The mood was tense as Foose cracked jokes and barked orders meant to help us survive our first big rapid of the day, the sardonically named Insignificant.
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With minimal instruction on how to navigate the river’s more extreme challenges, each person in my group of seven grabbed a paddle and plopped down in our inflatable polyvinyl vessel. It was my third day in the area, and while I’d enjoyed the breathtaking fall foliage and locals’ otherworldly kindness, the thought of enduring butt-clenching drop after drop of Class IV and V whitewater made my chest tight and my palms clammy before I even set foot in the raft. Rafting boats make their way down a tamer section of the New River. The highly anticipated event, commonly referred to as Gauley Season, draws more than 60,000 people annually. The New, as it’s affectionately called, can be rafted year-round, while the Gauley rears its powerful head in autumn starting the weekend after Labor Day, a controlled torrent of water measuring nearly 2,800 cubic feet per second is released from the Summersville Dam, creating the perfect conditions to run heart-thumping, adrenaline-jolting, technical rapids. From his wild, sun-stained blond hair to his frizzy pirate mustache, I was certain when I met him that this was the dude who was going to get me down the river in one piece.Īlthough not technically inside the national park proper, the Gauley flows into New River Gorge’s namesake waterway, which is one of the most famous whitewater hubs in the world. A true-blue Appalachian river rat who’d grown up in West Virginia, Zickafoose, otherwise known as Foose, was unmistakably badass. My rafting guide, Matt Zickafoose, was everything I’d dreamed of when I signed up to shoot the legendary Class V whitewater of the Upper Gauley. “I’m gonna call you Han, ’cause today you’re riding solo.” The parks as we know them are rapidly changing, and she wanted to see them before it’s too late. Avid backpacker and public-lands nerd Emily Pennington saved up, built out a tiny van to travel and live in, and hit the road, practicing COVID-19 best safety protocols along the way. 63 Parks Traveler started with a simple goal: to visit every U.S.
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