THE JOURNEY BEGINS
From Grand Rapids to West Virginia
Several months ago, my partner and fellow West Michigan Kayaking Club member Kimberly started telling me about one of her favorite adventures: rafting West Virginia’s legendary Upper Gauley River during the September dam releases.
She had made the trip several times, and the more she talked about it, the more intrigued I became.
The Upper Gauley has a reputation as one of the premier whitewater rivers in the country. It is famous for steep drops, powerful hydraulics, enormous waves and five major Class V rapids collectively known as the Big 5.
It didn’t take much convincing.
We were going to the Gauley.
But as with most of our adventures, the river itself was only part of the story.
We wanted the whole experience—camping, hiking, good food, good people and as much time outdoors as we could squeeze into the weekend.
We reserved a campsite at Adventures on the Gorge, loaded up the vehicles and started preparing for the roughly 600-mile drive from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to West Virginia.
The adventure was officially underway.
Thursday — Michigan to West Virginia
We left Grand Rapids Thursday morning and pointed the vehicles east.
For hours, the drive was familiar. Michigan and Ohio highways stretched ahead of us, with the usual farmland and Midwest scenery passing by the windows.
Then, gradually, everything changed.
The roads became narrower and more winding.
The hills grew steeper.
The forests became thicker.
The farther south we traveled, the more it felt like we were leaving Michigan behind and entering another world.
By about 6:30 p.m., we finally pulled into Adventures on the Gorge.
After the long drive, there was something satisfying about unloading the gear, gathering firewood and getting dinner started.
We finally had our campsite, our campfire and a mountain adventure directly in front of us.
The river was waiting.
But we weren’t getting on it yet.
Friday had another adventure in store.
ABOVE THE GORGE
Endless Wall and the New River Gorge
We woke early Friday morning, made coffee, gathered our hiking gear and checked the maps.
Water bottles were filled.
Boots were ready.
We headed toward the Endless Wall Trail in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
The name sounds dramatic.
It is.
The trail follows the rim of a massive stretch of Nuttall sandstone cliffs towering above the New River Gorge. The farther we walked, the more impressive the landscape became.
Standing along the rim, it was easy to understand why this place has attracted adventurers for generations.
But the gorge tells more than a geological story.
It tells a human one, too.
A Landscape Built Around Coal
Long before we arrived as hikers and whitewater rafters, this gorge was an industrial landscape.
During the late 1800s, the surrounding area was home to the Nuttallburg Coal and Coke operation, one of the major coal operations in the New River Coalfields.
Remnants of that history remain scattered throughout the gorge.
Old structures, mine infrastructure and other remnants serve as reminders that people once came here to work the mountains and extract the resources buried within them.
Today, those same mountains draw hikers, climbers, paddlers and outdoor adventurers from across the country.
There was something fascinating about walking through a landscape that had once been heavily worked and is now protected so people can experience its natural beauty.
Diamond Point
Eventually, we reached Diamond Point.
The view stopped us in our tracks.
Nearly 1,000 feet below us, the New River wound through the gorge.
We stood there looking across the canyon, and for a while nobody seemed particularly interested in moving.
We stayed for roughly an hour.
There wasn’t much to say.
Sometimes the best thing you can do outdoors is simply stand still and take it all in.
Eventually, we continued along the trail, passing the metal ladders leading toward the base of the cliffs.
Several members of our group wanted to explore below.
Those of us who were a little less enthusiastic about heights—including me—decided our talents were probably better suited to staying above and guarding the gear.
I was perfectly happy with that assignment.
The combination of steep cliffs, ladders and exposed terrain demanded respect.
By the time we returned to camp, we’d spent most of the day exploring.
We started another fire and cooked dinner.
But the atmosphere around camp felt different that night.
The next morning wouldn’t involve hiking boots or scenic overlooks.
We’d be wearing wetsuits, splash jackets, neoprene boots, helmets and PFDs.
We were going rafting.
INTO THE WHITEWATER
Saturday Morning on the Upper Gauley
Later Friday evening, we headed toward the lodge at Adventures on the Gorge, where a band happened to be playing live music.
We stayed for several hours.
We listened to music, laughed, talked and enjoyed the evening.
But underneath all of it was the anticipation of what was coming.
Our rafting trip was scheduled for 9 a.m.
The Upper Gauley was waiting.
Saturday morning came early.
We gathered our gear and prepared for the river.
Wetsuits.
Splash jackets.
Neoprene boots.
PFDs.
Helmets.
Paddles.
Everything had a purpose.
We met our guide, Link, at the bottom of Summersville Dam, where the river changes dramatically during the scheduled fall releases.
Link was an experienced kayaking instructor and Class VI rafting guide who had spent nearly three decades on whitewater.
That immediately gave us confidence.
After the safety briefing, we pushed off.
The Upper Gauley adventure had begun.
The First Rapids
The first rapids came quickly.
Entrance.
Initiation.
Little Z.
The early sections gave us our first taste of the river’s personality.
The water was fast and powerful, and the raft immediately demanded teamwork.
Link called the commands.
We responded.
“Forward!”
Everyone dug in.
“Brace!”
Everyone reacted.
The raft climbed waves, dropped into troughs and occasionally disappeared behind walls of spray.
Then came Upper Collison Creek, followed by Lower Collison Creek, Geek Wave and Slant Rock.
Each rapid seemed to build on the one before it.
We were getting more comfortable.
But the river was getting bigger.
Then we started approaching the rapids we’d really come for.
The Big 5
The Upper Gauley is famous for five major Class V rapids known as the Big 5:
Insignificant. Pillow Rock. Lost Paddle. Iron Ring. Sweet’s Falls.
We had heard those names before we ever left Michigan.
Now we were approaching them one at a time.
The first was Insignificant.
The name sounded almost harmless.
The rapid was anything but.
As we approached, the river accelerated. Waves rose in front of us, rocks narrowed the available lines and the roar of the river grew louder.
Link called the line.
“Forward!”
We dug in.
The raft climbed the first wave and dropped hard into the trough.
A wall of water crashed over the bow.
For a moment, I couldn’t see anything.
Then the raft surged forward again.
Another wave.
Another command.
Another hard paddle stroke.
Then, almost as quickly as it had started, we were through.
We came out the bottom soaked and laughing.
That was our introduction to the Big 5.
And it was only the beginning.
THE BIG 5
Pillow Rock, Lost Paddle, Iron Ring and Sweet’s Falls
Not long after Insignificant, we approached Pillow Rock.
This was the rapid everyone had been talking about.
Ahead of us, the river slammed into a massive submerged rock feature, forcing the water upward and creating the enormous pillow that gives the rapid its name.
From the raft, it looked huge.
Link studied the water before giving us the command.
“Forward!”
We paddled hard.
The raft accelerated toward the feature.
The pillow grew larger with every second.
Then we hit it.
The bow climbed dramatically.
For a moment, it felt like we were riding up a wall of water.
Then the raft tipped forward and dropped.
Water exploded around us.
The entire world became whitewater.
I couldn’t see the people beside me.
I couldn’t see the river ahead.
All I could hear was the roar of the water and Link shouting commands.
Then we broke through.
The raft leveled out.
We looked at each other.
Big smiles.
High-fives.
We had just run Pillow Rock.
But there was no time to celebrate.
The river kept moving.
Lost Paddle
After Scales, Bubble Rock, Hungry Mother and Meadow View, we entered the Lost Paddle complex.
Lost Paddle isn’t one single rapid.
It’s a series of drops and features that keep coming at you.
The First Drop hit quickly.
Then the Second.
Then the Fourth Drop—Tumblehome.
The raft climbed.
Dropped.
Twisted.
Surged forward.
There was no time to think about anything except the next command, the next paddle stroke and the next wave.
When we finally came out of Lost Paddle, everyone was exhausted but smiling.
Three of the Big 5 were behind us.
Two remained.
Iron Ring
We continued through Conestoga and Shipwreck Rock before reaching Iron Ring.
Something about this rapid made everyone quieter.
We watched the water.
We watched Link.
He studied the river, then gave us the signal.
We paddled.
The raft accelerated.
The current grabbed us and pulled us into the rapid.
The bow rose.
Then dropped.
A wave crashed over us.
Another slammed into the side of the raft.
We kept paddling.
For several seconds, there was nothing except water, noise and motion.
Then we punched through.
The tension broke immediately.
Laughter erupted.
High-fives went around the raft.
Another Class V was behind us.
Only one of the Big 5 remained.
Sweet’s Falls
Then came Sweet’s Falls.
By now, we’d already spent hours on the river.
We were tired, soaked and completely worn out.
But nobody wanted the adventure to end.
As we approached Sweet’s Falls, the river accelerated.
The sound grew louder.
The raft picked up speed.
Link called the command.
“Forward!”
We paddled.
The water rose in front of us.
The raft climbed.
For a moment, the horizon disappeared behind the crest of the rapid.
Then we went over.
The raft dropped hard.
A wall of whitewater crashed down around us.
Water exploded across the boat.
For several seconds, it felt as if the entire river had swallowed us.
Then we emerged.
Still together.
Still upright.
Still paddling.
And laughing harder than ever.
Sweet’s Falls was behind us.
The Big 5 were behind us.
But the river still had more to give.
THE ADVENTURE BEYOND THE RIVER
The Final Miles, the Drive Home and Why We Go
We still had Thumper, Nemesis, Gillespie’s Hole and Chicken ahead.
By now, our arms were tired and our bodies had taken a beating from hours of whitewater.
But something had changed.
We weren’t just a group of people sitting in a raft anymore.
We had become a team.
When Link called for a forward stroke, everyone paddled.
When he called for a brace, everyone reacted.
Nobody hesitated.
We trusted our guide.
We trusted the people around us.
And we kept moving forward.
Eventually, the river began to calm.
The enormous waves became smaller.
The roar softened.
The mountains opened around us again.
For the first time all day, we could sit back and look around.
We had made it.
Back at Base Camp
When we finally reached the end of the run, there was a strange mixture of exhaustion and excitement.
We were completely worn out.
But nobody wanted the day to end.
We loaded our gear and headed back toward camp.
That night, sitting around the fire, we talked about the day.
The rapids.
The waves.
The moments when the raft disappeared beneath the water.
The commands.
The laughter.
The parts that scared us.
And the parts that made us want to do it all over again.
That’s when it really hit me.
The adventure hadn’t started Saturday morning.
It had started months earlier when Kimberly first told me about the Upper Gauley.
It continued through the planning, the six-and-a-half-hour drive, the campsite, the Endless Wall hike and the nights around the fire.
The rafting was the climax.
But the entire journey was the adventure.
The Long Drive Home
Eventually, it was time to pack everything up and head back toward Michigan.
The nearly 600-mile drive home felt completely different from the drive down.
On the way to West Virginia, we had been talking about what we were about to experience.
On the way home, we were talking about what had just happened.
We replayed the rapids in our minds.
We talked about Pillow Rock.
We talked about Sweet’s Falls.
We laughed about the moments when the water completely covered the raft.
And somewhere along that long drive back to Grand Rapids, the exhaustion started turning into something else.
Satisfaction.
We had gone looking for an adventure.
We found one.
Why We Came
For me, the Upper Gauley wasn’t simply about checking a famous river off a list.
It was about experiencing something extraordinary with people who love adventure as much as I do.
That’s what we try to build through the West Michigan Kayaking Club.
We’re not just interested in putting boats in water.
We’re interested in seeing what’s around the next bend.
Sometimes that means a Michigan river.
Sometimes it means a 20-mile expedition.
Sometimes it means hiking into a gorge.
And sometimes it means loading up the vehicles and driving nearly 600 miles to West Virginia to experience powerful whitewater.
This trip had everything.
A long road trip.
Rustic camping.
Good food.
Great people.
A spectacular hike.
Mountain scenery.
Live music.
And one unforgettable day on the Upper Gauley.
The trip started with a conversation.
It turned into a plan.
The plan became a road trip.
The road trip became an adventure.
And the adventure became another story we’ll be telling for years.
That’s why we go.
Because somewhere out there, beyond the next mountain and around the next bend, there’s always another adventure waiting.
Wild Rivers. Rugged Trails. Real Adventure.
West Michigan Kayaking Club
Grand Rapids, Michigan
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