Red Creek, West Virginia, US

1. Red Creek Recreation Area to North Branch Bridge (Upper Red)

Gauge Information

River Description

For an awesome video of Red Creek featuring the ZoneDogg, check out this link.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBEBhCXLUEk

Red Creek is one of the prettiest and most remote runs in West Virginia. The gradient is very steep and there are several slides, cascades, and falls. The riverbed is unstable and loose so the run changes often after high water. There have been several changes since the hurricane of 2003, most for the better. However, a lot of new trees have fallen as well. Be on the lookout, there are strainers everywhere! The 2 mile hike at the start and the length of the run causes endurance to come into play. Those who are in shape and possess the skills to do the run are going to have a spectacular time!

Hike in on the Blackbird Knob Trail for 2 miles until you reach Red Creek. Putin here. The first 2 miles are relatively easy, flowing over continuous small rapids and slides. There is a nasty tree immediately at the bottom of a long twisty slide not far above where the steep section starts. Be on the lookout, this tree could be very dangerous. It will be hard to impossible to stop once you have entered the slide. As you approach the steep section, the slides will get longer and then you will see a major tributary come in on the right. This is where the SIK stuff starts.

Super Slide- Not far below the confluence, you come to a large horizon line. Here the creek cascades 20-30 feet over a smooth slide lasting about 100 yards. Be prepared to get some major speed coming down this one!<br />

The Clapper- Right after Super Slide, there is a 12-15 foot falls onto rocks. Run left of center and make sure you take a boof stroke. The impact is going to be major and it is better to take it on the hull rather than the nose of your boat!

Double Clapper- Immediately after the Clapper, there is a 15 foot cascade onto a slide. The best line is to run down the middle and launch a big boof stroke onto the slide. You can also do a double clap left of center.<br />

15 Foot Falls- After some boatscoutable boulder drops and slides, you'll come to a 15 foot waterfall. This should be run left of center into a fairly shallow pool. The scrapy approach makes it difficult to get speed or a good launch.

The Sieve NO MORE! - After a 6-8 foot falls onto a 200+ yard megaslide, you'll come to the pool above what used to be The Sieve. The creek used to neck down to the left with a boulder is perched right over top of the flow, creating a nasty sieve. However, the high water brought about by the hurricane in the fall of 2003 washed away all of the boulders. What is left is a small slide into a pool that, at the moment has a tree in it.

The NEW Boulder Rapid - The boulders have dammed up the creek. The flow is split into several channels. The far left is an easy slide into a 6 foot boof. The center line has a small drop into a critical 8 foot boof with an extremely shallow landing. This line is runable but very sketchy. The right side drops through a narrow notch in some boulders and is not real clean.

Sieve #2 NO MORE! - About 100 yards downstream, there used to be another bad sieve that needed to be portaged. The flow has been rerouted to the left where it lines up for a sweet 6-8 foot boof with a gnarly boulder right below. This leads into a long slide that ends in a 5 foot ledge that has a large hole at high water.

The Limbo NO MORE! - After some junky rapids, you will come to a slide that used to run down the left, causing you to need to duck a tree. However, the water has been rerouted to the right down an easy slide.

That Hammer Factor Drop- More boulder drops and slides take you to the top of this rapid, which is remarkably similar to Hammer Factor on the Green Narrows. Watch out for an undercut on the left at the top of the rapid. Start in the middle and drive to the left, staying close to the left bank. Turn back to the right slightly to punch the hole formed by a sloping, diagonal 8 foot ledge. Be careful to not drive too hard through the hole because there is an ugly undercut boulder at the bottom right.

A long slide ending in a steep double drop of about 10 feet is next. At the present, there is an ugly tree above the runout with some nasty branches hanging into the water. Be careful. This puts you above the bouldery approach to the Devil's Cauldron. Run on the right.

Devil's Cauldron- After a long slide ending in a steep ledge series and a boulder drop split by an island, you come to the Cauldron. This is a 75 yard long twisty slide into a 15 foot falls with a nasty hole at the bottom. Go off the falls on the right and make sure you take a good left boof stroke to jump the hole. Portage on the right if in doubt.

Finale Falls- Below the Cauldron, the run slowly starts to mellow out for about a mile. Just when you think that all the good stuff is behind you, you reach the Finale. This is a 12 foot falls that is best run down the right of center, clapping on a shelf. Immediately after, there are two 6 foot ledges run in the middle. A super way to end a spectacular run! The remaining 2-3 miles to the takeout are made up of continuous Class 2-3, where you can finally look around and enjoy the scenery. This section has widened since the hurricane and is more scrapy and junky than before. There are also several nasty strainers in this section so take it slow.