Upper James Paddleboarding/JROC Gear Swap

OVERVIEW

It’s time for an Upper James paddleboard trip (No fire, probably no sharks unless we come across a particularly adventurous bull shark, we could definitely see eagles though)! This trip will be a beginner-level trip. We won’t be paddling anything particularly tough, although there are ways to play around and make things more difficult and fun if you are more experienced.

You do not necessarily need whitewater SUP experience to go on this trip. The only prerequisite for this trip is the ability to swim, preferably with some experience swimming in rivers/moving water.

As a beginner trip, I will go over all the basics of whitewater SUP, paddling, navigating rapids, staying on the board, falling off, etc, as well as general river safety information. We will be paddling the Upper James River, which is about 4.5 miles of nice class I-II, easy to learn on and fun to explore.

The James River Outdoor Coalition gear swap will also be going on at Forest Hill Park. I would like to stop by and check it out, as it’s generally a pretty good place to find cheap used outdoor stuff. Not planning to spend longer than about 30 minutes there, so we still have plenty of time to paddle.

NOTICE
Whitewater sports are inherently dangerous. We lead trips at a level where we feel confident about our ability to keep people on our trip safe. Your safety also depends on YOU, your honest communication of your abilities and state of being, as well as respect towards any safety advice.

What I will bring-
– Paddleboards, paddles, and pumps
– PFDs and helmets
– Drybag

What you should bring-
– Clothes that can get wet and that you can swim in.
– Shoes that will stay on in moving water/will have good traction on a board
– Sunscreen if you want
– Water and food if you want
– Change of clothes and a towel for after
– Maybe a plastic bag or your own version of a dry bag for the stuff you want on the river (food, sunscreen, etc.)

Timeline-
10:15 AM – Meet at Shrack, make sure you have everything, gather gear
12:00 PM – Arrive at Forest Hill Park for gear swap
12:30 PM – Go down to Reedy Creek to set shuttle
1:00 PM – Arrive at Pony, get ready, put on
4:30 PM – Get to Reedy, retrieve cars from Pony
5:00 PM – Leave for Charlottesville
6:00 PM – Get back
*Times are best guesses (except for meet time, don’t be late!). I will try to hold us to this schedule but we can change things up a bit if need be, paddling faster/slower, spending a bit less/more time at gear swap, etc, just let me know. It is likely we will get back earlier or much earlier than planned.

Drivers are needed, ideally with cars big enough to carry people and boards (5 seats, trunk space, and/or roof racks). Gas will be reimbursed + tip.

Text me (8049441929) with any questions.

-John