Hi everyone. I have be lurking off and on the last couple of months and thought its about time I posted. My boating buddies knows me as Lil Mary, and I hope the nick sticks with new buddies I make. I recently relocated to VA (Lexington / Buena Vista area but work in Roanoke) from Cleveland, OH. This will be my sixth season of boating. I am mostly a class III boater who loves to help beginners whenever I can. I am currently unfamiliar with any of the rivers in VA and southern WV. I mostly have boated in PA and northern WV, with one trip to the middle Ocoee under my belt. Coastals was suggested to me by some of the members in my old club to look for paddlers to hook up with. So here I am posting a hi to the group, and to say I am interested in any class II/+II runs this Spring to warm up and get back into boating since I have not been out since the end of September.
Welcome to Coastals. You're in a great location for paddling. Look for trips to the Balcony Falls section of the James River for local fun, and please join us at Webster Springs April 5 & 6. Hope to meet you in person soon.
“...And Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.” Homer Simpson
Look for trips to the Balcony Falls section of the James (Glasgow to Snowden). It is a II / III run at most levels and is less than an hour from you.
If you want to explore a little more, you can look for trips on the Upper James in Richmond.
Also, you should consider coming on Dave Bradford's (Wallace's) II / III Webster Springs Pro trip in early April. Look under this forum for the thread.
Hi Lil Mary, I'm in Buena Vista/Lexington and there is lot's of fun class II stuff around here; Maury, James, Tye, Rivanna, Jackson, Cowpasture and we're only 90 minutes from the New in West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. Our after work run is the Maury at Rockbridge Baths or James at Balcony Falls, both are 20 minutes from here.
Andy
Never let the absolute truth get in the way of a damn good story:)
Where have you been in WV / PA and what was comfortable for you?
As it happens, there is a club trip on April 12th in your area. We're doing a roadside cleanup at Goshen Pass (about 25 minutes upstream from Lexington on the Maury) followed by a cookout and paddle. Depending on water levels hoping for trips through Goshen Pass and an easier paddle on a lower section. If low water then we'll probably go to Balcony Falls on the James.
Welcome to Virginia. As you can see from the other posts, there are a lot of options around Lexington. If you work in Roanoke, you may want to look at the Roanoke River, too. It's a nice class II. There is a stretch that starts at Dixie Caverns (off of I-81 south of Salem) and ends at Green Run Park in Salem. There is another stretch that runs from Green Run Park to Rt. 419 in Salem.
I'll let you know if anyone is doing those sections anytime soon. There are a few folks that do short stretches of the Roanoke after work occasionally.
Thank you for the welcomes and suggestions on what to look for on the forum. To answer what I have paddled and what I am comfortable on here are the rivers I have paddled:
Mostly my river time has been on the following and have no problems leading others down.
Slippery Rock Creek (lower and upper) near Butler, Pa
Lower Yough in Ohiopyle, Pa comfortable up to and including 3ft
North Branch of the Potomac
Cheat Narrows
Connoquenessing (Connie) Creek in Pa
The North branch, Narrows, and Connie I help take beginners down and work on river skills.
I have also been on the following rivers but would not be comfortable leading trips on. Actually I would have to have someone show me the lines again on these rivers.
Dry fork of the Cheat
Stonycreek River canyon section in Pa
Middle Ocoee
As you can tell most of my river time has been done in PA since it was very close to me in Cleveland. I will keep an eye on the forum and hope to see some of you in person here soon.
Lil Mary, welcome to the neighborhood. Planning to paddle the Balcony Falls section of the James this Sunday 3/30 with some students from Sweet Briar College. We are just on the other side of the Blue Ridge in Amherst.
I just posted the trip on the forum. Hope you can make it. Give me a call if you have any questions or need directions. 434-381-5962
lilmary wrote:To answer what I have paddled and what I am comfortable on here are the rivers I have paddled:
...
Lower Yough in Ohiopyle, Pa comfortable up to and including 3ft
...
Stonycreek River canyon section in Pa
Middle Ocoee
Once you get warmed back up start watching for trips on the Upper Tye and Goshen Pass on the Maury. A bit of "apples and oranges" comparisons here but I'd put them somewhere in the difficulty neighborhood of Stonycreek Canyon and the Middle Ocoee.
I recently relocated to VA (Lexington / Buena Vista area but work in Roanoke) from Cleveland, OH. This will be my sixth season of boating. I am mostly a class III boater who loves to help beginners whenever I can. I am currently unfamiliar with any of the rivers in VA and southern WV. I mostly have boated in PA and northern WV, with one trip to the middle Ocoee under my belt. Coastals was suggested to me by some of the members in my old club to look for paddlers to hook up with. So here I am posting a hi to the group, and to say I am interested in any class II/+II runs this Spring to warm up and get back into boating since I have not been out since the end of September.
