After float bags were inflated and everyone on the river I realized how chilly it was outside. The sun wasn't out, 42 degrees with water temps about the same. PERFECT DAY! The first few rapids were good warmups and even though I haven't been in my boat much at all I was feeling great. Goshen was running close to 1180cfs which is higher than I have run it in the pass but I have to say I really like this level. Most of the rocks were covered that bump you down, a bit of push and quicker laps. The first carnage of the day was when Trevor flipped in the rapid above the kitchen; upside down he lodged his paddle between the two rocks that create the ledge snapping it in to two pieces. As his drysuit was out for delivery this same day he took a cold swim. TShen came to the rescue with a break-down so that Trevor was able to continue instead of walk-off.
The Kitchen was fun. We all started the top on the river left eddy. There were a couple of flips but all rolls were made. In the bottom eddy, Daniel and myself watched John's Canoe STYLE the kitchen with ease... without him. Now, he did NOT swim! He was standing on a rock at the top where the broach happened then stepped out just before the canoe decided not to wait. Reunited with his ride at the bottom Josh and Matt made their way down with ease(go JOSH!!) and we were off to some more fun. Everything else was fun with no more carnage. Corner was definitely boof-a-licious and most got air time. At the takeout we ran into Wallace and Grommit nice and warm in their truck. Trevor traded places with them as he was chilled to the bone and opted out of the second run.
The second run was uneventful with the exception of a couple of flips and hiking back up to do Corner again. Good-byes windshield time home.
Thursday:
Swami landed in Charlottesville around 12am. We met up with Trevor in Charlottesville and hit up Goshen for the second day. Bam Bam showed seconds after we arrived and lap day #2 ensued. Ken mentioned that if he did something that he never did before(3 laps) then he would be at 99 runs for the year and should clean 100 on Saturday's gathering.
Some of the locals were on the river and I was able to follow Cameron through more boof, splat and smear slots than I knew existed in the Pass. I know now! After the second lap we reset some vehicles and continued on the third. No swims, fun times and extra paddles we present. Ken and I opted out of the 4th lap to relax by the fire others had started at the put in. After catching up over a beverage goodbye's were said and I ran down to grab the guys at the takeout. For some reason the first thing out of Teague's mouth at the takeout was "Pies and Pints".
The 2.5 hour drive almost ended with my Subi overheating but adding some coolant temporarily solved the problem that I would get to after the weekend. Some awesome eats and good brew, cheap hotel and too much nervousness to sleep well brought...
Friday Morning:
The Meadow was always on my short list but passed over a few times not having anyone to join. The plan was to put some data that Ken emailed over the night before, drop shuttle at the takeout for the Middle and run the rapid section of the upper through the Middle then head back to VA with all teeth intact. Shuttle set and the three of us pulled together what strange directions we could find and ended up at the end of a "road" with posted No Trespassing signes everywhere. I distinctly remember Ken mentioning a small creek to hike down to the put-in. Drysuits on we drug our boats through the snow.. yes, I said snow, following the small drainage to the river below. It was about a half mile and we crossed a very nice access road I believe was the railroad track at one time(not tracks or ties were present). We found a small launch spot, gear on and set off for a about 1.5 miles of flat water before "THE RAPID" started.
Level was about 1250cfs on the gauge downstream and dropping .10/hour. Of the reports I've read at 800 and 900 and then again at 2k this should be a great level with no scraping. After the gradient started to drop we made our way through a few lower class III rapids that were fun, Trevor was side-surfed in a hole for about 30 seconds, windowshaded to getting spit out then rolled up. He said the water was cold
. Even steeper it got and continuous enough that I realized after about a half hour of not stopping I agreed with "The Rapid" explanation on AW. The pushy continuous small eddy read and run feel of this river reminded me of a 2 mile long Devil's Kitchen. We were hitting cross currents, waves, slots, holes, etc all while dodging strainers and the undercut design of just about every rock on the river in a read-and-run format. Because of the speed of the river and non-stop rest you better be ready to concentrate cuz this baby will definitely bite back!First larger Horizon line was scouted on river left. We saw wood in the middle/main slot, a sneak boof on river left and couldn't quite see the river right route(s) which looked like a small slide and substantial hole. We opted for the sneak boof.
Letting go of the brakes again we were off like a shot. It felt like the river was getting steeper.. or maybe it was my imagination. Either way I found myself using every kayaking skill I've gained over the past couple of years and really feeling synced on this run. After another mile or so we came to another horizon like which is called the "Wier". River left scouting again and I took my position with the iPhone(forgot my GoPro) to catch them coming through. The "main" line is a slot that has a rock on the river left side that can be smeared off(at this level or higher I assume) but the center line has a flake rock which creates a sort of slide but the rock is anything but smooth.
Everyone cleans it but when I ran it; the back of my boat caught the flake from flight and threw hard right. Deepest brace I've ever pulled off... phew!
And on again we go! Another mile or so of the rapid and things flatted out.. actually we felt after the past couple of hours that we were getting pulled back up stream! Just 3 miles of flat... that's just before you get to the flat at the beginning of the Middle Meadow!!
We paddled at least 5 miles of flat at an accelerated pace with a bit of worry on daylight. Finally getting to some more vertical on the Middle Meadow I noticed how every single rock was the size of a school bus or bigger AND was severely undercut! This is a solid class III river at this level and read and run but you better be a solid class III paddler and not stepping up as the definition of consequence is on every single rapid. We had some push, I remember seeing Swami peel out into one of the drops hitting a 20' wide slot on the right side, as soon as he dropped about 3 feet he typewriter-ed left about 10' getting lifted a foot at the same time. Trevor and I looked at each other and laughed then fought for who would go next. I snaked him 
Sun going down, bridge finally in site after 14 miles of river and Swami and Trevor decide to start playing. I was too close to Swami when he tried to punch a decent hole and sweep-stroked sideways to landing in the deepest part of the hole getting surfed then flipped. The roll up left my breath in the snowmelt water and ended my dry hair day. Half mile hike straight up to the car and we were all done... EXHAUSTED!! BTW, don't miss the takeout... the Lower Meadow is INSANITY!
One of the funnest days on the river with two great friends! My take on the rivers is this compared to AW. Upper Meadow: Put in is difficult to find but I will work on a Google map to help. Solid Class III+ with a couple of IV's thrown in. The continuousness of "The Rapid" makes the entire run a solid IV and REQUIRES you to stay concentrated. There is a access road that runs along the river for the most part which would help to walk out. Flat: too much of it; again I will help with Google Maps. Middle Meadow: Trevor and Swami had run this last month at a lower level. Above 1200 was faster and more cushion per them. It's a solid Class III River with Class 5 Consequence. DO NOT run this if you don't have a bomb-proof roll, proper boat control and good crew. This is not a good step-up river because of the sieves and undercuts that litter every vertical. If you're comfy in your boat then it a beautiful piece of river that's a fun 5 mile run.
I hope you enjoyed reading this a fraction as much as we enjoyed paddling! - Chris
