O.C.T. New River Rendezvous over Labor Day

[bambam]

I was SO hoping that by this point there wouldn't be so much to discuss about covid but that wish has not come true, at least not in my eyes. Last year at this time Alicia and I just didn't feel we could risk it. As of today we are a little on the fence. We are watching the breakthrough infections and the delta variant. We may go so far as to bring two cars to avoid shuttle risks. We are both fully vaccinated and she has had a booster but she is immunocompromised due to her arthritis meds.

And so, without further ado, most of the information from last year still holds true today. Here goes .....

I have been "loosely coordinating" this trip every Labor Day since 2002. This year, at the moment anyway, I plan to attend.

Traditionally we have met at Ray's Campground on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend at ten a.m. at the picnic tables behind the office. Please maintain distance and masks are encouraged.

This trip is ordinarily open to almost all levels of paddlers. If you've never been in a boat before then you aren't ready. At ordinary water levels the upper sections of the New are pretty newbie friendly while the gorge offers more difficult rapids. With rain other options open up.

Where? Ray's is in Hico (pronounced HIGHcoh) near the intersection of routes 60 and 19 which is about five miles north of where the New goes under route 19. Head west very briefly on 60 and turn right on Sunday Road. Sunday Road is only paved in the middle so take it easy. Ray's is about a mile on the left. 304-658-4386. Reservations are not required for tent sites. At last count it was $10 per person per night. Electric sites are $10 extra. Dogs must be leashed. Please respect quiet hours.

In past years they have accepted cash, check, and all major credit cards. I'll guess they prefer cash so bring some bills.

GPS user note, I love that technology, trust it blindly if you wish. I recommend at least glancing at a map or two before you head out.

We have tended to have large groups on the river and packed-to-the-gills shuttle vehicles during this weekend. Please don't even think of doing such this year.

I'll post this to Coastals, the Monocacy Canoe Club, and the Carolina Canoe Club, the three with which I'm most active. Feel free to cross-post to other clubs if you wish.

Cheers,

Ken Dubel

[Bill Capp]

I plan to camp at Ray's Fri-Sun nights. I would like to raft the Gorge on Friday and/or Saturday. If there is an open spot in a Coastals raft, I will gladly accept a seat if offered. Otherwise, I will try to catch a ride(s) on a commercial raft and will be happy to have some company from another Coastals member. Please PM or email me regarding the latter if interested.

[Peter L]

Update
Saturday's spot in the shedder has been taken.
Still have room on Sunday.

I be there Friday through Monday, probably will not paddle on Monday. Room for one both Saturday and Sunday in my Shredder. Drop me pm if you want to join me and let me know what gear you need.

[JJ]

Hi Ken, I will be there Friday thru Monday. Planning on paddling Monday. Like you I am somewhat dismayed that we still need to take COVID precautions. Your advice is good. To my fellow Coastals, the coastal advice is to still wear a mask (vaccinated or not) during shuttles.
Please be safe.
Thanks.
JJ

[sally]

I'll be there but not sure about paddling yet. Having shoulder problems (rotator cuff tear) and so it will depend on how it's felling. That being said I would love to raft the Gorge if anyone has a place available for a non-paddler.

[Jenny]

I will be there all three days, but Amy and I will be staying at a nearby hotel rather than camping. I will come to morning meetings and am willing to coordinate trips on upper sections of the New as needed, although I may need a shuttle for me and my canoe so that Amy can have use of the truck. I'd love to raft the gorge if there's space one day, but no issue if there's not. Planning to have lots of fun! Ken, thanks for taking on this challenge every year.

[martha james]

I'll be there all three days and would like to claim a raft seat with "da crew" for one day. Thanks for doing this Ken.

[GinnyN]

I believe that this parade affects the shuttle route on Saturday if one were to attempt to paddle the Surprise section on Saturday.
http://oakleaffestivalwv.org/oak-leaf-festival-parade/

From Ed E.:
the parade screws up the shuttle for the Surprise section as they close the local roads in oak hill @ 10 a.m. or earlier.. you can still do a shuttle
backtracking to Fayetteville but Silo would be better on parade day. that way anyone who wants to do the easy trip but doesn't show until 10 can still join in. i think it's better to get the longest day paddle [silo] over with the first day as everyone is fresh for paddling but it means dinner is late that day.

[paddlin_bill]

I'll be there the entire weekend. I'd be interested in the gorge in a raft if feasible, but am fine with kayaking the sections above the gorge or other local class II runs.

[Bill Capp]

If anybody wants to drive up early, I have booked a spot on a 2 PM launch raft for NRG through ACE. Join me if you can. Cost is about $110 per.

[Barb]

Just a note to all who may be watching this trip...
the Forum has been updated and you will need to update your preferences on the new Forum platform in order to continue to receive emails when someone posts to the Forum. See the email I "Coastal Canoe" sent out today for instructions. Let me know if you have questions.

[suprio]

I would be interested to run the gorge. I have not run it before. Will highly appreciate if any of you who is running whether kayaking or rafting could post what section of the gorge will you be running, and any associated beta (i will also check the AWA for details about that section). Thanks much for checking!

[bambam]

As I compose this on Sunday around noon Hurricane Ida is about to come ashore in Louisiana. Thoughts go out to the folks who live there.

The remnants of that storm will likely bring us some rain but so far the forecasts aren't calling for much. We'll see. Assuming the New stays at an ordinary level then I will likely run the lower gorge, a.k.a. the Gorge, a.k.a. Cunard to Fayette Station on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Here's a link to a YouTube video at a not-high water level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPOZUbCsLcY

Skip ahead to around the middle of the video to see boats.

The upper sections upstream of Cunard are what I call "bigwater II's" with a III here and there. Exact put ins and take outs vary somewhat depending on group preferences. There are folks planning to coordinate trips here too.

Ken Dubel

[Alicia]

FYI below, since AW now only shows cfs & quit providing a stage gauge (in feet) for Fayette Station. Grrr.

Go here to get the feet for New at Thurmond:

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/wv/nwis/uv/? ... 2614,62615

Take that number & plug it in here:

https://keelhauler.org/khcc/newcalc.htm

Back in the last century before the internet - we had to call a number with a recording of a series of beeps, which we counted to get the Thurmond gauge. Then we took that number, multiplied by 1.33, then subtracted 4.66 to get the Fayette Station gauge. The Keelhauler calculator does essentially the same math.

Hopefully helpful.

[mesner]

still there:

https://www.americanwhitewater.org/cont ... /2418/flow