Rapid Recall #3 – Thurmond Bridge Rapid – New River, West Virginia

I'm pretty sure this is NOT the recommended method of shoulder reduction in 2009

Where to begin on Thurmond Bridge Rapid? It marks the beginning of the Lower New River up until late June or early July. For most people, it’s not that big a deal. Unless you are me. In a kayak. With little experience. One memory stands head and shoulder above the rest. That’s right, one shoulder. Mine. I decided to learn to kayak during my first year white water raft guiding for Wildwater on the New River in West Virginia.

I got a killer deal on a boat and spray skirt  and I was off. Never let anyone tell you that all you need is a roll and you can kayak. Kayaking fundamentals go a long way toward ensuring having fun in your hard boat more than anything else. Also, it helps to keep as many variables in your favor as possible.

But, lacking much in the way of fundamentals, I forged ahead Thanksgiving day, 1991. That marked my first (and last) paddling expedition outside the regular rafting season. I had so much gear on, I failed to stretch and I definitely did not want to roll. All you hair boaters out there, stop snickering. Mom dropped my brother, Christopher, and I off, we loaded up and headed out to Thurmond Bridge Rapid to warm up before we headed down the Lower New River. I wound up dropping into the wave there. I can’t remember the exact level, but it was up from the 1500 cfs I paddled the Lower New that summer. Because I did not want to roll, I leaned way downstream into the wave, which wasn’t all that big. I continued to lean downstream and continued to brace, putting tremendous stress on my shoulder joint until it gave way.

I floated downstream upside down in my boat. I was angry. And I did not realize I dislocated my shoulder. I wet-exited from my kayak and swam to shore. I went to put weight on my shoulder as I climbed up on the rocks and felt a fair amount of pain. I told Christopher that my shoulder really hurt. He asked if I dislocated it. I said that I didn’t know.

Waiting two-and-a-half hours in the waiting room for treatment confirmed that I did dislocate my shoulder. Good times. Looking back, if I had been more confident in my abilities and more comfortable paddling in cold weather gear, I doubt I would have injured myself that way. It wouldn’t be the last time I learned that lesson, but I’ve managed to do that kind of thing less frequently as I’ve aged and mellowed.

Except for that incident with the nail gun, anyway.

My motto: If you don’t blow it up to make it float. I’m not paddling it. I’ll stick to rafting and punching big holes, giggling over roller coaster waves and being able to climb back in should I fall out!

Rapid Recall #2 – Silo Rapids Upper New River

Hamlet Piers upstream of Prince, West Virginia

During my first year as a river guide on the New River in West Virginia I spent a ton of time on the Upper New River. Silo Rapids is the finale rapid on the Upper New between Prince and Thurmond. The Class III features some sweet rollercoaster waves that seem to go on forever at some levels.

Like many first year guides before me, I honed my people and water reading skills on that mild, but fun stretch of West Virginia whitewater. I hung out with cool families who sought to take a family vacation, but didn’t want the amusement park crowds.

At Wildwater, we offer duckies (inflatable kayaks) to guests on the Upper New for a custom experience with loads of autonomy for even the greenest paddlers. Because of this, one guide usually plays the role of ducky shepherd.

In late summer, 1991, the Trip Leader, Steve, asked me to be the ducky shepherd. It had been a long, hot summer. Low water and injuries to staff meant more work for fewer people. We all could have used a little R&R, but we showed up each morning, put on our guide faces and went to work. And it was fun.

We floated the length of Thayer pool. Steve was crispy from managing the river staff that year and had entertained kids and parents on his boat all day while I paddled around in my ducky, living the life of Reilly. As we approached Silo, Steve asked (really, pleaded is a better word) to trade with me so he could paddle Silo.

Being a 21-year-old punk, I said no. I paddled Silo and enjoyed it. Steve floated by afterward, his misery plain. 1991 marked my first season at Wildwater and Steve’s last. Given the chance to make that choice again, I would hand over my ducky to Steve in a heartbeat. That day sticks with me and I think about it from time to time. Sometimes at opportune times when I can apply the lesson, but mostly out of the blue, for no particular reason.

Rapid Recall #1 – Ledges on the Upper New River

A Happy Rafter Takes on the Upper New in Her Ducky.

This is a series that will be featured on the Wildwater Rafting Blog until I run out of rapids. I’ve got memories associated with West Virginia whitewater rafting from just about every rapid on the New River and Gauley River that I think will help provide a little flavor for those who haven’t been whitewater rafting in West Virginia before or for those who want a little help remembering their experiences. I’ll start upstream on the New River and work downstream.

My first real memory of Ledges is from 1989.  My mom and I were down visiting my brother, Christopher, who was in his first year at Wildwater Expeditions. We managed to get on an Upper New River trip thanks to Jon Dragan’s generosity.

We relaxed in our duckies for much of the trip until we came to Ledges, the first siginificant whitewater of the day.  I felt pretty good and charged headlong into the downstream V. Unfortunately, I had no clue about boat angle and waves and I hit a curler broadside and slowly turned over into the river. I eventually cleaned up my gear, climbed back and paddled to shore, where Bill Handy (now owner of Appalachian BackCountry Expeditions) and Tony Tingler set up lunch.

During lunch, I wanted another shot at running Ledges.  Bill was kind enough to humor me and I ran it again. This time I made it through upright. I felt pretty good. It’s amazing how a minor achievement like that made me feel.

I think back on that often when other folks join Wildwater to whitewater raft the New River for the first time and it helps me to empathize and enjoy their experience with them.

Drop a line and let me know what West Virginia white water rafting stories that made your day.

Getting Down and Soaking it Up

Misty New River Gorge Morning

That’s right. I was dancing in the sun – hopefully nobody saw me (for their sake). I’ve been slack and I’m not ashamed.  There’s been so much going on in New River country from river doings to marketing to Meet & Greet Weekend 2009.  It’s been a whirlwind. I have to say the highlight for me was Meet & Greet.  A whole bunch of folks piled in the 1977 Bluebird deluxe motor coach and headed to the river for two days of New River whitewater rafting!

The  first day we rafted from the old Wildwater basecamp in Thurmond to Fayette Station.  The level was a beefy 5 feet on the Fayette Station Gauge (about 11,000 cfs on the Thurmond Gauge).  The ministry of disinformation was in full effect that AM when we were told it was more like 6 feet.  It made for a grab bag of rafting surprises! All told, the waves were big, the whitewater plentiful and the grins huge.

Saturday night we grilled out and threw down some tunes. Bobby Ahlers and Bodie worked the deck like the whitewater minstrels they are.  Bobby’s buddy Chris stopped in for some pickin’ and grinnin’ as well. We played on the deck until about midnight. Last I heard, Bobby and Chris were headed to Bodies to keep on keepin’ on. Becker won the award for farthest travel as he and Shannon flew in from Colorado to join us!

Day two we saw the level climb to NINE FEET on the Fayette Station Gauge. It was like running two separate rivers in two days.  You gotta love the New! We put in at Cunard to make for a quick trip so those visiting for the weekend could get back home in reasonable time on Sunday.

We met some new folks who are looking to train this year at Wildwater and we saw lots of faces from our professional river staff.  We look forward to working with the new staff as they learn what it takes to be a Wildwater Guide.  A lot of people think guiding is just getting a boat down the river. When Bodie works with new staff, he makes sure they know that there’s way much more to it than that. The skills our staff learn while training at Wildwater will serve our staff well as they take on other challenges outside of guiding. I don’t mind tooting our horn a bit when I say that Wildwater Guides are a cut above the rest. Our guests notice too!

Spring…Chicken! West Virginia White Water Is Nigh

Big Fat Hits on the Spring New River, WV

Today is the first day of spring. It looks like spring outside, but it sure doesn’t feel like spring. It doesn’t matter, though, because we are getting prepared for our first Lower New River trip next week. I remember my first Spring New River rafting trip.  Not so much the details, but the feel, the cool April air, and my total lack of understanding of white water rafting.  In reality it was a blur.  I remember lots of water, lots of laughing and lots of anxiety about figuring out how the water works and whether I would make the cut. Only through repeated rafting of the New River Gorge did I get a feel for the nuance of the river, the hidden features (in water and on the rocky shores).

Now the New River in Spring is an old friend.  There is a surprising level of comfort rafting the Lower New.  Nothing makes me giggle so much as climbing the face of a wave in the Middle Keeneys or Fayette Station to plow through the foamy top.  Sitting in the back of the boat provides an extra little sumpin’ for the ride.  I’m smiling as I type this.

If you’ve got any Spring rafting stories, feel free to tell it here. If you want experience one of the best West Virginia white water rafting adventures, you have got to check out the Lower New River in Spring. The lagniappe in all this is that you get way more bang for your buck in April and May. Do it. You know you want to.

Do I Really Live Here?

This past weekend I went for a couple of trail runs in the New River Gorge.  Every time I find myself on the New River trails, I’m blown away that this amazing place is right in my backyard in Fayetteville, WV.  I can leave my house, head two blocks to the Fayetteville Town Park and hit the Fayetteville  trail head, which connects with the network of biking and hiking trails in the gorge.

The Fayetteville Trail as it heads out of the Wolf Creek drainage.

On those moments when I’m sucking wind and take the time to look around instead of watching for roots and rocks on the trail, I take in the smells, the sounds, and, of course, the sights.  Sunday was particularly enjoyable.  a skim of snow had fallen that morning.  The snow was wet and sticky and clung to the hardwoods, the pines and the rhododendrons.  The trails were wet, but not snow-covered.  The moist ground dampened ambient sounds and provided a silent cushion on which to run. I felt like I was seeing these trails for the first time and did my best to be in the moment, even when my lungs were on fire, my hands tingling. It’s pretty cool that each run can be an whole new adventure.

My old boss and business partner, Chris Dragan, used to preach to the guides at Wildwater that we should treat every trip down the New River or the Gauley River as if it was the first time. The goal was to keep the excitement at a peak so that our guests would feed off that energy and enjoy the river as much us we our first time white water rafting.

I know of all the things I do here at Wildwater, raft guiding is still my favorite. By far. Nothing beats getting in the raft, interacting with excited rafters, paddling world class whitewater, seeing the smiles and hearing the squeals of delight. And that’s just from me. I still can’t believe I live here in New River country.

There is no greater sense of satisfaction than watching someone in my raft totally immersed in the moment, smiling and content. If you have any stories about your first time rafting — the time you thought, “yeah, this is for me” — send them my way.  I’d love to hear them.

The Giving Tree gets Me Every Time

The Giving Tree Book Cover

My 3-year-old daughter asked me to read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein to her yesterday. We read it three times. Each time we read it, I got choked up. I’m sure my being tired had something to do with it, but mostly I think what got me was the idea of this tree giving and giving and living to see the boy and make him happy.

If nothing else, this book invites the reader to examine the self, which is always risky business.  The upshot is that we can all find instances where we are like the tree and give selflessly. I like to think that what I do at Wildwater is a form of giving.  Sure, it is a for-profit business, but I’ve never been in any other job where the endgame is to enjoy. I get to share my love of the New River and the Gauley River and the West Virginia mountains with the people in my boat. That’s pretty sweet.

What are some ways that you are like the tree, giving for the sake of giving?

Stand up and be heard, or Pour Your Heart on the Dotted Line.

See that big ridge under the bridge? That's Gauley Mountain

Only in West Virginia would we put a mountain scene on our state quarter and then proceed to mine the mountain in that scene. Montani Semper Liberi! Mountaineers are Always Free! But the coal isn’t.

Last Thursday about a 100 or so people congregated at Ansted Middle School in Fayette County, WV for a Q&A with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) regarding the renewal of Gauley Mountain surface mining permit S3003-01 by Powellton Coal.  I imagine many folks left even more frustrated than when got there when they saw the reactions of the WVDEP representatives who attended.

I don’t think the individuals there are in the pockets of Big Coal, but I do believe a culture of complicity has been cultivated (nice alliteration, huh?) since West Virginia achieved statehood in 1863.

In a nutshell, hopeful citizens tried to get their heads around the lack of stewardship the WVDEP exhibits in light of this project being wedged between two National Park Service units:  The New River Gorge National River and the Gauley River National Recreation Area. So we went up to the microphone, asked what we thought were relevant questions or comments and sat back down.  Then the meeting ended.  Good times.

There’s been plenty of media attention given to the issue.  I scratched the surface in a previous blog post regarding ways we can decrease the demands for energy. In a nation of free enterprise, dollars always win over emotion in these cases. The WVDEP cannot imagine not issuing this permit because for as long as they’ve existed they’ve given the coal companies carte blanche to take West Virginia’s coal and leave desolation and/or destruction in their wake. Take a look at WVDEP’s calendar of events.  Blasting Training and Permitting Workshops abound.  WV Department of Mining Support would be a more apt moniker.

I leave you with this for a bit of insight as to the influence King Coal has exerted on West Virginia since its creation in 1863. Take the time to read and then you can begin to understand why West Virginia state government has always been, by and large, a tool for the coal companies.

Do These Pants Make Me Look Frustrated?

Ask Me About My Low Frustration Tolerance

This just in…I use steroids in 1998 so that I could finish my master’s thesis in Anthropology in time to graduate in May 1999.  Times were tough, there was no regulation, everyone was doing it.  The professors were doing it, so I didn’t really gain any competitive advantage.  I was just trying to keep up.

Okay, that didn’t really happen, but I don’t think it’s too far fetched to think that plenty of people in our everyday lives would look for an edge to be get ahead.  I guess I’m most frustrated of dealing with the fallout from everyone else trying to get an edge.  Have you read or heard the news these days? If not, you must be working on your cave art. Great googly moogly.

Here are a few tidbits you may have missed if you were putting the finishing touches on your bison.

So Alex Rodriguez, of the New York Yankees, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in 2004 when he was with the Texas Rangers. ARod has admitted to using steroids for 3 years. If he thought he had it rough with fans since he left Seattle to sign baseball’s richest contract in 2001, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

As a Yankees fan (take it easy!), I follow Yankee news through three blogs: Bronx Banter, River Avenue Blues, and ShysterBall. The opinions floating around the blogosphere run the gamut from disdain to disappointment to anger to self righteousness to apathy. On MLB Homeplate on XM Radio there is a constant stream of calls from listeners who have a host of different feelings and, therefore, opinions on the matter. At the end of the day, this news sucks the pleasure out of root, root, rooting for the home team. Do you think curling players are doping?  Maybe I’ll root for them. Never mind.

Alex Rodriguez in action with the New York Yankees.

Flip on CNN or check out the NY Times and you’re likely to hear something about the bailout plan.  And it won’t be good. I’m not going to pretend to understand all that goes into the plan, but I do know that $2.5 Trillion is a boatload of dough and that I’m not likely to enjoy any of it. It’s tough not to be cynical at this point.  It’s tough to be surprised.

So what recourse is there?  Not too much in the way of direct, monetary relief for me and you.  Perhaps the best course is the age-old favorite – Escapism.  I usually go for reading a book, catching a movie, or getting outside.  Playing with my 3-year-old daughter is a good one, too.

Donny is Out of his Element, while...

John Muir is in His Element

I’ll bet John Muir could’ve kicked ARod’s butt. I’m just sayin’ is all.

Going the John Muir route is always effective because you truly separate from everyday troubles, breath in fresh air and smell good earthy smells. The New River is a nice place to escape as well.  I can think of nothing more Zen than paddling through a rapid like the Keeneys or Fayette Station.  My total concentration is on the water, the position of the boat and speed of the boat. I get to be truly in the moment.  I can’t look ahead beyond the end of the rapid because a slip in concentration can have interesting consequences that I’ll spend the rest of the run trying to correct or implementing plan B.

For the purposes of soul rejuvenation and escapism, I think whitewater rafting or boating on the New River does it for me.  There’s a pace about it that is a perfect combination of in-the-moment, visceral experiences and reflective, meditative interludes. Just perfect.

New River Panorama

Ch-Ch-Changes…

Sandstone Falls, New River West Virginia

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.
Heraclitus

…or something like that.  There is some scholarly debate regarding the translations of Heraclitus’s wise words, but that is not germane here.  Wherever the above translation comes from, it makes a valid point.  Sure it’s a bit philosophical, but that never hurt anyone. Well, maybe it did.

In a previous blog I threw out the idea of using the ever-present New River as a means of gaining perspective and maintaining some semblance of balance in my life.  Imagine that the same, ubiquitous river that serves as my anchor in a hectic world can also be a useful metaphor for the continual flux of our lives.

Change comes in many forms: sometimes grandiose and abrupt while other times are incremental and subtle.  We deal with change on a daily basis.  Sometimes we don’t realize change has occurred until after the fact and sometimes we fret about change that we know is coming, but about which we can do nothing. We can embrace the change, leave the situation in which the change is occurring (work), or resist the change.  Unfortunately, we often choose the last option – Resistance.

Say it ain't so, Locutus of Borg!

Resistance is not futile, but it sure isn’t a whole lot of party hats and chicken dancing either.  So why are we more  inclined to dig our heels in and make trouble?

We are creatures of habit.  We like routines and we bow up when that change is threatened, regardless of whether or not the change is for the better.  How many times can you look back at a change that you resisted and wonder what the fuss was about.  Usually, once changes are made, we don’t look back.

Resistance to change occurs every day in all facets of life.  This resistance is pervasive enough that hours upon hours of time are spent in the professional world to understand and combat it.  I did a Google search on humans resist change and 9 of the top 10 results related to implementing change or combating resistance to change in the workplace.

This article in Scientific American touches on one reason change may be more difficult as we get older.

Yet even as people older than 30 yearn for what is new, many find themselves unable or unwilling to make fundamental changes in their lives. Researchers say this paradox can be largely explained by the demands of adult responsibilities and that unrealistic expectations may also play a part in thwarting our best intentions. Change is rarely as easy as we think it will be.

The Man with Two Brains

This article delves into the connection between our “two” brains, the regular one in our skull and the other one that resides in our gut and how fear may play a huge part in our resistance to change.

But what if fear was the key factor in resistance to change? And what if this fear was so deep inside of us it was almost invisible? Imagine a fear that runs under your radar, off your screen of awareness and is never, ever thought about consciously.

If this fear was the key factor in one’s resistance to change, then it would be the hidden driver behind so many behaviours that arise during change that we cannot easily logically explain. For the sake of simplicity and example, let’s say that it is a deep fear connected to our very survival – “If I change, I will die.”

Fear is most assuredly a huge component in our resistance to change.  We can be afraid of everything from being left behind, failing or being exposed (on so many different levels).  Egads!  What can we do?

Probably the easiest and most effective way of coping with change is through meditation.

When you meditate, you clear away the information overload that builds up every day. When your mind is clear of distracting thoughts, you gain new perspectives and new ways of handling stress and other problems. You become more self-aware. You focus on the here and now — not on your ever-growing to-do list.

That sounds pretty good to me.  I think I may just take a trip down to the river and clear my noggin.