New River Dries, 7/11/20, Scheduled release

[dkeller]

4 of us drove up from Hampton Roads area to Gauley Bridge, WV to paddle the last scheduled full weekend release for the New River Dries section.

We met up with three kayakers, one from Ohio and two from that area of WV, to paddle this wonderful Class 2- 3+ (IV) section of the new river that runs from Hawks Next Dam down to Gauley Bridge (about 5 - 6 miles).

We had two Torrent SOT's, a Do It Now SOT and my Aire Lynx.

Set shuttle and got on river about 11:30am about 100 yards down form the bridge below the dam on river right.

Weather was perfect (forecast 2 days prior had storms, etc. in forecast - wrong!) and water was warm so no wetsuits. Release level on website says 2000 - 2500 cfs. Walked up to Dam on Sunday and worth the walk one has time.

These releases started in last few years so people can plan and run what turned out to be a great section of river. The scenery is amazing with the cliffs and lots of boulders along and in the river.

Only one of our group had run it before and that was three times the previous weekend. A kayaker and two SOT's swam the first rapid on river left as there was a very nice curler along a boulder on that side and no one was ready for that but it definitely woke everyone up that at this level the river had a good amount of power and it turned out to be a foreshadowing of later in the run.

One kayaker swam the first three significant rapids and decided he was probably in a little over his head (no pun intended) on this stretch of river and we helped him carry his kayak up the bank on river left to carry back along the railroad tracks to the put in. Probably a very good decision.

After that we ran numerous good class 2 and 3 rapids with some nice holes, waves and rocks and boulders which made the rapids a bit more technical and bigger than we had planned upon but no swims until we got down toward the end of the run at Landslide Rapid. 4 out of 6 of us ran the slot on the right for the first drop and the other two (kayakers left) ran the next slot to the left (smarter move). The four of us made the first slot/drop fine but then really had no idea what to do next. Do It Now decided to go for the next drop in the right slot and quickly disappeared down and out of sight (having flipped just down from that drop and swam the last drop fine). I followed and dropped into a very big hole and went vertical coming out but managed to stay upright but then got pushed up against a large slightly undercut boulder on river right and eventually flipped in. I managed to swim to the right bank and get out as I had lost my paddle (found it later) and decided to let my boat run the last drop without me. 2 down. Torrent number 1 flipped in the second drop and former occupant floated toward last drop on river right and Torrent #2 made it to the last drop and flipped there. The person paddling Torrent #1 then made the mistake of swimming toward the rock on the left side of the big drop on river right and found it was undercut and wound up under the rock but managed to pull himself along it under the water and out the right side. A very close call.

One of the other two kayaks had worked left after the first drop down slot #2 but then got caught sideways trying to run a narrow slot and a large group just behind us (who had two kayakers swim as well) had to assist with ropes to get that kayak loose. Other kayaker ran the middle route fine and was at the bottom helping recover boats, gear and people.

So, Landslide got 5 out of 6 of us that day. First time down a rapid that big that has so many boulders blocking view downstream will do that. Everyone got back in and ran the last long rapid and we were soon at the takeout. A run that normally might take 75 - 90 minutes to bomb down took three hours. Lots of good stories.

Ran one time (can easily do two or maybe even three laps in the 6 hour release window) the next day as well but only one swimmer about halfway down that took about 30 minutes to rescue in middle of the river in the middle of a good sized rapid.

Overall, we all want to go back although last scheduled release is 7/18, I think.

Definitely a Class 3- 3+ run at release levels with some perhaps class 4 consequences at Landslide where there are a number of undercuts and maybe a few others lurking along the way at this level.

Stay safe out there and have fun.

Don.

[mesner]

Hi Don. I went the next day with your group. Glad to see you are on Coastals!

I flipped at the first drop of landslide, rolled up near the rock of the second drop and then flipped again on a curler on the second drop. Landslide definitely stands out with small channels throughout a long boulder garden.

I've since found a number of videos on youtube showing the rapids and various lines. I'll be reviewing them the next time I go.

[dkeller]

I think Spencer (name correct) was going to go up with someone(s) after the run on Sunday to run from the base of the dam down to the put in for a last run before heading home.

Seemed like a lot of work for a few rapids although it was pretty cool at the base of the dam and one solid Class3+ just downstream of the dam.

Did you run it with him? If not, did he wind up running it?

Curious how that went.

Don.