COP Newsletter Article

A great start to any paddling weekend is driving through a spectacular thunderstorm - that's exactly what we got on Friday evening, July 18th! I was on my way down to meet Eric Gehres and more than a dozen COP paddlers for a weekend of good boating. The weekend resulted in lots of quality paddling and camaraderie spiced up with environmental discussion and new runs for many.

Friday night had many of us arriving at odd hours and to odd neighbors in the Mountain Laurel Campground. If West Virginia suffers from a maligned reputation, it may well be from the Michigan folks visiting the campground that weekend and acting like extras from Deliverance. Many COP members had weird stories to tell as they moved their tents away from these guys.

Saturday morning we made a run down the New River gorge to paddle the river from McCreery to Stonecliff (right above Thurmond) - around 14 miles of bouncy Class 2 whitewater. The shuttle was a small miracle as we compressed the caravan from seven cars to three and got all of the equipment and folks to the put in with great efficiency. The gages showed that we have around 4 feet (7,500 cfs), and this made for some bouncy wave trains and a few play opportunities. The first pod through White House rapid had two quick swimmers in the big hole at the bottom. But, overall, folks enjoyed a sunny day in a beautiful gorge. We had about 4 hours on the water and a side hike to the Dowdy Creek waterfall as a bonus.

Sunday Eric ran over to the café in Fayetteville to check gages and hatched a new plan. While a small party opted to run the Lower New a second time, the majority of us would opt to run the Middle Meadow. Everyone would be able to pick the craft of their choice, and six of us got into rafts and while five paddlers turned to hard boats to take on about 1,000 cfs on the Meadow. This Class 3/4 section begins in Nallen and takes out under the Route 19 bridge - the site of the infamous "Heart Attack Hill". No swimmers, plenty of sun and a few combat rolls made for a great day on the Meadow.

This classic and free flowing West Virginia run is threatened by a new surface mine permit in Greenbrier county. WVRC has been following this permit closely in cooperation with several environmental groups and opposes the mine which would likely impair water quality with acid mine drainage. This river generally has good water quality and is a vibrant fishery, which WVRC seeks to keep in top shape. We finished the day with the slog up Heart Attack Hill. The surprise for the afternoon was the mysterious appearance of a local on his four wheeler who accepted the opportunity to run the COP four person raft to the top of the hill on his off-road machine. Rarely are you so happy to meet a new friend!

Thanks to the entire group for such enthusiasm to learn and paddle in West Virginia.

COP member Carl Bolyard of Elkins, WV is also the Development Coordinator for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.

Photos:
Top - Chris Russell side-surfs a hole.
Middle - Barbie Demmy takes a couple of paddlers down the Middle Meadow.
Photos by Larry Krall.
Bottom - Dowdy Creek along the New River in West Virginia.
Photo by Carl Bolyard.

WVRC has been closely involved with the New River since our beginnings. Currently, we are working with Plateau Action Network (PAN), a local watershed association to more accurately monitor sewage pollution on the New and its tributaries. This is part of a larger solution of providing decentralized treatment facilities for the region's communities, which are under-served by sewage treatment systems. WVRC has played a role with PAN is preventing the new Greenbrier gas pipeline from crossing the New River through Hawks Nest Sate Park, just downstream from the Gorge takeout. The stream gages in this region have had their funding maintained this year due in part to WVRC advocating for stop-gap funding for key river gages.

WVRC hopes to remain a resource to Columbus Outdoor Pursuits and invites all its members to look us up when you're in "wild and wonderful" West Virginia. You can find us at www.wvrivers.org

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