I was trying to figure out where to go for boating Sunday and Monday.

Do you think the New River Dries will hold for that long. I guess I should have a solid Gauley back up plan.

Thanks,

elizabeth

Right now I'd say it's less a question of whether the dries will hold and more a question of when they'll come down to a sane level. There's 25000 CFS in that puppy right now and I personally would be scared sh*tless to get on that. I know other people who might do it, but not me. I'm way too far out of the game for that. I'd do the Upper Gauley at 8000 CFS, maybe even 10000, before I'd hop on the dries at 25K. Now, I have to admit, familiarity has a lot to do with that. I've done the dries maybe 6 or 7 times in my life and only once recently (at fairly low water). I've done the upper Gauley hundreds of times at many varying water levels. Still, the New River Dries at 25000 CFS makes my stomach get really small and try to hide behind my liver.

Okay, in reality, if they don't get any more rain it will probably drop. Asking about the dries dropping essentially equals asking if the New River will drop. Whatever CFS is in the New, subtract 10000 and that's what's in the dries. Then take into account the fact that the dries are steeper than the New River Gorge. The NRG is listed on the AW site as having a 20 ft per mile average with a maximum of 27 feet per mile. the Dries is listed as 18 ft per mile average with no maximum listed. I personally guarantee that the Dries is steeper in it's steepest areas and more constricted in critical spots and that the average is strongly influenced by the flats that you paddle out on. That kind of gradient seems insignificant, but once you start pouring an enormous amount of water through it that changes. The difference between 27 feet per mile and 40 feet per mile (just a figure I pulled out of my head as an example, not an actual gradient guess) is a world of difference at 25000 CFS.

Bottom line, all kidding aside, go with someone who knows the dries and the water levels. I can probably hook you up with someone if you like. The Dries is an incredible stretch of water, and it tends to fluctuate much more wildly than the New itself because the New has to be running 10000 CFS before any water goes into the dries. At that level, the fluctuations are much bigger and the water levels are difficult to predict. Still, if I had to lay my money down, I'd say there will be at least enough water in the Dries to run it this weekend.

Hanley

Hanley Cliff Notes: Yes, he thinks they will hold this weekend.

Yay!!

I would love to do this trip Sunday/Monday. Come one , come all.

Hanley, could you bring yer little black paddling book (WV edition) with some by god slackers contact info to the roll session tonight? I will try and get a guide.

My liver used to hide behind my stomach (opposite of yours), but it wasn't from whitewater more like white liquor!

cya,
e

Thanks to our fearless leader and boating club prez, Jbob and I decided to head out early (630am) on Saturday morning to meet up with some ACE pros to surf WV.

The Dries was awesome.

Some things to share...

We headed out of town when the AW gauge was reading "H2". I think we would of been better getting there a day earlier for the best surf. The surf was awesome whilst we were there. But if you want the You Tube worthy big haystack wave that is right by the bridge, get there before the gauges say to.

There were still TWO Wavesport vans that were probably filled with wavesport pros that were there all day. Even accounting for my Kansas standards; it was still pretty awesome. It is also pretty safe to bet you can get your shuttle run by hitchhiking or begging fairly easy. This can be a one car destination.

The Dries run was fun too. Really big waves and deep pockets of surfy goodness that were mostly catch on the fly. Too many to count them all. No real hazards other than some pour-overs that you would want to be aware of. I think there is a real deathy place on the last rapid too, but the New River Dries is so wide, there is plenty of room to move around. It is nice and deep too. Not so sure about the water quality, but it didn't smell and I didn't see any poop. It wasn't frigid either.

The water was really neat. If you haven't gotten to get on seriously big CFS it is really strange and a little unnerving. Eddies make waves and holes make eddies. Eddy lines are feet wide with confused swirly currents. Waves are so big you cannot see downstream except when cresting one of these monsters. Getting stuck in a pourover would really suck.

On Monday we were able to meet up with an bakery electrician we picked up on the side of the river the day before.(I love that about this sport, makes conversations with my grandmother more interesting!). We were able to set shuttle and run the Lower Gauley @ 1800. It was a nice level, different than release with smaller but stickier surf holes that are great for practicing retentive moves. I got a few blunts and ends. Diagonal ledges was great and empty. It was a nice level and the paddle out was not much harder than usual. It also seemed like the big rapids had lost some of their push, making this a nice level for a Gauley newbie. PSH was super easy as purgatory hole was about half its length making that fairy not so hairy.

I also learned some things for the next trip. Ken (our trip leader) said to watch the weather in Ashville, NC for a good indication of weather the Dries would run as that is the headwaters for the New. It would give you a 4-5 day lead out time to make WV plans. It also seems safe to assume that if the Gauley is releasing one day it will most likely release the next.

[picasaweb.google.com]#

let's do it again!

elizabeth

Killer E-Bob! Sounds like a great trip!

Nice trip report E and I must say that Jbob looks absolutely fabulous in his completely color coordinated boating gear. I especially loved how his grey socks accented his paddle shaft:-) Jbobber you have got to be the BWA's most stylishly outfitted boater!
barryg

That's hot

As level on the Dries goes, remember that it fluctuates much more dynamically than most rivers. Think about it this way.

Your average river has a kind of base level that is tied to the health of the water table. When the river gets a lot of rain and is far away from this base level it is usually rising or dropping quickly. As it drops and gets closer to that base level, the curve flattens out and it drops slower.

Since the Dries only runs when the New is already running 10K CFS, it is always in the steep part of the curve. It is usually either rising quickly or dropping quickly. The New may stabilize at relatively high water levels, in a relative way, when there is a lot of rain over several days, but it's still going to be jumping around a lot in those high levels. Example: New river is running 2 feet (4, 600 CFS) and a big rain event shoots it up to 10 feet (35,000 CFS), then additional rain keeps it between 6 and 8 feet for the next three days (about 13,000 to 20,000 CFS). From the New River's perspective, the water has been running consistently high, well over five feet.

From the Dries perspective, the river shot from bone dry to 25,000, then dropped to 3,000 rapidly, then jumped around between 3,000 and 17,000 for a few days before dropping to 0 CFS again.

Thus, whenever doing the Dries there is some difficulty predicting what you will actually be running on in terms of level. Basically, you just gotta go and catch it while you can.

Surf is fantastic down there. Do watch out for the monster hole at the bottom of mile long rapid.

Glad you guys had a good time. Hopefully I can go with you next time.

Hanley

That is awesome you two. You guys are another inspirational boating couple that I am lovin getting to paddle with. Thanks for the report and pix. Awesome E. Nice matching stuff J-bob. I love WV too. Skobotin.

Brent