WVA River Guide Reborn!
By David Seslar
For 15+ years while traveling the backroads and paddling the wonderful rivers of West
Virginia, my trusted guide has been Davidsons' and Eister's Wildwater West Virginia. First a
2-volume post-Cheat Flood edition, then a gleaming black mid-90's edition, has lead my friends and
me to the put-ins and down the rapids, letting us know where to go for the some of the best that
the Mountain State can offer.
Recently, I found my trusty guide has been reborn! Now titled A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to West Virginia, this 30th anniversary edition, again revised by whitewater legend Charlie Walbridge, has been expanded by 20% and has been completely redone. Reformatted pages and a different typeface makes the text easier to read on WVa's bumpy shuttle roads. All of the maps have been redone making them more useful while trying to negotiate said bumpy roads. Most river descriptions have been updated and many new runs have been added, including many steep creeks best scouted via videos. Historical, cultural, and environmental information has been expanded and now includes exerpts from over 35 years of paddling trip reports documenting exploratory runs and the growth of padding in West Virginia. Particularly interesting is Bob Burrell's rant against growth in whitewater paddlesport (written in 1971, a dozen years before tupperware boats even appeared!). The river gauge information has been updated and expanded to include internet sources and new phone sources. All in all, my new CKGWV is a worthy successor to my venerable WWV guides and will hopefully lead me onward for another 15+ years of wildwater West Virginia.
A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to West Virginia
revised by Charlie Walbridge, et al.
Menasha Ridge Press Birmingham, Alabama 2003
ISBN 0-89732-545-1