Back in ‘94 I went on my first rafting trip on the Upper Gauley. I was 16 and a little nervous about what might go on. Though I still wanted to experience the Gauley and what it was all about. We went with Rivers and the experience there was just fantastic. Though I fell out at Sweets Falls, I still loved it. I went back the next year and had a blast. I had done some other smaller stuff a few times.
14 years later, my sister and I decided to go back to the river we loved the most. The Gauley. We got a nice group of people who wanted to go with us. Some who had been with us before and some new ones (mostly family). Two of them were not old enough to do the Upper Gauley and also many were not ready for that section, so we decided to head out to the Lower Gauley.
Two months after the talking, we headed down the day before the trip. We used River Expeditions because of how well we were treated and how great the guides were before at Rivers. We got in around 8pm and checked in and went to our cabins. Last time we went we had used tents and campers. We took a look to see just bunks. I was like yes lol, this should be fun. Luckily it rained so it felt a little less muggy. I had no complaints though… So about 5am (4 hours before signing in), I woke up and just relaxed. I am used to getting up early. Then about 6 am, I got my best friend up and we started to get some stuff done, and check out the outfitter store and get some quick bites to eat.
After everyone got ready, we headed around 9am down to get signed in and get our gear. It actually felt nice out so I decided to just get the wet suit. We got on the bus and had the usual lovely bus ride to the put in. Many for the first time went over the New River Gorge Bridge. It looks so beautiful when you see the fog down below. Also checking out the begining of the Gauley River. I had noticed that the water does not come out through the pipes but now underground. I really did miss that put in 
, always a blast. Plus we had our serious saftey talk …
Got to the put in, and met up with our guide Tyler. Got our little chat and headed out on the river. We were getting our chat about what to do when our one guy fell out of the boat before anything even major… Got through Backender okay , then we headed to Koontz Flume. Things started out fine until my nephew in the front decided to stop paddling and we about hit the huge wave sideways. Luckily we were able to turn it around. After that we hit things really well. Canyon Doors was very beautiful. Just looking around in general was a wonderful sight. The fog coming around the top of the hills just made the day even better.
After Diagonal Ledges we hit our first surfing wave. I almost went in, but my b/f was able to save me. Though on Lower Mash our other boat got most of their guys out when surfing. We had a great lunch after that. The food was wonderful and well prepared thanks to the guides. After that we went through a couple more awesome rapids. The last big one Pure Screaming Hell was up; I had been waiting for this all day. I have heard and watched videos of it. We came in good, though we hit off the side of it. It still packed a powerful punch. Right after that, we hit a nice surfing hole. We went in three times. The last one our boat almost flipped. Finally my b/f and I did some riding of the bull. I went first and went up on the sliding rock. Almost went in, but was able to hold my balance. My bf did the last rapid and went in. At that point we headed back got some drinks, and took the bus trip to camp.
Got back hurried out of my suit got a nice warm shower and headed to the Red Dog with the crew and watched our video. Dan did an awesome job on it. We had our steak dinner and everyone was very well pleased. We relaxed and then called it early for the night.
We got up around 7 and started to get last minute stuff from the store and packed. It was one rainy morning. Left out and got some good breakfast from Biscuit World. Got back around 5 or so today the 26th.
I would like to thank the Staff at River Expeditions, our guide Tyler who made a great time and for the guide who was in our other boat (sorry I was not able to get the name but they were with the Shippy group), our Videoman Dan, who did a outstanding job, for such a great time. We chose to come back to you guys for a reason. We will be back again next year for the Upper Gauley and maybe even the New hopefully.
Kelly G.