Cheat River Festival!

OVERVIEW

Whitewater, music, gear, and great folks – could it get any better? Let’s go to the 16th Annual Cheat River Festival! Cheat Fest has been described as “the biggest little river festival in the country”. For more details out the following sites:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/30719/display/full/ http://cheat.org/festival

Activities:

The emphasis of this trip will be to enjoy whitewater.There is plenty of class III-V whitewater in the area including: Cheat, Yough, Big Sandy, etc. Priority will be given to those who are interested in paddling or rafting, but there are plenty of other alternative activities available such as the 5K Cheat Race on Saturday morning, hiking, and music-listening.

IMPORTANT: I am leading this trip exclusively to organizing logistics for Cheat Fest. I have never paddled the Cheat and I am not going to guide people down it. If you join this trip, you are accepting personal responsibility for your safety and what you choose to do. We will most likely be meeting up with other paddling groups (Coastals Canoists, Blue Ridge River Runners, etc.) to try to accommodate multiple skill levels. Those who wish to raft will be responsible for making their own rafting arrangements (although I will help as much as possible).

Agenda/Rides:

I am planning on leaving on Friday afternoon with the after-work crowd. It is likely that one car will go up Friday morning too to get an extra day of paddling in. I aim to paddle on Saturday and Sunday and return to Charlottesville no later than 9 pm on Sunday evening. Once the trip roster is set we will figure out final ride arrangements.

Camping:

Another club member has worked out an awesome deal for camping. We’ll be staying in Jim Snyder’s back yard, which is located right at the center of all of the paddling and festival action. As far as I know, there is no charge to camp in his yard, but I ask that you bring a couple of extra dollars to contribute to a gift to thank him for his generosity.

Food:
I’ll get some delicious food from the grocery store. The club reimburses up to $6-12/day/person and we will be responsible for paying for the remainder of the food expenses.

You provide:
– Kayaking gear if you have it
– Tent/sleeping bag/stove/camping stuff if you have it
– Snacks, and clothes (for on and off the river). You should avoid cotton while packing your river clothes and remember to pack some warm stuff too!
– CASH – Admission to the festival is $15. Please bring extra cash (ATMs will be in short supply) for extra spending money (for buying gear, going out to eat, and camping donations). I put $30 as the fee below — you should bring more cash if you plan to raft or buy gear.

Club provides: kayaking gear if you need it, camping gear if you need it, camping fees, food $$, gas $$ up to $150/car.

GET PUMPED!!!