Good Gauley I ran the Green!

September brought a lot of work for me but it also brought encouragement, confidence, and a stepping stone to move forward in Kayaking. The first two weekends in September brought one day adventures to the Upper Gauley while the third weekend brought adventures to the Upper Yough, Upper Gauley, Gauley Fest, and the Lower Gauley.


Brandon running Sweets Falls. Photo by Gary Mays.

I had decided early on in September that if my lines went well in West Virginia, I would be on the Green very soon. After making great lines on the Yough and the Upper Gauley's main lines, I woke up on Monday after Gauley Fest and said, "I'm gonna run the Green!"

The closest I had ever been to the Green Narrows was when I ran the Lower Green in Summer 2001. I hadn't even hiked into the Narrows. Anton and I met up with Joey Jarrell and Brad Snead for my virgin run. This would be Anton's second run. We put-on Saturday morning and made our way toward the Narrows. When Joey and I got out to scout Frankenstein, that was when it all finally registered and my knees began to literaly knock...I was entering the Green Narrows. As I looked at Frankenstein with my knocking knees, I said to myself, "you gotta keep this together, you can do it, just keep your head in the game." And that's exactly what I did. I ran the race line of Frankenstein, the sneak at Boof or Consequence, the sneak of Go Left and the far left line at Zwicks since the top hole decided that was where it wanted me to go.


Zwicks Entrance. Photo by Joey Jarrell


Zwicks. Photo by Joey Jarrell


Green Photos by Joey Jarrell

I walked Chief and of course the big monkey. The seal launch was uneventful below Gorilla, but the right of center line I took at Scream Machine made my back scream as I dropped onto the rock shelf at the bottom. I ran far right at Nieces Pieces and got my sinuses cleaned out as I submarined my Mega Rocker into a surprisingly sticky hole. I had to roll at the bottom of Power Slide as I slide into an eddy line at the bottom and had a nice bouncy ride down Rapid Transit.


Rapid Transit Photo by Joey Jarrell

It was then that Joey realized the water was beginning to drop. We hustled down stream as quickly as possible portaging Nutcracker, Groove Tube, and Sunshine down the easy portage trail on the right. I dropped into Hammer Factor where again I had to roll only this time I was up against the infamous overhanging rock in the runout. Before I knew it, we were at the takeout and I realized, I had just ran the Green.

I've been paddling now over 7 years and have had the opportunity to see some amazing places. Now I've seen the Green River Narrows, which is yet another amazing place. I can't wait to return.

Look for pictures soon of my run. Till next time, pray for rain.