Now that Summer is over, I figure it is a good time to look back on some of the paddling that was to be had in Northern West Virginia. I missed a lot ofopportunities making sure that Summer classes were under my thumb, but the trips I did get on sure were interesting!!

    So far, a trip to the Blackwater went hand-in-hand with snow- drifts, dry-tops, and ice-cold water. Most everyone I talked to said that it was very rare to catch it in the summer. However, the Blackwater ran pretty steadily this summer, and it actually felt kind of wrong to be walking down the mountain to the put-in in shorts. The first week I was back at WVU it ran, and according to Matt Walker, who called us as we were driving, the level was, “Somewhere between 400 and 750cfs.” This translates to between a great level and way way too high. Although the North Fork of the Blackwater was at a great level (which prompted an unnamed member of our group to stomp away, saying, “I don‘t even know what you guys are going right now.” Jay quickly replied, “Well, we are running the Blackwater.”), we decided to risk the Blackwater being too high instead, and it ended up being a great 400-500 cfs run. A few weeks later it ran at a 200-225 cfs minimum.

    My physics professor ended up being a paddler, and, as he was lecturing, would keep me updated on the Big Sandy level. After I took his final, I rushed to the put-in and ended up getting a good 5.8 ft Sandy run with him, which I thought was a pretty fitting way to end the summer semester. The pictures are from a 6.8 ft. day a few weeks ago. I would have a few more, but I had a pretty scary incident at Big Splat and decided to keep things simple for the rest of the run.

    I think the highlight of the summer, though, was attempting to poach Ohiopyle Falls. Sarah came down from Michigan for Falls Festival weekend, but the Falls were too high to hold an event on. However, I saw a pretty fun looking left line that I wanted to charge, but it was only going to be around at higher water. So, I decided/was talked into trying to poach it.  I was also talked into wearing some skin-tight pink IR layer. Anyway, the park manager was on a stroll at the time,  and caught me while I was putting in. I was informed that it was “illegal.” I got out of my boat, portaged the falls, and used a fisherman’s trail to put on. When I rolled around the regular put-in, two park rangers informed me that there are “procedures” on the Yough and that I disgraced God and country by breaking these procedures.  However, I was let go with just a warning.

    Overall, I thought we had a really good summer up here. I am getting excited for the dam releases this fall.