The Russell Fork

by Shawn McClung

I just arrived home from the Russell Fork, my third weekend in a row, and I’m already dreading getting up at 4:30 AM to go to work tomorrow. Besides sleep, the thing that will help me through work is reminiscing about the good times I had during the Russell Fork weekends. Memories of hucking huge airtime at El Horrendo to late night roman candle duels (ok, maybe a war) always make the Fork off the chart FUN.

    Here is the deal for those of you who have not been to the Russell Fork. The river is located in northern Dickenson County, where Dickenson/Buchanan County, Va., and Pike County, KY converge. The put in is situated in Virginia and the take out is located in Kentucky. The gorge is called the Grand Canyon of the South and is one of the deepest East of the Mississippi. The river has three sections: the top section is class 3 intermediate; the middle section is class 4-5 expert; and the lower section is class 2-3 beginner intermediate. Each section, except for the top, can be run down to as little as150 cfs. The wide range of paddling difficulty and water levels allows for paddlers of all abilities to have a good time.

    Beginning in October the J.W. Flannagan dam starts their draw down of the lake level. This translates into releases of 800 cfs for the first three weekends and 1000 cfs for the last. During the last weekend a race and festival are held for the kayakers. I personally have been going to the Fork since 1999 and have watched the race and fest getting better each year. This improvement has occurred due to the involvement of individuals affiliated with http://russellforkrace.blogspot.com/ and http://www.russellfork.info/    Check them out .

    My favorite section, the class 4-5 gorge, has rapids with intimidating names such as Tower, Fist, Maze, Triple Drop, El Horrendo, Foreplay, and finally Climax. The gorge is beautiful in itself and becomes even more so when fall foliage accentuates the grayish rock outcroppings towering above reddish-orange cliff walls. The cool fall temperatures and a lenient staff at Breaks Interstate Park make for some of the camping of the year . Even with the guaranteed releases in October and everything else the Russell Fork has to offer, I believe this is one of the most unutilized rivers in the Southeast. Usually a local would cringe about an article that lets everyone know about their world class river run. However, the Russell Fork locals look forward to meeting and paddling with new people. From the curious onlookers asking if the water is cold, to the couple handing out chili and cornbread at the take out you could not ask for a more genuine or warmer group of people to be around.
Sitting here writing this article I realize the releases and good times I had with my friends are over until next year. On the other hand, the next big rain storm may only be a day away.

Hope to see you there,
Shawn

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