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Oak Hill, WV 1/9/03 - Twice in 2002, Fran, Mike and I stared danger right in the face. We challenged and overcame some of Eastern Unites States' best and most dangerous whitewater rapids. Over the July 4th weekend and again during the first week in October, we traveled up to hills of West Virginia where the New River and Gaulley rivers provide so of the most kidney crunching, heart pounding excitement anywhere in the US. Serving as our guides were the fine folks from Appalachian Wildwaters. We chose Appalachian because they are the Largest outfitters which serve the New and Gaulley Rivers. In addition, they have the best reputation and can proudly say "nobody has ever died, been permanently maimed, disfigured or left behind, as a direct result of their efforts." Instead of staying is a clean, warm hotel room, replete with HBO and Pay-Per-View, we opted for different experience - an overnight campout. What a great idea. The tents were already setup on wooden platforms, large enough for four adults and even came with foam mattresses. Now that's camping! The difference between the New River and the Gaulley River is the Gaulley kicks some serious ass! In two days we covered 26 miles and 99 rapids... most class IV and V. In addition, the October trip featured a guest chef, Chef Scott McGlinchey from the Heaven City Restaurant in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. This dude knows how to cook. The two day on the New River is fun but day one completely sucks. We paddled our asses off for 10 miles in "ducks", small inflatable, single man boats. Day one was spent paddling. I hate paddling. I wanted action, instead I had to work!
Below are some of the pictures I took while on the trip. In addition, I have also placed two video clips of the trip. Whitewater 2002 is an 11 1/2 minute recap of our entire trip while High Water and the Gauley is only a 4 minute excerpt. To view thee videos, you need a fast computer and a fast internet connection (cable modem or DSL). If you don't have that, don't waste your time.
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