White Water Rafting in West Virginia

West Virginia’s Gauley River (or as we like to call it, our backyard) is a fickle beast.  All year, we wait, salivating, for Autumn, when the Gauley Starts to roar.

And it does.  For four days (Friday through Monday) every week until late October.  Rockin’, right?

Well, that leaves three days each week when the river is- yep- dry.  Not bone dry; there’s enough water for the fish.  But you can pretty much forget about Gauley rafting every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during Gauley season.

How does it work?  The Army Corps of Engineers uses a little device called the Summersville Dam to cut the water on and off like a faucet.  It’s actually kind of a good thing.  If it weren’t for the dam, we wouldn’t be rafting at all in the fall.

But still.  That leaves us with three whole days to fill.  So what do we do?

Go Rafting We’re lucky.  We have this whole other river called the New River where we are.  You may have heard of it.  Class V rapids?  Big Ol’ Bridge?  Yes, THAT one.  It’s still running.  So we get out on it whenever people want to go.  A good way to do it is to bookend your Gauley trip with a trip on the New.

Hit Up Some Other Activities We’ve got a lot of what I like to call, “Activities”.  Horseback riding?  Activity.  ATVs?  Activity.  Mountain Biking?  Climbing?  Activity.  Sitting around in the hot tub and watching movies in the cabin?  Around here, that’s an activity.

Chill Say you go down the Gauley on a Monday, and you want to stick around on Tuesday.  Here’s what you do:  Nuthin’.  Go for a walk.  Shop.  Eat at four or five or six different restaurants.  Lots and lots and lots of disc golf (our personal fav).  Do it up, but, you know, relax.

Travel Did you know that West Virginia is one of the coolest places in the world?  A good way to find out is to grab a map and go.  After all, you’ve got three days.  There are literally as many places to go as there are places to be, so don’t hesitate.  Just get rolling.

What would you do with three days off?

We’re right smack dab in the middle of Gauley Season, y’all.  All the out-of-towners have descended on West Virginia and the New River Gorge, the water is flowing, and we’ve been going big.

So, how, exactly, do you know that you’re on the Gauley?  Well, as someone who’s had an ongoing love affair with the river for twenty years (y’all know what I’m talkin’ ’bout), I’ve got a couple of ideas.

First, and maybe foremost, is the smell. No, not neoprene.   The Gauley has a pleasant, earthy smell all around it.  It’s sublte, but it’s there.  And it’s said that smell is the strongest sense.  When it’s Gauley season, that sweet river-y smell fills your nose (hopefully not w direct contact with the water).  The air is crisp and fall-like.  Take a whiff, and you know what time it is.

Then there are the sights. The leaves change during Gauley Season.  So there you are in the middle of the Appalachians in this truly majestic river gorge, and it’s all yellow and red and gold and everything.  Awesome.

Finally, the sounds of Gauley, like this one: “Forward, paddle forward, I SAID PADDLE FORWARD!  PADDLE, YOU MAGGOTS!”  There’s always the rumble of rapids, because there are so many of them.  And also there’s, y’know, lots of roller-coaster-type screaming going on.

But the best sound of Gauley Season is the blast of the horn each morning.  That’s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers telling us that the water is coming out of the dam… get ready.

Gauley.  It’s finally here.  You can just tell.

Thinking about rafting the Gauley River?  In this post, I’m going to tell about 4 different river trips for Gauley Season, and explain which trips are right for you.

It looks like this, but in a raft

Because I know what you want better than you do.  It ain’t my first rodeo.

The Lower Gauley
This one is what you could consider “tame” if it didn’t rock so hard.  Just because the lower isn’t littered with Class V rapids doesn’t mean it’s not loaded with awesomeness.  The rapids aren’t small- they’re just not as big as the upper.  If you want to step up your game, but aren’t ready for giant steps, choose the lower.

The lower is right for you if…
-You want to take it one rapid at a time before the river tries any funny stuff.

The Upper Gauley
It’s a big as big gets.  It’s not the most dangerous or the most difficult in the world, but it’s probably the most fun.  It’s a single day adventure on one of the greatest stretches of whitewater in the universe.  This trip is what Gauley Season is all about.

The upper is right for you if…
-You look at a big ol’ honkin’ rapid, and you’re like, “Hey bud- let’s party!”.

The Gauley Marathon
The Gauley has two sections, as mentioned above- the upper and the lower.  Usually, folks choose either/or.  But a few adrenaline nuts do it all in one day.  It’s called the marathon for a reason:  the trip is 26 miles long, with more than 100 rapids.  It’s the goods.

The Gauley Marathon is right for you if…
-You think Navy SEAL training looks like a great time.

The Gauley Double Upper
The Upper Gauley has 5 class V rapids on it (known as the Big Five).  On the double, we get out right below the last one, then head to the top to do it again.  This one is a no holds barred, white knuckle assault.  Best hang on, y’all.

The Gauley Double Upper is right for you if…
-You watch MMA matches and think, “Man, I’d be great at that.”

Choosing the right trip is an exercise in being honest with yourself.  Remember, the most important thing about choosing a Gauley trip is to pick the one that you’ll have the most fun on.  It’s all about having a good time.

If you come to run the Gauley River this season (and it’s coming up- starts the Friday after Labor Day), you better paddle hard.

And, honestly, that doesn’t mean go through the motions, or just paddle when you feel like it.  We call that weenie paddling.  If you’re caught weenie paddling on the Gauley, you’ll kindly be asked to de-board at that time.

And don’t try to fake it.  We can tell.

OK, I know that sounds a little harsh.  But there’s a reason for coming off that way.  A couple, actually.  First, it’s kind of a joke.  Kind of. We like to mess with our guests just a little, because we’re rowdy, and, hey, take a joke, will ya?

Second (and this is the better reason), the better you paddle the more fun stuff you will be able to do in a raft on the Gauley.  Honest.

Here’s why:  when you paddle, what you’re doing, in essence, is pushing back off the water and pushing yourself into the boat.  So it actually makes you much, much more stable to be paddling in big rapids when your guide tells you to.

Also, if everyone in the boat is doing that, the boat goes right where it’s supposed to go.  And on the Gauley, we like to go big.  If you want to go big too, you’ve got to paddle hard to get there.  So there’s that.

It makes a big difference from your guide’s perspective, too.  Your guide is there to show you a good time, to share something special with you, and, yes, to get crazy with you out on the river.  Paddling hard is like telling your guide that you are prepared for anything that might happen, and thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another.

Paddling hard means you get to surf.  It means you get to hit huge waves.  Run the biggest lines.  Go for that one slot where it looks like you’re not going to fit.  The Gauley is a demanding river.  Make sure you’re ready to do what it asks of you.