Cheat and Tygart Rivers
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Cheat and Tygart Rivers
I'm planning for the future but my daughter will be going to college in elkins west va in august...was just looking at the area and see the cheat and tygart are near by...i can probably research these rivers but thought i would ask the group if anyone has done these rivers, what class, etc..thanks, amy
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.
I have done the class III-IV sections of the cheat (canyon) and the tygart (middle fork into the tygart).
I am more familiar with the cheat canyon. Logistically, it was easier for us to do since we always camped at the put-in by teeter's campground, and used glen miller's shuttle services. It is a fun run, and is definitely a step up from the lower james. The river is a mix of boulder gardens and ledges, and the rapids are fairly continuous; consisting mostly of waves, offset holes, and pourovers . It can be read and run, or boat scouted all the way, but sometimes we'd get out and scout the three big rapids (big nasty, high falls, and coliseum) when bringing newbies. At medium to lower levels it is a non-stop play run. At higher levels you'll spend your time dodging holes and pourovers. ~1ft-3ft on the old albright bridge gauge is considered low to medium. 3.5ft and up is getting high. *edit - The old albright gauge is approx = new albright bridge gauge - 10ft.
The middle fork into the tygart starts out as a more technical lower volume run, with more boulder gardens and chutes. The river opens up once on the tygart. The three big rapids on that section of the tygart are little more technical than those on the cheat canyon, but overall not much more difficult. The shuttle is very easy on this section of the Tygart.
When the cheat is too high you can look at running the various forks of the cheat (dry fork, laurel fork, shavers fork). Those are all close to elkins. The dry fork is a class II-III ledgy play run, while the laurel and shavers fork are more difficult, isolated runs, and very scenic. The shuttles on the laurel and shavers forks are also fairly long.
I am more familiar with the cheat canyon. Logistically, it was easier for us to do since we always camped at the put-in by teeter's campground, and used glen miller's shuttle services. It is a fun run, and is definitely a step up from the lower james. The river is a mix of boulder gardens and ledges, and the rapids are fairly continuous; consisting mostly of waves, offset holes, and pourovers . It can be read and run, or boat scouted all the way, but sometimes we'd get out and scout the three big rapids (big nasty, high falls, and coliseum) when bringing newbies. At medium to lower levels it is a non-stop play run. At higher levels you'll spend your time dodging holes and pourovers. ~1ft-3ft on the old albright bridge gauge is considered low to medium. 3.5ft and up is getting high. *edit - The old albright gauge is approx = new albright bridge gauge - 10ft.
The middle fork into the tygart starts out as a more technical lower volume run, with more boulder gardens and chutes. The river opens up once on the tygart. The three big rapids on that section of the tygart are little more technical than those on the cheat canyon, but overall not much more difficult. The shuttle is very easy on this section of the Tygart.
When the cheat is too high you can look at running the various forks of the cheat (dry fork, laurel fork, shavers fork). Those are all close to elkins. The dry fork is a class II-III ledgy play run, while the laurel and shavers fork are more difficult, isolated runs, and very scenic. The shuttles on the laurel and shavers forks are also fairly long.
Last edited by NeatoMan on Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I would say at very low flows s ~1 - 2ft the cheat feels more like class III-III+ (11-12ft on the new gauge?). The holes in the three hardest rapids aren't as big, and the pourovers aren't nearly as prevalent. You'll be scraping some more rocks though. The lowest I ever ran it was 1.5 ft. We played around the holes in Big Nasty and Coliseum. High Falls was shallow at that level. The rest of the river was a little boney, but doable.
Amy,
I'd suggest buying a WV guidebook, so you can read up on all sorts of options (they're nearly endless if the water's up!). My copies are old, but I'm sure there are new versions of Wildwater West Virginia, The Northern Streams, by Paul Davidson, Ward Eister, & Dirk Davidson. Another great one is Appalachian Whitewater, The Central Mountains, by Ed Grove, Bill Kirby, Charles Walbridge, Ward Eister, Paul Davidson & Dirk Davidson.
While it's great to have AW online, having a guidebook can be a helpful tool when 1st exploring options. Helps you to know what you might want to ask others about.
FYI, there is an intermediate section of the Cheat, called The Narrows, which is roadside Class 3.
I'd suggest buying a WV guidebook, so you can read up on all sorts of options (they're nearly endless if the water's up!). My copies are old, but I'm sure there are new versions of Wildwater West Virginia, The Northern Streams, by Paul Davidson, Ward Eister, & Dirk Davidson. Another great one is Appalachian Whitewater, The Central Mountains, by Ed Grove, Bill Kirby, Charles Walbridge, Ward Eister, Paul Davidson & Dirk Davidson.
While it's great to have AW online, having a guidebook can be a helpful tool when 1st exploring options. Helps you to know what you might want to ask others about.
FYI, there is an intermediate section of the Cheat, called The Narrows, which is roadside Class 3.
Alicia Jahsmann
"Do you live by the river? I hope so, because people who live near running water are much nicer than people who don't. I'd be mean as a scorpion if I lived inland." - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
"Do you live by the river? I hope so, because people who live near running water are much nicer than people who don't. I'd be mean as a scorpion if I lived inland." - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society