Beginner-Advanced White Water Kayaking – the New River, Wv!

OVERVIEW

Its time to re-establish a tradition of mine – run the New over Labor Day weekend and bring a bunch of you all with me! The New River near Fayetteville, WV is an outdoor adventure mecca with kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking/backpacking for all levels. Paddling the New is great most anytime but I especially like to take folks out there over Labor Day weekend since for those 3 days a collection of east coast paddling clubs converge and bring paddlers of all experience levels and expert guides for the various sections. One particular paddling club of which I am a member, “Coastal Canoeists” ( www.coastals.org ) usually only allow club members on their trips except for this annual trip of theirs which they call the “New River Rendezvous”. So depending on your experience level and where I decide to paddle, you may end up paddling with me or get shepherded by one of Coastals competent guides. Whichever the case, the New offers many places to learn and practice paddling skills and is a great intro to big water paddling. You will have a blast on one of the following sections:

1. McCreery to Thurmond (class 2-3):
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2417/
2. Thurmond to Cunard (Class 1-3):
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/4119/
3. Cunard to Fayette Station (gorge section; class 3-4):
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2418/

My requirements:
This for paddlers of all experience levels except river first timers! Sorry but I have to vouch for you if you are to be guided by someone else and I need for you to have some experience. To paddle the sections above the gorge you must have taken the intro class with me (or have similar experience) and have paddled at least class 1 rapids in a white water kayak. If you took (or will take) the intro class with me and did really well I might be able to make an exception. To paddle the gorge you must have a solid roll and have plenty of kayaking experience in class 3+ rapids. Due to these requirements you will get put on the wait-list when you sign up and moved onto the trip list if appropriate. I plan to hold 1 intro class, 1 roll class, and 1 river trip before Labor Day weekend to help you get the experience you need to come on this trip. If you are not interested in paddling but want to explore this area you are more than welcome to come along and camp out with us.

The Itinerary:
We’ll meet at Echols at 4:00pm on 9/4, collect camping gear then grab some food on our way out of town if people want, and head to Hico, WV (near Fayatteville; ~3 hour drive). The current plan is to stay at Ray’s Campground ( http://www.rayscampground.com/ ) for the weekend. We’ll rise early on Saturday to have one of the best breakfast experiences you’ll ever have (Cathedral Cafe baby!!) and meet up with Coastals, then hit the water. We’ll meet back up at the campsite after the run, grab some dinner (Mmmm, Pies and Pints!), do the camping thing, and do it all over again on Sunday. After Sunday’s run we’ll head back to C’ville (or you can stay another day and paddle with the Coastals group again on Monday). Good times!

I’ll grab some snack stuff for the trip which will probably include granola/cereal bars, fruit, bagels, sandwhich meat for lunches on the river, water, juice,…other stuff I can’t think of right now.

The Club provides: Boats/gear (the essentials plus booties, dry bags, and some float bags), some breakfast food, lunches, snacks, boat/gear transport, ga$ ($150 max/vehicle), camp fees, tents, sleeping bags and pads.

You should bring: Your boat/gear, money for restaurant cuisine/food for the road/snacks, water, camping gear, swimwear, river footwear, warm clothes (it may get chilly at night), rainwear, your sweet paddling skills!

**Please note that adventure details/plans may change depending on water level