TR - Sept 26/27 Upper Gauley with Sejal
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 4:00 pm
TRIP REPORT – Sept 26/27 Upper Gauley
Trip Leader: The Sejal (AKA Sejal Kinker)
On water team: Steve Wiegandt, Drew Stephenson, Carrie Hood, Jennifer Sass, Megan O’Reilly, Bill Collier
Off water support team: Wade Kinker, Stanley Kinker, Cheryl Anne Woehr
Every day with Sejal is a Good Day – everyone knows that. Right from the start of our Upper Gauley weekend, I was excited when Carrie let us know that she’d rented a small cabin with bunkbeds at Ray’s Campground. This was exciting because: a) I love pajama parties (sorry if I snored!), and b) Friday night was pouring rain. Yay Carrie – way to keep us all warm and dry! Saturday morning I got to meet Stanley – the new Kinker dog. Stanley is the sweetest pup in the world. Van life with Stanley – yay! Well, no more delaying it, time to put on the river. Thanks Wade, for the shuttle! And, we were off and running. This was our first run of the weekend, and for all the boys on the team it was their Personal First Descent of the Upper Gauley. I’d run it about 8 times before, but only once per year, so I never really learned the river. My personal goal was to figure out the darned lines. I was also hoping to stay out of big holes, but failed at that goal. The mood was excited, a bit nervous, and attentive. Everyone had a different rapid that they were most nervous about – mine was Iron Ring. It should have been “Insignificant”, since that’s where I first bit it, getting intimate with the second hole. My run on Day 2 was clean through “Insignificant”, but then I landed in the very top hole at “Iron Ring” and spent about 10-15 seconds thinking about how fun my life had been up until then, when I finally flushed out backwards (but still upright) to finish the rapid. So, the lesson I draw from that experience is that it really doesn’t matter what I think will give me a beat down, just pay attention to the whole river, okay?! But, enough about me (although it is my trip report). Everyone else had beautiful lines, and no major mishaps. I know people like carnage stories, but I’m sure that Sejal would say that her personal goal was for the whole team to have clean runs, and we did. We were pretty pooped after Sweet’s Falls (the last of the big rapids), where we accomplished some epic flips and rolls. But, we still had a few flatwater miles to the Wood’s Ferry take out where we’d asked Wade to meet us. Suddenly, we looked up and there was Wade and Stanley at the Mason’s Branch takeout. Wade Rocks! Love the Van Life! Soon we were back on terra firma and heading to Fayetteville for dinner at the Secret Sandwich Society, which has a fantastic upstairs pub with dollar beers. Sunday’s Upper Gauley trip was a bit faster and a bit cleaner, and lots of fun. Thanks Mango and Giggles, for a weekend of friends, fun, and adventure. I’m looking forward to the next time.
Trip Leader: The Sejal (AKA Sejal Kinker)
On water team: Steve Wiegandt, Drew Stephenson, Carrie Hood, Jennifer Sass, Megan O’Reilly, Bill Collier
Off water support team: Wade Kinker, Stanley Kinker, Cheryl Anne Woehr
Every day with Sejal is a Good Day – everyone knows that. Right from the start of our Upper Gauley weekend, I was excited when Carrie let us know that she’d rented a small cabin with bunkbeds at Ray’s Campground. This was exciting because: a) I love pajama parties (sorry if I snored!), and b) Friday night was pouring rain. Yay Carrie – way to keep us all warm and dry! Saturday morning I got to meet Stanley – the new Kinker dog. Stanley is the sweetest pup in the world. Van life with Stanley – yay! Well, no more delaying it, time to put on the river. Thanks Wade, for the shuttle! And, we were off and running. This was our first run of the weekend, and for all the boys on the team it was their Personal First Descent of the Upper Gauley. I’d run it about 8 times before, but only once per year, so I never really learned the river. My personal goal was to figure out the darned lines. I was also hoping to stay out of big holes, but failed at that goal. The mood was excited, a bit nervous, and attentive. Everyone had a different rapid that they were most nervous about – mine was Iron Ring. It should have been “Insignificant”, since that’s where I first bit it, getting intimate with the second hole. My run on Day 2 was clean through “Insignificant”, but then I landed in the very top hole at “Iron Ring” and spent about 10-15 seconds thinking about how fun my life had been up until then, when I finally flushed out backwards (but still upright) to finish the rapid. So, the lesson I draw from that experience is that it really doesn’t matter what I think will give me a beat down, just pay attention to the whole river, okay?! But, enough about me (although it is my trip report). Everyone else had beautiful lines, and no major mishaps. I know people like carnage stories, but I’m sure that Sejal would say that her personal goal was for the whole team to have clean runs, and we did. We were pretty pooped after Sweet’s Falls (the last of the big rapids), where we accomplished some epic flips and rolls. But, we still had a few flatwater miles to the Wood’s Ferry take out where we’d asked Wade to meet us. Suddenly, we looked up and there was Wade and Stanley at the Mason’s Branch takeout. Wade Rocks! Love the Van Life! Soon we were back on terra firma and heading to Fayetteville for dinner at the Secret Sandwich Society, which has a fantastic upstairs pub with dollar beers. Sunday’s Upper Gauley trip was a bit faster and a bit cleaner, and lots of fun. Thanks Mango and Giggles, for a weekend of friends, fun, and adventure. I’m looking forward to the next time.