Yo Hanley, Wes and all you stone cold blooded BSF boaters...brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I might be near the Gauley this weekend but not to boat it:-) I'm hoping to hit the Cranberry Wilderness near Richwood,WV (or Whitegrass). They're predicting up to 14" of snow by tomorrow nite in in town which could equal over 2' in the highlands. WooHoo If anyone wants to go let me know I have lots of spare XC skis and there are rentals in Richwood (and WG).
barryg

Barry -

This just peaked my interest...I have the x-country ski gear, been hoping to find someplace to go this winter during the rare boating break. Ideally I'd like to boat one day and ski the other. Feasible? How far is the Gauley from the skiing?

Hmmmmm...sounds fun. I miss cross country....
Keep us posted (no pun intended). I am interested, but not sure I can pull it off.
Kris

Brandon and Kris,
Summersville, near the Gauley, is about 45 min west of Richwood. The heart of the Cranberry Wilderness and the Cranberry Glades, where some of the best backcountry XC in the south can be found, is about another 30 min and 1300' in elevation to the east of Richwood on Hwy 55.

Also In the immediate Richwood area are the Cherry, N. Fork of the Cherry, Cranberry, Laurel, and Upper,Upper Gauley whitewater runs. These are all rain (or snow melt:-) dependent and so may or may not be running.

Brandon, normally I would say boating the Gauley on Sat. and then trying to XC in the Cranberry on Sun. and then driving home is insane. However, since you are clearly a fun-hog maniac and are swimming a near frozen BSF with enthusiasm you could just make it happen:-)

BTW, here's a link with more XC possibilities in WV: [www.fs.fed.us]

Snow is like sex. you never know how much you're going to get or how long it will last:-)
barryg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2008 03:19AM by barry.

fun hog maniac. i want to get that on a t-shirt! the sex quote is already a t-shirt...

anyway, please keep us in the loop. may decide last minute to go for it, may just stay in bed all weekend, or maybe knit tiny sweaters for homeless puppies. you never know with us fun hogs.

Thanks!

B

Well listen up then funhog, I say you're crazy if you don't do it. At the very least you should do it just for bragging rights, just so you can say, "I went kayaking and skiing back to back one weekend in November." Trust me on this, it's a good one to have in your storybook.

Hanley

Hanley, what about the Lower G? Too much to do in a day...Middle and Lower? I mean if im gonna go i may as well go for the gold...or maybe I can swim the Upper G at low water on saturday with ya? im a good swimmer. Im small, I can go right thru undercuts and sieves as long as i dont have some stupid boat holding me back.

Depends on the water level. If it was up in the mid-teens I'd say the Lower was viable, although a long day. I would not advise trying to do the middle and lower in the same day at those water levels and temps. It's do-able, but I can't see it as being enjoyable.

One possibility would be to drive up to Sweet's Falls on the access road and put in there. It would give you an extra mile of rapids, the first of which would be Sweet's Falls if'n you were a feelin' froggy.

Hanley

...you mean feelin hoggy? i think im close to being convinced...yeah Sweets...lets make this trip happen.

Last time I tried to drive up the road to Sweets, over the summer, there were downed trees blocking the way. Of course, you could hike in...but just so you know.
~Sarah