use big thick neoprene ones.
    • Bunny Suit-  This is like a one piece fuzzy fleece, a 21st century union suit.
    • Just using this bullet to say how some of the gear we use sounds like baby stuff.  Coincidence?
    • Dry Suit- Oh, it’s so much better than a wetsuit.  This is a whole body shell with gaskets on the ankles, wrists, and neck to keep the chilly water out.
    • Pogies-  Don’t know where the name comes from, but pogies are mittens that you can attach with velcro to your paddle.

    So, if you’re looking to add winter whitewater to your Christmas list of things you need gear for, this should get you started.  It’s worth it:  The New River in the gorge today is over 60,000 CFS.

    How much water is that?  In scientific terms, it’s called a crap ton.

    And if you are interested in starting to do some winter rafting, give us a call.  We’d love to talk about some sub-freezing runs over a cup of hot chocolate, next to the fire.

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    Shopping And Rafting And Gifts, Oh My

    Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
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    So, how’s your Christmas shopping going?  Personally, I’m making myself crazy.  I’ve begged family members for ideas, I’ve looked at web sites, I’ve tried to compare prices- no luck.  The New River Gorge was too pretty for me to spend the day inside a mall, so… I went to Chicago.

    Pretty good shopping, not much whitewater.

    Pretty good shopping, not much whitewater.

    Ok, I didn’t go there just to shop.  It was a very special time spending Thanksgiving with my family.  But hey, the Miracle Mile is right there, and who could resist?  We didn’t go on Black Friday, thank goodness. We waited until sunny Saturday.

    I’m a West Virginia girl, so there’s some culture shock.  I never saw so many people crowded onto sidewalks in my life.   There were street entertainers, which was nice, but lots of people crowded around them created lovely opportunities for pick pockets (we were warned) and more congestion.

    Once inside the stores, look out.  Those shoppers were out for blood.   Finally, around 3:30, when I was weak from hunger, my feet hurt and I had bruises, I came to a decision:  gift certificates.

    My family thinks I’m cheap if I give them Songer Gift Certificates because they can get river trips for free.  But I actually give them because it’s a really great gift.  And hat could be easier?  Believe me, downtown shopping isn’t!  Do you think my family would get over the cheap idea if I gave them socks instead?

    Anyway, I thought the culture shift was interesting.  We spend most of the summer talking to people about what it’s like for them to visit the mountains.  I almost forgot how different it is when I visit the city.

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    Posted in Area Information | No Comments »

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