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Robert Farmer-- I did this on May 17, 2008, at 3.5 at Franklin, which was a perfectly delightful level. This is the optional entry run for the canyon/valley downstream that may be the most beautiful valley in West Virginia. However, as I approached the first rapid, I might well have run it without scouting except for an obnoxious log leaning across from bottom right up to the canyon wall on the left. This rapid needs to be scouted from the left, along a very slippery ledge at the base of the vertical wall. I decided to run it, still thinking that it's a Class 3. I had to ferry far left against the wall, catch a surfing wave to the right just in front of an upstream-facing corner, duck under the log, and drop off the ledge/boulder. Unfortunately, having to go left to avoid the log sent me right into a vicious eddy on the right that pushed me back upstream and wanted to shove me under the falls, mostly while perched delicately on a powerful and frightening eddy fence. I had brought my long boat (Prijon Tornado), and while my tail was being pounded by the central chute, my bow was being pummeled by the chute which I had just come down, mostly while on that aforementioned eddy fence. There is a hole at the base of the left chute that is a keeper, unless you flip or swim; however, a swim here might well be fatal, because the whole drop is backed up by some kind of obstruction that creates a huge and subtle pillow that funnels most of the water to the left into a 30-foot eddy underneath a 20-foot overhang that pushes upstream to flow rapidly underneath a horizontal overhang undercut before presumably traveling upstream to underneath the falls of the left chute. In summation, a swim---either on the right or left---is about 95% likely to recirculate you upstream to places where you would likely drown, which is why I'm calling this drop Class 5, emphatically not Class 3!!! It will probably be easier when the log washes out, but the potentially deadly eddies will remain. Below here are some fun Class 2-3 rapids and a portage around a low-water bridge where the water flows smoothly and deceptively rapidly, so watch out! Remember, the first drop is Class 5, not Class 3, so most people will portage on the right. It might be easier and safer at lower levels, but be careful, because it is not as straightforward as it first appears.