New,
|
|
14. New River Gorge: Cunard to Fayette Station
| Usual Difficulty |
III-IV(V) (may vary with level) |
| Avg. Gradient |
20 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
27 fpm |
Scenic Gorge Photo - shot from Beauty Mountain
Scenic Gorge Photo - shot from Beauty MountainPhoto by John Petretich taken 09/15/04 @ 15000 cfs
Gauge Information
| Name |
Range |
Difficulty |
Updated |
Level |
|
New at Fayette Station
|
|
virtual-6362 |
-2.00 - 12.00 ft
|
III-IV(V) |
01h13m |
6.2593
ft
(rc= 0.6 ) |
River Description
The section from Thurmond to Fayette Station is 14 mi. long; however ,most paddlers shorten the
trip by running the 6.5 mi. section from Cunard to Fayette Station. This section contains all of
the rapids except for one called Surprise. The put in at Cunard takes out all of the long pools.
Plus, as a bonus the Park Service has built the best bathrooms I have ever seen at a National Park!
Great for those first-timer jitters! For more information on the "upper" section see the
Thurmond to Cunard page.
This is a big volume powerful river and can be run over a wide range of river levels. All of the
descriptions of the rapids are at the level of 2 ft on the Fayette Station gauge.
Most agree that the optimal level is 2ft. At this level the Kenneys, Double Z, and Fayette Station
are really stompin'. The lower the river is, as you would expect, things get smaller. The weird
thing is the higher the river goes the smaller features disappear and in my opinion things get
easier. You have HUGE holes, but you have forever to make your move around them. Above 10 ft there
are no real eddies and the river is really wide. That spells disaster for swimmers. If you do not
have big water paddling skills then stay off above 6ft. The high max level is set at 12ft because
that is the Park Service cutoff for rafting trips.
Thank you to the Keelhauler Canoe Club for a very nice
shuttle map.
FYI: According to the people who know such things, the New River is the second oldest river in the
world.
NPS Guide to paddling the New River
NPS map of the New & Gauley Rivers
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2009-06-03 01:11:38
Editors