Blackwater, WV

Scouting the Boof

Scouting the Boof
Photo of Ron Whitney scouting the Boof by Matt Muir (KHCC) taken 5/27/01 @ 460 cfs

Gauge Information

River Description

Keel Hauler Rating - 32

From the top, gradient by mile is:
144
127
90
101
71
121
50

Put-in 2 mi downstream the North Fork from Thomas past the town of Coketon. Park here, walk 3/4 mi on rail-trail past North Fork Falls. Put-in from an extremely steep goat trail just below the confluence of the Upper Blackwater and North Fork.
Takeout at the AW takeout on the right side of Black Fork just downstream of the confluence of Blackwater and Dry Fork in Hendricks.

Mark Anderson adds a description of the run.
- The rapids begin immediately at the putin, so take a breather after the long carry in before launching. The first few rapids are nice technical boulder drops. Then you come to Krakatoa.
- Krakatoa is a sloping ledge into a mean hole followed by a second ledge. Scout this on the left. At lower flows the first ledge can be run left/center with left angle and the second can be boofed off a center shelf. At higher flows, the first ledge hole is harder to clear and the hole feeds undercuts on either side.
- Boof or Consequences (a.k.a. The Ledge or The Boof). This is not far downstream of Krakatoa. Most of the river is constricted over a 5-foot-ish ledge in the center of the river. Scout this as well. Boof the right corner into a right eddy. The pourover created in this drop literally spits sprays of water from the hole.
- Rock & Roll. This follows after some boat-scoutable drops. It is easy to scout this on the right by taking out just above the congested and blind entrance. There is a lot going on in this rapid and it's steeper than it looks, but there's more than one way to approach it. The rocks at the constriction at the bottom are undercut.
- The Slide. On down the river there is a long low-angle slide that goes on for a couple hundred feet with flow that shifts from left to right. Be sure to skirt the big hole at the bottom.
- The Waterfall. Midway through the run there's a 12-or-so-foot sloping waterfall with numerous lines and numerous junky spots. The left and center area seems to be easiest to navigate. There's vertical far right line where the flow lands on a rock shelf.
- Other Notes: People complain about the carry in, but the final 2 flat miles once the gorge widens out seems worse to me. There's plenty of Class IV fun in between the descriptions above. At lower flows there are inconvenient rocks in almost every rapid. At higher flows, there are several places where a boof will make the day go more smoothly.
AW Access Director Jason Robertson's directions and editorial comments:
Heading upriver from Parsons/Davis, turn right at the Hedricks (no-"n") store in Hendricks (with- "n"). Go to the end of the street (3 blocks) and park to left of foot bridge over river.
Heading downriver from the confluence, turn at the first left after the bridge, go to end of street and bear right at the "L", drive to end of street at next "L" will see parking area on left and foot bridge on left.
The site is in dire need of repair. Needs to be mowed/bush-hogged. The change room sidewalls were kicked out by some hoods 2 years ago and have not been repaired.