Meadow, West Virginia, US
|
|
3. Route 19 Bridge to confluence with the Gauley River (Lower Meadow)
| Usual Difficulty |
IV-V+ (for normal flows) |
| Length |
5 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
92 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
150 fpm |
Oh Snap!
Oh Snap!Photo of Big Pimpin' aka Justin Burd by Bryan Tudor taken 09/15/04 @ @1600cfs
Gauge Information
River Description
Gradient, mile by mile: 60, 150, 110, 70, and 50 (in the last 0.8 mile).
That might not sound too impressive, but the creek is populated by terrible undercuts. Three
fatalities, all excellent boaters, are listed in the
Accident Database. The Lower
Meadow has a scary reputation for a reason!
Listed below are some of the major rapids. There is much "boogie" water that ranges in the IV to
IV+ range. Do NOT try this run without a guide that has made many, many trips down this river.
There is not much room for error.
Directions to th put in: Coming from Fayetteville, go north on rt19 untill you drive over the
Meadow River. Right after the bridge there will be a place in the median to bust a u-turn. After
making that u-turn park next to gaurd rail on the well worn strip. From Summersville just take rt
19 south and stop and park before going over the Meadow River.
Directions to the takeout: The good thing about paddling the Lower Meadow is that you get the Upper
Gauley thrown in at no extra charge. You will end up in the big pool above Lost Paddle. For more
information on rapids, great directions and important info, click over the Upper G page
here.
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2005-12-24 01:14:35
Editors
Rites of Passage - from the bridge
Hells Gates
Running the crack
Coming Home
Sieve City
Undercut Rocks
Sliding Board
Double Undercut
User Comments
the big reputation of this river keeps many otherwise able paddlers away; this is a great river for
a solid Class 5-minus paddler, IF (big if) you make two portages: Paddle Rites of Passage, and take
out on river right above Gates of Hell, then portage via the beautiful and easy old railroad grade
past the big baddies to Sieve City, and sneak that on the right. You'll know when to put in,
because the trail ends at a big embankment. Watch out for the next ledge hole below Sieve City,
though. 2nd portage: When you come to Double Undercut, you'll know it. There's a fairly flat pool
above it, with an overhanging tree on the left. No one could accidentally wash into this one! It
starts off with a ledge that only a total gonzo fool would run for the first time without scouting
or guidance. Anyway, the Lower Meadow is an unusually beautiful, yet still achievable river that
deserves to be appreciated (but not underestimated) by many more people. Catch it at a low level
and bring your scouting and walking shoes! Edit
in most places. Hells gates is alittle dry. So is Sieve City. Brink becomes the hardest rapid, At
least thats what I felt. Has one must make move then it's cake. Comming Home is a mandatory
portage.
landslide on the left. There used to be a rock that made a good boof in the left center at the
bottom of the drop. It now seems to have been turned up, making more of a clamshell. All nine of us
made it over, with one scary close call. We didn't have the ability to wave off those behind us. I
can only imagine this rock would be much more dangerous at lower levels. We chose the right channel
on subsequent runs.
<br>
Forum: BoaterTalk<br>
Re: Lower Meadow Warning hydraulic New<br>
Re: Hey Bryan about the gauge ShawnMc New<br>
Date: Dec 14 2003, 4:25 GMT<br>
From: jbseay<br>
<br>
Hey Shawn, JB here. I talked to Todd Richendollar some about the gauge, and he said he hadn't been
out there and checked it, but we all agreed today that the Guage is reading low.<br>
Bryan and I agreed to post this info once or twice more to get the word out to non
fayettevillains<br>
<br>
-The bulk of the rearanging seems to be cobble sized stuff, which has deepened up some drops and
shallowed others.<br>
Some large rocks have moved though.<br>
<br>
-The change in Coming Home is big. the eddy level in there today looked the same as it use to at
like 400 cfs. Except we figure it was 1400 or 1500 cfs. we were pretty far into the drop before we
saw the log, so I think it is important to let people know about both the log and the new seive in
the eddy, so that no-one accidentally commits and get screwed.<br>
<br>
-The main entrance to Seive City (drop immediately below coming home) has opened up, plus the boof
ledge in the drop below Seive City has gotten significantly taller, and today it had a 3-4' high
boil downstream of it. weird looking. felt funny to me. numerous other little things have shifted
around in boogie rapids, nothing big, but noticeable.<br>
<br>
-Todd suggested that Sliding Board hadn't changed but that it was just high, making the hole
grabby. Luke was able to drive hard left and skip over it on a tounge coming down that side. I'll
have to see it sometime at lower water to know for sure.<br>
<br>
Later,<br>
<br>
JB<br>
<br>
<br>