North Fork of the Blackwater (V+) (WV) Headcam + Freestyle Footy

Adam gyrating in Hungry Mother, Upper Gauley, WV.

Watch the full video embedded below or click HERE.

Anyone who paddles in WV knows that the Blackwater River in the northern central part of the state is of the same caliber of North Carolina's Green River Narrows (but, of course, better in every way ;-). The Blackwater is a naturally fed stream that has three different sections: the "North Fork" (V+), the "Upper" (IV-V+), and the "Lower" (IV-V).

Jake Greenbaum admires Douglas Falls, North Fork of the Blackwater, WV.

Out of these three sections, the Upper Blackwater, averaging 233 fpm, runs the most frequently and is paddleable at a wide range of levels (some people run it real high, it just depends on how crazy you are). The Lower is less frequented because you have to either run the Upper into the Lower, or hike in and down a steep 400 vertical foot mountain (see map below). The Upper and lower offer extremely challenging boulder drop rapids with a few slides and larger drops. Both the Lower and the Upper will challenge any paddler when they descend the canyon, no matter their skill level.

Blackwater Area Map. Note the sections. When the Upper and North Fork meet, the remaining stretch is called the "Lower" Blackwater.

The North Fork, on the other hand, is a completely different stream. Instead of boulder drops and hard, tight, technical moves, the North Fork, which has a max gradient of almost 400 fpm, offers steep vertical drops consistently. The big drop, called Glutial Mash, is a picturesque 30' drop that you have to either boof or enter at a maximum of a 45 degree angle to avoid pitoning potential.

Some of the best things about the North Fork is that you can run it multiple times in a day (provided that you have the corn to power up the 400' vert hill and 1.5 miles of rail trail each time), it runs fairly frequently, and, essentially, is a park and huck (due to all the hiking).

Needless to say, the Blackwater is a powerful river that should not be taken lightly. Experienced teams only. In the words of LVM, "If you don't have the skillz to pay the billz..." please admire from a distance...


OR from this video!

If you are having trouble viewing this video, click HERE.

The video is from the North Fork of the Blackwater with some headcamera footage (WV, V+) and some freestyle on the Upper Gauley. Enjoy!

Also, if you would like to see the entire North Fork of the Blackwater headcam footage, click HERE.

Happy holidays and see you on the water,

-Adam Johnson
WhitewaterFreestyle

Looping on the Upper Gauley

Adam Johnson Loops in Hungry Mother Hole, Upper Gauley, WV.

This fall, after the huge crowd had left town post Gauleyfest, Stephen Wright, Tanya Shuman, Kelsey Thompson, and myself (Adam Johnson) had the opportunity to cruise down the Upper Gauley during near record high temperatures. The day proved to be filled with lots of gyrations, flips, and flops from each person in our party.

Stephen Wright going big in Geeks Hole.

Kelsey Thompson looping in Hungry Mother

Adam Johnson loops in Hungry Mother.

Tanya Shuman, recently retired, heading for the hole.
This is a great sequence

Stephen, completely aerial, about to land on his face after a *huge* ender

Stephen was super fired up about that last ender. We got to catch him in a rare moment of exuberance.

Stephen Loops big in Hungry Mother, and, well, pretty much anywhere.

This was certainly a great day to be on the river. I cannot remember the last time it was late October and I was paddling in a shorty splash top on the Gauley. This past weekend a crew which included David Finney, among others, descended the Upper Gauley from the meadow down at around 12,000cfs (the normal fall flow, pictured here, is 2,800cfs). The following few days were preceded by a 5,000 to 6,000cfs day, as well as a 4,200cfs and a 2,900cfs day. A truly classic river.

Looping Tips:
1. The biggest thing to remember when looping is keeping your boat straight when you drive your bow under water. You can control your lateral movement with braking and ruddering strokes as your bow travels towards the seam of the feature.
2. When you reach the seam, lean forward, keeping your boat straight. Your boat will soon start the ender. As soon as you start to ender upwards, stand on your feet and try to "jump" up and back into the hole to get your boat out of the water.
3. As you start to go over vertical, tuck back up and throw your paddle into the water. Do a stroke that starts at your bow and travels in an arc over your head to your stern (think of it as making a half circle with your paddle). This stroke aids in pulling your stern through the water. As this stroke travels towards your stern, lean back and help get your boat back upright.
4. Once you have completed the loop, be sure to get back forward and on top of things as the feature will want to mess with you while your are on your back deck. And that is how to loop in a nutshell.

See you on the water,
-Adam Johnson
WhitewaterFreestyle

Black River NY

Draught+Cruncher+Voodoo=Lots of Fun!!!!

Well it’s been a crazy summer up here in the Northeast, with the lack of rain we’ve had compared to the water we’ve had the last couple of summers. Nevertheless we have been holding things down up here. During the weekdays in Rochester, NY we paddle Lock 32 whitewater course after work which gives us dependable whitewater 6 months out of the year. On the weekends we head up to Watertown, NY where we paddle a northeast classic called the Black River.

The Black has everything you could ever want during a summer draught. It offers class three and four rapids with a couple of class five lines thrown in here and there. Also it has a stout little waterfall with a huge re-circ that gets the heart pumping if you mess up your line. Also there is a huge hole named Cruncher that destroys rafts. A lot of the rafts are pulled out with the use of ropes. Most boaters freak out at the thought of even dropping into it or running the line that skirts it. My friends and I on the other hand have a couple of screws loose I guess. For some reason we find ourselves daring each other to drop it, in order to see who survives its wrath. Hudson River rafting gives us free shuttle rides because we deliver great entertainment for their guests.

With this blog I am including a video that shows our antics on the Black River. You will notice that there is a lot of carnage and yes there is a lot of voodoo dancing going on as well. For some reason whenever someone does a dance with sticks in their hands people get destroyed. Kayakers are not the only ones affected by the voodoo curse…we cast spells on the rafters too, so please enjoy our video of our summertime run in Watertown, NY

Black river+Voodo

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This is Paul Twist Signing off for Team Riot