Deep Woods to Whitewater TR

“Deep Woods to Whitewater Trip Report

Who: Hyway and 2 daughters (Savannah & Brianna), Chinmusic and daughter, April
What: Backpack 11 miles up the gorge, camp overnight, and then whitewater raft back to our cars. (A lazy man’s loop hike.)
When: July 27-29
Where: New River Gorge in West Virginia
Why: Because its summer and hot and rivers are cool.

This was a trip proposed by Randall, but he got sick at the last moment and was unable to attend. I was looking forward to meeting you, but alas, it will have to be on another trip. Hope you are feeling better. My eldest daughter, Savannah (13 yo, trail name Downhill), also came down with something during this trip, but I was slow to notice it since I mistook it for normal 13 year old surliness at first . She was a trooper though and hiked on without complaining. I met Chinmusic and his 23-year-old daughter, April, for the first time. They are great people. (Ok, that’s $10 you owe me chin). So on with the trip report.

After picking up my younger daughter, Brianna (12 yo, once known as Uphill, but now is called Pele) from surf camp (yeah I know, she is so deprived), we raced back home to get our gear together and to pick up Savannah. On the last trip out of the house, I notice my tent poles are still one the table. Whew, close call, I pick them up and we are on our way. 15 minutes later we are back at the house picking up my trail shoes I left by the door. Ok, so we are off again. Our planned 8 p.m. arrival is now 8:30 ish. Then we hit stretch of traffic where it takes us over an hour to go 4 miles. A horrendous crash where a tractor trailer crossed the median and took out 3 or 4 cars. Very sad, some people won’t be going home to their loved ones. Makes me feel more deeply how lucky I am to be spending a weekend bonding with my daughters, traffic be damned.

So after another backup lasting 45 minutes due to another accident we finally arrive at 10 p.m. at Songer Whitewater where we will be camping that night. I give Chinmusic a buzz on the cell and he comes out of his luxurious air-conditioned cabin to flag us down. I still have the Hagrid costume my daughter wore to the Harry Potter book release party so I put on this long wild black wig and a black beard and slap my ball cap on to get out to meet Chin. I can see him take a bit of a double take like, ‘what the hell am I subjecting my daughter too.’, but before it really sinks in Savannah walks up, rolls her eyes and says, ‘Dad, are you still wearing that wig?’. Grrrrrrr, let daddy have his joke. Chin chuckles and tells me to leave it on and come in and meet April. She takes a bit of a double take, but they have their ELECTRIC lights blaring so she quickly can see it’s a costume lol. I know, my sense of humor is weak. Anyway, we say our hellos then we go off and set up out tent and turn in for the night.

The next morning it’s a bit of a madhouse making sure our arrangements are in order with the whitewater people. We prepare for our intensive fitting session, but the guy just looks at us and say, ‘ok, 2 large and 3 small lifejackets’. WTF? The way Randall talked about the fitting session I thought they might even measure our body fat. We fill out all the forms basically saying that if we die, tough #&%!$, you won’t see a penny out of Songer, and head out for the trail. Chinmusic leads the way because they came a day early and drove the route and did some day hiking. On the way we stop to take a picture on the new New River Gorge Bridge from the old New River Gorge bridge. Now it takes 3 minutes to cross the gorge when it used to take 45 minutes on this narrow lane that’s now only one-way.



We park our cars at the take out for the rafts coming down the river. Everyone compares packs like good gear heads and then we start a 1-mile road hike to get to the Kaymore trailhead. Even though it’s a road we still passed some pretty creeks and small falls. Kaymore trail turns out to be fairly level and wide trail that hugs the gorge wall. It’s a pretty hike, but there aren’t many views of the gorge. The attraction of this trail is that it takes you to an old logging operation and coal mining industrial site. We passed this pretty falls:


And then these caves that were actually utility entrances to the coal mines:



One of the caves was an underground stream that was crystal clear. The pictures all came out dark even with a flash. And one came out super blurry because I put to long a lens opening on it. I am not a steady guy, Luckily, the caves all had bars on them or I would probably still be looking for Brianna. We hiked on another ½ mile and came to the actual mine entrance and operations location.



Here we had a choice. We could take the 800 steps down to the river bottom to see the coke ovens and whatever else remained of the camp. Then hike back up to where we were, then make the 400-foot climb straight up the side of the gorge to Kaymore Top on the ridge where we would be taking the Kaymore to Cunard trail to meet the rafting company.



After about 2 seconds deliberation we elected to skip the 800 stairs down and the 800 stairs back up again and enjoy the view from where we were:



Brianna explored the grounds:



And April went to utilize the facilities:



And then we started up the trail:



101_0026.mov

If the video didn’t work, here is a still shot of the climb:



At Kaymore Top was a port potty. We left some offerings took a break then started out again. Turns out that the ridgeline views that we hiked up that grueling climb to see were non existent. Luckily I was among wonderful company so that made up for it. This is where Chin gave Brianna her new trailname, Pele, because she was hiking down the slope kicking a rock ahead of her. At the intersection of the ridge trail and the nice flat trail we were hiking on before we climbed to the ridge, we stopped for lunch:



Then the trail turned from the jeep path style it was to a real footpath. We started to get a few glimpses of the gorge we were hiking in then we turned a corner and walked straight into an emerald city:





It was awesome. Kudzu hung from everything. It looked like some fantasy city from some long forgotten fairytale. It also had some of the nicest views of the gorge as well. It even had a tunnel gate to exit the city.



We hiked onward. Now we were searching for a camp spot, but they were few and far between. None that we found were near water. Even the best sites were to near the edge of the gorge for me to sleep peacefully. I kept imaging my girls waking up to pee and walking off the edge. We did finally get our first good view down into the gorge.



What the hell, here’s my goofy mug, but the river is much better to look at:



After about 8 miles, and some worrying if we would ever see a water source again we finally passed a nice creek to fill up our bottle. Both Chin and I had Steripens because we are cool like that. There were a lot of level ledges here as if a very steep jeep trail had once switched back its way down the gorge wall, but they didn’t look comfortable as tent sites. Chin and I reconnoitered further ahead, found a prime campsite and came back for our packs and kids. (mostly for our packs). The campsite turned out to be pretty nice. We had plenty of room to spread out. Which is a good thing because my kids really snore loud and I wanted to get away from them (yeah, that’s my story and I am sticking to it). Chin hung his hammock, then helped April with here teat since this was her first backpacking trip. I helped Brianna with her tent and then put up mine while Savannah put up her own. We had no worries about firewood. There was wood everywhere from little twigs to decent size logs. All we needed was a good spot for the fire ring. Brianna found a great spot and we quickly went about collecting wood and starting a fire.

Our fire ring:


Chin had brought some self-heating meals for him and April. They looked very tasty and hot. They had to have been hot because the meals sure were kicking out some steam as the heated up. My girls had ramen and mac and cheese. Then smores (without the graham crackers) then I popped some jiffy popcorn over the fire. That didn’t go so well because I accidentally poked a hole in the foil and as the popcorn popped it just popped right out and landed in the fire. Thinking ahead and knowing that I would ruin the first batch, I brought a second. It went much better and popped up quite nicely. Just after dinner a soft rain came. We all bolted to zip up our flys (not those flys you naughty girls. I am talking about tent flys) and put everything under cover. Then we returned to the fire. It rained for a bit, and then stopped. By then the girls had all decided to turn in. April came back out for a few minutes, but soon left just chin and I there. About 9 chin turned in and Savannah came back out and sat by the fire with me. I love that kid. We had a nice time enjoying the night and chatting.

Then we heard a crashing sound over by Chins Hennessy Hammock and thought that maybe he had forgotten how to tie it after not using it for 2 years. But after shocking him by lighting his hammock up with headlamps we discovered he was still intact and not being dragged down the slope by a fallen tree. We returned to the fire, then decided to call it a night. I pulled the logs out of the fire and spread out the coals. We sat and enjoyed the soft glow for a few minutes to assure ourselves it wasn’t going to flame up. After awhile we saw some sparks on the slope above the fire and when I went to put them out they just spread. Turns out it was some kind of glow in the dark mold. We looked around and saw it all over the place. That was pretty cool.

The next morning we restarted the fire and had a nice leisurely morning since we only had about 3 miles to do before 12 noon. Savannah slept in late and I had to wake her up. She was particularly 13ishly surly, but it turns out it was because she was sick with flu like symptoms. Hard to tell the difference, actually, except that she was feeling pretty weak on the rest of the hike. Anyhoo, we had breakfast packed up and checked out.

Our campsite the next morning. Notice the rusty can chair and the muffler on a rock seat.



The morning hike had an occasional glimpse of the gorge, but we mostly kept ourselves entertained with a rousing animal alphabet game. Savannah slowly fell behind and stayed back with her so I missed out on most of the last letter in a name starts the next name game. We hiked the 3 miles and came to a road and trailhead parking. The people at the rafting company told me that where we would meet the bus, but it didn’t look like a rafting place to me. Its was next to a creek about 1’ deep and the New River was still a mile away. Savannah was wiped out and resting on a rock in the shade when the guy that did the supertydupper lifejacket sizing of us came up the road from the direction of the river. He stopped hi truck to tell us that our lunch was down at the put in another 1 ¼ mile. About that time one of the Songer Whitewater busses showed up and we hitched a ride with them down to the river. That was a good thing since the road was narrow and very busy with fast moving rafting busses going to and fro. At the river, we waited for our bus so we could load our backpacks on it. Our lunches had been dropped off and they were much more than I expected. Big submarine sandwiches (in honor of what we were about to do in our rafts, no doubt), bag of chips, power bar or something, big apple and a bottle of water and sodas.

Poor Savannah looked like she was on her last legs:



I don’t have any digital pictures of the rafting, but I do have two pics the rafting company took. As soon as I get them scanned I will add them to this report. Long as hell already, buts it’s my record, not yours so keep your complaints to yourself.

The rafting was great. 3 - class 5 falls, several class 4, and a bunch of 2 and 3. The whole time down the river claiming that we lost Randall at the last fall became a running gag. So even though he couldn’t make it in body, he was there in spirit. Both Chin and I fell out once, at different times, and Brianna would have gone out on the worst class 5 if April had not grabbed her. We had a blast. We also got to jump out and swim every once in a while. Our guide did a pretty good job getting us in the thick of the whitewater. On several of the 5s we hit every good peak there was. On one of the 5s though we missed our line and decided to go with plan B, but the ass end of the raft hit a rock and spun us around. That put us into plan C . Instead of going around table rock, a flat rock just under the surface, we went over it and dropped straight down the fall on the other side. The raft crumpled up like a flip phone lol. Then we went spinning through the rest of the cascades, the guide shouting commands then counter commands without taking a breath. IT was a blast. I was hoping to give plan D a try next. Anyhoo, the river was a blast and a great way to spend a summer day.

At the end we loaded the raft on the trailer then went about looking for our backpacks. The bus waiting for us wasn’t the bus we loaded our gear on so we got in our cars and headed back to Songer Whitewater. It took close to an hour for our bus to show up, but it was time well spent hanging out with Chinmusic and April. After getting our packs, we said our farewells around 5pm and the girls and I started home arriving at midnight.

All in all, it was a great trip. I am sorry I didn’t get to meet Randall, but Chinmusic and April are good people and I enjoyed my time with them. It was April’s first time backpacking and I never heard her complain once. The whitewater rafting as spectacular. The Emerald City was simply breathtaking and the coalmine was interesting. With that said, the trail itself isn’t really worth a 7-8 hour drive, but the whole thing together was worth it.

Thank you for reading if there is anyone left reading to thank.
last edited: 7/30/07 8:19:53 AM”

“Cool. thanks for the post.”

“Sure it was a glow in the dark fungus..what kinda of fungus were you eating??? LOL

Hyway I can't believe how big the girls have gotten! Sounds like a great trip!!”

“Missed this TR. Thanks!”

“BTW...I really liked how you posted pics with your report.”

“Me too. That took a lot of work.”

“Thanks, webshots makes it easy to get the photo links. There are more of course, mostly just to remind me of the moment, those are just the ones I thought went well with the TR. You can click on any of the pictures to go to the album.
last edited: 7/30/07 9:04:53 AM”

“Great job as always!!!
Man I wish I coulda gone , but it was best that I stayed here. I am still looking at the pics and think the Emerald City shots are very nice. Sounds like the raft trip was good as well. I’ll bet you were tried at the end of that drive home!! I talked with Chin and he sounded pretty beat. Thanks again for the TR and I’ll see ya later.
Randall”

“Thanks Randall. I imagine he was beat, we did a lot more paddling than I ever thought we would.”

“The glow in the dark stuff is called "Fox Fire"!!
See ya later.
Randall”

“Great trip report. I'm sorry I missed this one. Sounds like a good one to post again.”

“Nice report!

How did the Microzoid work out?”

“worked great. Thanks. one of the poles has the tension cord a bit stretched out. was confusing until I figured out how to take off the tip and cut some of it off. My younger daughter got your tent, so I was the one sorting out the pole. My eldest daughter has teh same tent but she has used it a bunch and has no problem putting it up.

BTW, here is your tent in case you miss it.


last edited: 7/30/07 11:46:34 AM”

“whoops, small correction. Brianna is only 11. We pretended she was 12 because you have to be 12 to raft on the New River.”

“That's right... teach your kids the art of deception at a young age... :?P~~~~”

“I know you were joking, but heck yeah, stupid rules created by insurance companies due to a sue happy population need to be scoffed at. If they told me her body fat was too low for the cold water conditions (like at the nantahala) or that she was too small for the life jacket to work properly, then sure I can go along with that. But she is a couple inches taller and about 15 pounds heavier than her sister who is 2 years older. Stupid rule allows her 13 yo sister to go, but not my athletic amazon because she is 3 months shy of her birth date.

Only sheep obey rules just because they are rules.”

“Each of the girls have her own tent?
Stop a lot of sister fights that way.”

“Friday night we all slept in the same tent and they complained about one of us snoring. I don't know what they are talking about, I didn't hear anything while I was awake.”

“Hyway!!!
I would like your permission to put this on a tee shirt!!
"Only sheep obey rules just because they are rules"See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 7/30/07 4:37:59 PM”

“YOUR TRIP REPORT SUCKS!!!!!!





Just kidding, wish I could have made it. Looks like you all had a good time.
last edited: 7/30/07 4:46:41 PM”

“The only way it could have been suckier is if I had to keep mentioning your name over and over :).

Sure randall, just sent me my royalties”

“.... I don't know what they are talking about, I didn't hear anything while I was awake.”
hyway
6:32:27 PM

Teen girls can be so silly.”

“April and I made it safely home about 6 hours ago. We stopped just south of Cincinnati on the way home. I had Monday schedule off and wasn't in a hurry. My son had a couple baseball games as soon as I got home, so I didn't post til now.

We had a great time. We arrived about a 1/2 day early and did some day-hiking on the other side of the gorge. We experienced some GREAT views, with monster drop-offs (the kind that make you dizzy just looking down, at least me anyway). I wish hyway and crew could have had a few similar views on Saturday, but the views were few and far between on the main hike.

April (Chinagirl) got to break in my new Gossamer Whisper since I didn't have a pack small enough for her. It seemed to carry well and I didn't load it very heavy for her. Now I want to try it out for a short trip mtself.

This was April's first trip and she seems be hooked....well maybe. She slept well in my Lunar Solo but thought the tent leaked. She got a decent bit of condensation in the 100% humidity over night. She couldn't get over how beautiful West Virginia was, both during the trip and the drive to/from. I think she is starting to understand why I go on these trips. Prior to this I think she thought I was nuts.

April was really looking forward to the rafting phase. I have to admit that I was not. I changed my mind. It was a blast, especially after "surviving" an ejection during one of the Class Vs. One moment I was paddling and in a blink I was under water. I still don't know what happened.

Hyway's daughters handled the trip like seasoned vets. I was struck by how intelligent and well-rounded they were. Fortunately I got along with them, since BOTH are black belts....seriously. Hyway is obviously VERY proud of them, and rightly so, and it is clear he takes the task of Dad as job-one.”

“Hey All,
I am finally feeling better and now the bitterness is beginning to sit in!! I am very happy that the trip turned out well and of course, I wish that I had been there. Thanks again to Hyway for the best trip reports next to mine on the entire site, and I mean that!!!
Heck, he even put video on this one!!! I consider my self challenged, and will do a real number on the 5 day JMT trip coming up!!
Chin, I am very proud of the way you guys navigated the trail and you know what I mean!! Good Job Dr.!!! LOL
Poor me. I didn’t get to go on my own trip!!
Shut up Crash!!!
See ya later,
Randall”

“ChinMusic, you are a whitewater enthusiast now. :) Maybe next time we can get to Plan E or F. And thanks for the kind words about my kids. I wonder why everyone always sounds so surprised when they discover my kids are intelligent and well-rounded. Luckily they don't take after me at all. I can only hope my relationship with my girls at 23 years of age is just as smooth and seamless as yours is with April.

Not sure what you meant, Randall, but the trail was fairly easy to follow. It hangs on the side if the gorge wall. Not to many places to go astray :).”

“Potentially bad news, ChinMusic. The reason Savannah was feeling bad was because she has Strep Throat. Confirmed it this morning. I checked myself out to, but I am don't have it. I hope you guys don't come down with it. That might make me feel bad.

The poor girl must have been feeling really bad. Yet she hiked and rafted without complaining to much. What a trooper.”

“This is indeed a very special place on God's Green Earth !!! I have been here for 3 years now, just 20 minutes from The Gorge .. But, as fate has it, I will be moving back to the Central FLorida area the middle of August and I will definately miss this place for sure !!!!!

EXCELLENT TR HyWay !!!”

“Sorry to hear about Savannah. Backpacking is enough of a challenge without being under the weather.”

“A couple pics from the rafting phase:



”

“nice, I need to scan and post mine.

Look at the muscles on that he man ChinMusic.

And Brianna is flashing gang sign”

“Great report guys. Nice pics too. Sounds like you had a blast.”