When people mention the most boater-friendly cities in America, I am surprised that Morgantown isn't more frequently mentioned. When you take the frequent droughts in the southeast and the short window of opportunity in most western states into account, northern West Virginia becomes increasingly more enticing. When it is low, the Lower Yough is good for attrainments, playboating, and slalom paddling. The summertime is great because the Upper Yough runs 2-3 days a week, and when it rains, there are more than enough creeks to get an adrenaline rush.

The great thing about Morgantown in particular is the ease with which one can get a Class V experience. The Big Sandy, half an hour away, has a high window of runnability (5.3' and up) and contains one of the better "big" rapids in the area (Big Splat). Deckers creek is right outside of town and can be done in an hour including transportation with proper planning and good lines. Just the other day, I ran it in between a lab that ended at 4:30 and a 6:00 class. 

However, Deckers creek is not for the faint of heart. On a recent run, Bryan Kirk commented that there are more sieves per rapid than on West Virginia's most notable Class V creek - Mann's. The run begins with a 6' drop, Hercules, that has a stout hole, rock in the landing zone, and an undercut river- right bank. Deduction follows and is one of the nastiest rapids I have seen  - I have yet to tame this beast and probably never will. In the one of the pictures, all of the water to the left of Kirk is funneling into a death sieve, and the entrance is really junky. After Carcass and some boogie begins a half mile long stretch of technical whitewater with rapids like Hairline (which we are attempting to rename Sieve-il War), Eyes, Teeth, and End of the World. The remainder of the run after EOW is great Class IV+ until the take out in Dellslow. All in all, Deckers is one of the most underappreciated and accessible Class V creeks, and I have been fortunate to live in its proximity for the past three years.

Most of the pictures are from a last Tuesday, where Jay Ditty and myself ran the creek five times. We think it is a record, but I anticipate someone will claim to have done it more than five times in a day.

-Ed Gaker