Blackwater, North Fork

Starting below the dam below US 219 at Thomas, WV.

The distances for these rapids are a matter of guesswork.

From Bobby Miller:

Starting below the dam at Thomas, the North Fork flows lazily towards the edge of the mountain. The run for the next 3 miles is made up of mostly continuous Class 2 rapids. There is a 6-8 foot ledge underneath a railroad bridge shortly after leaving Thomas that should be scouted.

About 2.5 miles below the putin, lies Barber Shop Falls, named for an old barbershop that used to overlook the area. This is a slide into an 8-10 foot falls that should be run on the right. Soon, Long Run (a sizeable tributary) comes in on the right and you should be looking to get out soon. Not long after Long Run, the North Fork drops off the face of the Earth.

The steep section begins with a slide into a 40-foot waterfall. Most of the water lands on rocks except on the right where it falls into a shallow pool. Portage on the right. This falls has been run only once and many excellent creek boaters have passed on it. Rumor has it that the ZoneDogg has had his eye on this falls for some time now. I hear that he plans to run it at the next good rainfall.

(Lat/longitude coords are a rough guess.)

Gluteal Mash is a big falls that can be a lot of fun but also very dangerous. The pool at the bottom is not very deep and there have been several broken ankles as a result of penciling in. The water at the bottom of the falls is not especially aerated, which has caused several injured vertebrae from landing too flat. It is tricky to find the happy medium here, but let's not get ahead of ourselves--there is the approach slide to deal with first.

The approach slide is best entered in the center heading to the left. The slide is tilted to the right so the left angle will help counter this and keep you centered. The cleanest lip is in the center. The farther right you go, the more junky the lip is with the extreme right side cascading over rock shelves. This falls should not be attempted below 1.5 on the putin gauge. At levels lower than 1.5, the approach slide is tremendously shallow and it is difficult to maintain any sort of speed coming to the lip. The last thing you want to do is come to a complete stop before the lip and fall straight in. At levels higher than 1.5, the slide carries you with good speed towards the lip and it is easier to get an appropriate launch (as well as adding more aeration). Portage on the right if you have any doubts. Click here for the link to a 288k video of Gluteal Mash. (Scroll down, and click above 'Glutial on the North Fork.')

Below Gluteal Mash, there is a good rock garden best run down the left, over a few small drops. Catch the next eddy on the left and get out and scout. The very next rapid is called The World's Ugliest Rapid. It is not super difficult but the whole right bank is undercut (where most of the water is). The idea is to boof far left off a 2-foot ledge, land and immediately boof left off a 4-foot ledge. These two boofs keep you away from the undercuts. If you blow the first boof, the water will want to pull you to the right and make it difficult to avoid the undercuts.

After a slide into a 3-foot ledge, you will reach an impressive horizon line. This is Cow Pissing On a Flat Rock, a 12-foot falls followed by a slide. Launch a schweeeet boof off the right side (making sure not to pencil) and then head down the left side of the runout slide.

The next rapid is called Big Bear Slide and is very fun. The creek starts down a slide that gets split by a rock island. Follow the water going left which cascades down into a 5-foot boof before slamming into the left bank. Make sure you get to the right side of the channel to avoid the undercut rocks on the left bank. This drop leads directly into an 8-foot horseshoe-shaped ledge that is best run on the left. This drop develops a nasty hole at higher water.

After this, there is a slide into a 6-foot ledge. You will want to run off this ledge in the center angled hard left to avoid an ugly boulder right below. This drop gets harder to run correctly as the water drops.

After some smaller rock gardens, you reach Eye of the Needle. It is a 6-foot slope that ends in a 4-foot drop. The water slams into an undercut rock in the center. Ride the slope down the center and turn to the left (sideways) as you drop off. You will land on the pillow of the rock which will shoot you cleanly out. Don't be overzealous and head left too early because the water coming off the pillow will slam you into the wall on the left.

After a steep boulder drop run down the right with left angle (good boof at higher water)and a few rocky drops, you will come to a slide. This rapid is called Double Indemnity. You want to ride the slide down the right which will terminate in an eight-foot horseshoe ledge. Have right angle as you slide down the ledge as this will line you up correctly for the 15-foot falls that immediately follows. Try to avoid dropping over the center of the horseshoe approach, as this will create all sorts of problems in running the 15-foot falls correctly. The falls should be run on the right where the creek slopes down to a killer boof lip. The left side is extremely shallow and many boats have been bent or pig-nosed here. Once safely in the pool, get out and have a look at the next one, Double Boof.

Double Boof was named for the two sweet 6-foot boofs right after each other that used to exist. However, high water rearranged this rapid to where the first boof lands on a heinous-looking rock and the second boof rock is totally dry. The line now is to cut to the right in front of the first boof rock and launch a SIKy off a rock on right bank. From here, ferry out to the left under a wild spray of water coming off the heinous rock and down over a small drop. This leads right into a really cool slide run down the middle.

Several more slides and rocky drops carry you for the last 1/8 of a mile to the Blackwater. After having survived a killer run on the North Fork, you have two options : brave a high water run on the Lower B or carry up and do the North Fork again!

You can takeout at the Blackwater River confluence. This requires climbing a huge hill (luckily there is a trail) up to the railroad grade. From here it is about a mile back to the gate (and the 40 foot falls). If this doesn't sound like fun, continue down the Lower Blackwater to Hendricks, which should have lots of water in it. Watch out for big holes!