What a super trip, three days of river fun. The weather could not have been better, with daily temps in mid to upper 80's and night temps in upper 70's. Humidity was high , but we were on a river after all.
We had 14 people on day 1, 13 on day 2 and only 11 on day 3 ..... no we did not lose them to drownings , ...... just busy schedules. 5 leaders remained with the group through all days , which was a pleasure.
Our trip was on the New River in Va,
The New River is the second oldest river in the world , second to the Nile River in Africa, which also flows NORTH like the New River.
We started out at Fosters Falls , a class III Rapid, which we did not run..... too much for novice river folk. The New River State Park runs a very nice campground at Fosters Falls and we choose to camp on Bakers Island , which had a few logistic issues as you can imagine. What we did not know was the group camp site was 1/2 mile from the landing, so all gear had to be carried 1/2 mile in, and then 1/2 mile back out on day 3.
The view of the river from the camp, Ian fishing the rapids in the distance
Day 1
We moved everything to the Island and set up camp and spent the afternoon swimming and fishing. We had an idea to do some tubing but the boys were enjoying the swimming too much. Dinner was served late , Jambalaya and some South African Boerewors (spiced sausage)
We also chose to shuttle our vehicles down stream that evening so as to give us an easier day on day 2. To get there we took a very winding gravel mountain road too
Swimming and fishing directly from camp
Fishing in the rapids at our camp Day 1
Yes it was deep and the only way to fish the far bank was to swim
Day 2 -
Down river 13.5 miles, 6 rapids . We left just after 9 am .
within a mile we had run two rapids, one a class 2. The pics below tell
the story further.
Dinner was Cheesy Jambalaya and Duncan had
snuck some frozen Sirlion , which was cut into juicy "Trout Fillets",
enjoyed by leaders and scouts alike , rare sirloin steak on camp out -
what a treat.
The start of our down river journey, directly from camp
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Yes they did catch some fish
Yes , not quite eating size , but a good catch, with a fishing story, Ask Mr Purnell the story
Our Camp after the rain on Day 2
Might as well be comfortable if you have to paddle 13 miles..... our gear canoe with water and food, Jack and Michael were the engine
They even got a pic of me
Quick paddle / swim with lunch
Stopping for Lunch
Lunch in the field ,
Our SPL and Scout Master at the lunch stop
River views from behind
All along the river were huge cliffs
An ominous sky which grumbled but passed overhead very quickly without much ado
All together for a change
Final stretch of day 2
Pulling out at Allisonia , after 13.5 miles and 6 hours on the water
Camp life
Dylan and Brandon preparing dinner
"Trout"
Duncan and his "Trout" fillets
S'Mores without Graham crackers - because they got left in the trailer !!
Day three
While we started early , it took forever to ferry all the gear to firstly the landing point 1/2 mile from camp, then across the river to the cars. Then we had to load the canoes and drive to the start point for our short trip.
Day three was a short paddle ( 3.6 miles ) on relatively flat water, from Austinville to Foster Falls
Morning of Day 3- everything that made it onto the island , had to make it back off again, and our camp was half a mile from the landing
The boat ramp on the mainland , with gear waiting for a ferry across
At the ramp at Austinville
Beginning of day 3 at Austinville Va
The river is much more interesting paddling along the banks
Shot Tower - almost at the end of our trip - 1/2 a mile to go
The end in site
Plenty of spectacular scenery
Whats better than an ice cream at the end ? - thanks Mr Grisgraber
