Little Sandy Creek, West Virginia, US
|
|
1. Rt. 68 to Rt. 26 (Upper)
| Usual Difficulty |
I-III (for normal flows) |
| Length |
9.3 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
30 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
60 fpm |
Gauge Information
River Description
lat/long are approx.
Trip Report
Little Sandy Creek
by Turner Sharp
CR 5/13 Bridge to WV 26 Bridge
November 11, 1997
Boaters (K-1): J. C. Gould, Jim Warlick, Kim McMichael, Bob Buck, Hunt Charach, Mollie Carr, Susan
Klimas, Mac Thorton (C-1): Jamie Shumway
His front yard was ankle deep mud, with yard maintenance compliments of assorted cattle, some
domestic turkeys, one sleeping hog, and a medium sized black dog (tail wagging). He was the
probable owner of the fence stretched across CR 5/13 that we encountered on the way to the put-in,
and was quite amenable about taking it down while explaining it was to keep people from dumping
debris further down the road. Well, we found the dump. While Mac scouted the road down to the
creek, we scouted the windrow of debris that I am sure contained a historical record of appliance
manufacturing in the 20th century. Everybody admired and commented about this big dump, but did
anyone report it? Does anyone know the procedure? Soon, Mac declared a ¼ mile walk down the hill
was in order, so off we marched for a put-in just below the abandoned bridge on the state
right-of-way.
The run was nice and scenic, with very little human intrusion visible from the creek. The rapids
were all class I Â II for several miles, and then a section with a little more gradient developed
3 or 4 class III rapids with the last one being the hardest. It was in this section that we
recorded one swim and at least three different lines through the last rapid  with varying degrees
of finesse. From this last rapid, near the Brandonville Pike (CR 3) bridge, to the WV 26 bridge is
about two miles of flat water and not nearly as scenic. It can easily be skipped.
The water level was low/moderate, with the morning reading of the Rockville gauge on the Big Sandy
at 7.4 feet and falling. Joining me on the run were Mollie Carr, Susan Klimas, Mac Thorton, and
Jamis Shumway. The run is described in the AYH guidebook Canoeing Guide to Western Pennsylvania and
Northern West Virginia, 8th Edition. This guidebook describes a put-in near Hazelton that requires
one to paddle through a culvert under I-68 and then through a marshy section. We missed this
section, but J. C. Gould, Jim Warlick, Kim McMichael, Bob Buck, and Hunt Charach tried to find that
put-in but wound up using the same one as we did and finally catching up with us. Their original
intention was to run the lower Little Sandy, and as compensation for missing some, carried up a
river left tributary for some tight, steep creek fun. It is called Beaver Creek  has anybody run
it?
©1996-2003 West Virginia Wildwater Association
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2005-12-17 17:16:15
No photos found. 
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User Comments
keeps you entertained while being a good run for beginners and intermediates to work on their more
technical skills. Its mainly lots of little waves interspersed between 6-7 more in depth
rapids/drops. If you swim, you usually have lots of time to get your boat and to the side. The
drops get more challenging over the run. Theres really only two that you may need to scout, one in
the middle and the last one, which you;ll know by their horizon lines. The middle one is a bolder
drop rapid that has a surprisingly soft hole in the middle (we had one big back ender and one swim
here). The last rapid is recognized by a forking of the creek (second time in the run it does this)
and a horizon line on either side. We eddied out on the right, so I never really saw what the left
line looks like. I ran the right, a 4 foot drop complicated by a boulder that sits waiting below
with all the current pillowing off it. If you run with a hard left brace you should pillow right
off that water and have no worries. Right after this is the bridge, and for those not interested in
doing that drop theres an easy hike on the right bank right to the bridge (150 yards or so). We
took out at the first take out before the 2 miles of flat water, and we were done under two hours
taking our grand ole time.
around 10.0 feet. The painted gauge under Brandonville Pike was @ 1.5, I think. I carried up the
Little Sandy a couple hundred feet to get one more rapid. This section, from Beaver down to the BV
Pike is pure, screaming, righteous rock and roll at 10.0 feet!!! Highly recommended (Class 4).
Beaver Creek was trivial, with a log portage.