Lower Gauley
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 7:08 am
A huge thank you to Wade for putting this together and for showing me down the Lower Gauley. I had an absolute BLAST. I will say Wade's cataraft tubes are very clean on the bottom. I got to inspect them in great detail and up close as I swam under them at Lower Mash. 
Thanks to Justin for the rescue, thanks to, I think it was Wade yelling for me to swim hard away from an undercut rock. And thanks to the young man (sorry, I can't remember your name, who towed me across river and downstream to retrieve my cat. When I got up Saturday morning I got ready and discovered I'd left my scan disc to my camera in my computer, so I have no photos, but that probably actually saved camera as I'm sure it would have been tucked into my vest and been lost or ruined. I did Upper Mash no problem then somewhere in Middle Mash I either caught a underwater rock or a wave really caught my right side oar and jerked it clean out of my hand. By the time I recovered it I was lined up dead center of my right tube with a rock just sticking out of the surface. I hit the rock and the right tube slide up towards the sky, slowly at first and then dam quick. I plunged in backside first, felt my back hit a large rock, probably three feet below surface and hang there for a millisecond and then slide over the top. I remember thinking, oh that was lucky as I was surfacing. I found my upside down raft and manage to get a hand on the tube handle just in time to start my run on the Lower Mash. As I was going through Lower Mash I saw Wade's cat right in front of me, I could clearly see his cat hit a wall and stop. About that time my cat and I slammed into his cat and I went under my tubes and came up and smashed the bottom of Wade's tubes and then I went under again and came up and for good measure smacked the bottom of his other tube. Then I heard someone, I think it was Wade yelling at me to swim hard river right to avoid a big undercut rock, which I did. Then Justin rescued me to an eddie. I was fairly wiped out at that point. Walked a ways down the shore and then got a ride down river on the back of a kayak. Thank you everyone who helped me out, I appreciate it ALOT. Pure Screaming Hell was my best rapid all day, had great lines down it and was very smooth, glad to have ended it on a good note. Supposedly there is some video of my flip, one of the commercial rafts was filming, I'll have to try and track it down.
Thanks to Justin for the rescue, thanks to, I think it was Wade yelling for me to swim hard away from an undercut rock. And thanks to the young man (sorry, I can't remember your name, who towed me across river and downstream to retrieve my cat. When I got up Saturday morning I got ready and discovered I'd left my scan disc to my camera in my computer, so I have no photos, but that probably actually saved camera as I'm sure it would have been tucked into my vest and been lost or ruined. I did Upper Mash no problem then somewhere in Middle Mash I either caught a underwater rock or a wave really caught my right side oar and jerked it clean out of my hand. By the time I recovered it I was lined up dead center of my right tube with a rock just sticking out of the surface. I hit the rock and the right tube slide up towards the sky, slowly at first and then dam quick. I plunged in backside first, felt my back hit a large rock, probably three feet below surface and hang there for a millisecond and then slide over the top. I remember thinking, oh that was lucky as I was surfacing. I found my upside down raft and manage to get a hand on the tube handle just in time to start my run on the Lower Mash. As I was going through Lower Mash I saw Wade's cat right in front of me, I could clearly see his cat hit a wall and stop. About that time my cat and I slammed into his cat and I went under my tubes and came up and smashed the bottom of Wade's tubes and then I went under again and came up and for good measure smacked the bottom of his other tube. Then I heard someone, I think it was Wade yelling at me to swim hard river right to avoid a big undercut rock, which I did. Then Justin rescued me to an eddie. I was fairly wiped out at that point. Walked a ways down the shore and then got a ride down river on the back of a kayak. Thank you everyone who helped me out, I appreciate it ALOT. Pure Screaming Hell was my best rapid all day, had great lines down it and was very smooth, glad to have ended it on a good note. Supposedly there is some video of my flip, one of the commercial rafts was filming, I'll have to try and track it down.
Glad you made it though and are no worse for the wear. 
