An Old River Called "New"

New River Gorge, WV

Miles; 6150

Driving North from the Carolinas we were excited to see the scenery changing to what we are still, even after living in the Pacific Northwest for almost 5 years are accustomed to calling "home". The olfactory memories of fallen leaves drenched by spring rains started to come back to us. Our eyes wide with every turn in the increasingly winding and rolling hills and roads. The air was crisp as we rolled into West Virginia, the license plates read "wild and wonderful" and we agree. As we came into the New River area the hillsides were streaked with waterfalls from recent snow melt and rain. Once we reached the river itself, it was apparent even from a distance that it was engorged and raging. We were told that the river was at approximately 126,000 cps (cubic feet per second) several days before, normal rafting tours are regulated to under 10,000 cps. All of this was interesting, but we weren't there to raft we were there to climb and explore.

Day 1;

We set up our campsite at Chestnut Creek Campground, just over the bridge heading North past Fayetteville, WV which claims to be the "Coolest Small Town" we didn't spend much time there, but it was pretty cool. Brian, the campground owner greeted us at the entrance/office and went over the rules of his place, he is a matter of fact, no bullshit kind of guy. We respected him as someone who might be a bit quirky, but he ran a tight ship with his own set of rules, there were nice hand printed signs on everything (we found out he was a former teacher) spelling the rules out, we liked him. We got the special spring start-up price of $5 per person with the warning that not everything was up to par yet, no showers the first night and cool almost cold showers the second, but they kept getting better. We made ourselves a fire and enjoyed a cold (29 degrees) but really wonderful night with some beers and a pizza we picked up in town on our supply run.

Day 2;

Our normal camp morning: shivering as we made French press coffee and some egg sandwiches, then off for a walk down a few of the back roads and then a drive to get our bearings down into the gorge to explore. We drove across the river (at the bottom) and then into Fayetteville to buy the climbing guide book at the local outdoor outfitter. Back to the campground around 2:30 for the arrival of Dave and Joan Haag. Once they arrived and got situated we headed out to explore some more with the goal of climbing. We had a hard time finding climbing that we were comfortable with, as everything was a bit wet and looked more difficult than the guide book said, but eventually found an easy rock face that was a good starter climb. Jess and I played on the rock while Joan and Dave took a hike with Addy. Even at the top of the gorge, the constant roar of the river in the background is an amazing reminder of it's power in shaping this landscape of intimidating cliffs and washouts. Back to the campground for a campfire and relaxation. For dinner; red beans and rice and a salad. We were joined by a couple of climbers Alex and Eric from the Annapolis Naval Academy, who also staying at the campground and had a great time around the fire, guitar, singing, good conversation, and a bit of drunkenness from the Captain Morgan we used to warm us up, it was St. Patty's Day afterall, a good time was had by all.

Day 3;

Slightly warmer temps and some company for breakfast Joan, Dave, Jess, Ben and the midshipmen we met and partied with the night before, Alex and Eric from the previous night joined us to help in our search for potential climbing locations, their recommendation was the "Junkyard" an easy to reach cliff that could be "top roped" which instills confidence in part time climbers like us. So... off to the Junkyard.

On the cliff we found fantastic climbing at our level and beyond, we climbed for several hours before we tired out. The climbing here is amazing, gritty rock with interesting formations that create problems similar to those that are emulated at an indoor climbing gym, without the stale smell of sweat and old chalk, instead the invigoration of chirping birds, rustling leaves and of course the ever present roaring river below. We finished the day visiting Pies & Pints in Fayetteville for some mind blowing artisan pizza (reminding us of how much we miss really good pizza on the West coast). We returned to our campground after a little hiking and some more exploring of the waterfalls near Kaymoor trail head and called it an early evening after a campfire and some s'mores.

Day 4;

After a morning walk on the campground property we returned to our campsite to find Josh, (Ben's cousin) and a friend Dave had driven down to the Gorge and arrived early in the morning we found them in the campsite next to us! What a great surprise, we were super excited that they made the drive, we exchanged some climbing plans and made a decision. Gather the troops and ready the gear, we're off! Back to the Junkyard for some more exciting climbing with Josh and Dave. Perfect weather, awesome climbing and good friends what more can we say? Oh, peanut butter, Nuttella and jelly sandwiches when you really need them. Yummy!

Jess, Dave and Joan decided to head North to PA, to visit a friend near Clarksburg, WV along the way.

Day 5;

The sleep was the best yet, as Jess left her sleeping bag and I doubled it with mine, oh it was nice, warm and comfortable, aside of a little lonely. A bit of a late start we headed out to the Endless Wall for some slightly more difficult but really cool climbing. No "top ropes" here, Josh and Dave led the climbs and I followed as I'm a bit more out of shape and practice. It was still super fun. We climbed out instead of taking the long hike out, the interesting part was it was getting dark and by the time Dave climbed out the only remaining light was his headlamp.

Safe and sound we headed out for a little pizza and a beer in Fayetteville.

Day 6;

We packed up camp and headed toward Summerville, WV to go climbing at "Whipporwill". This was some of the coolest rock I've ever climbed on, big jugs like the handles on a western saddle mixed with cracks and sloping rock that made for some really amazing climbing. together with beautiful views of Summerville Lake which gets filled in spring limiting the climbing there, although I hear that you can climb out of the water (if you fall you get wet).

We got on the road around 3:30 and headed for "home". Goodbye for now old river, we hope to see you soon.