At 5.75 this river becomes a much more difficult river. We started this run with 10 boaters and only four finished the run without walking off. All of the boaters had at least excellent class III/IV skills, others that walked off have no problem running IV/V rivers. In fact one of the paddlers who walked off had just run it the previous day without issue. Please know the level before you put on. If there has been a good steady rain recently be ready for a different river. CK Edit

4/24/06 There is a log in the first big section of rapids; I went across the tip of it via a narrow slot on the right--too spooky, really; it seems as though there is always at least one log on this river. I would call this section Class 4+(5), not Class 3-4, especially considering the logs that are always there. I ran S-turn, and it was clear, but could always change.<br /> <br /> Also, I resent someone trying to change the name of this section to the &quot;Middle.&quot; Many rivers have additional sections above their &quot;Upper&quot; section, and changing the name is confusing.

From the WVWA message Board where it was poste by Brian Rahall on 1/15/2005, 16:16.<br /> <br /> Approximately 1/4 mile into the run there is a tree down blocking 2/3 of the drop.. Although not a sugnificant drop the tree is a hazard.. and about 100 yards below the tree is what looks to be a limb from the tree broached on a rock.. Just keep your eye's open everything is pretty obvious.

There is a 70' nrs spectra cord throw rope in the river below full nelson. exact location is unknown. Also, there is a log extending a couple feet across the river right side of the full nelson drop. The root ball and the rest of the log are blocking the center channel. full nelson is still runnable

Everyone please be aware that the last drop just above S-Turn is Full Nelson. There have been several near drownings at this spot.I was involved in a rescue at this spot recently and the paddler did not come out of the hole at Full Nelson until he had blacked out.(level-4.1) Two near drownings I know of already in 04. This appears to be just a 4-5ft. pourover on river left,but it is a very sticky hole with no exits on the ends. Scout from river left and set safety always here. Portage on river left also. Please be careful at this spot. Jim B.

The following info was provided by Matt McMillion:<br /> <br /> We paddled the middle Cranberry at about 4 1/2 feet Wed. March 3rd. The &quot;push&quot; seems less, the water is more spread out through the riverbed. The drops used to be clear at the bottom for the most part. Now almost all the drops have rocks at the bottom, this is really only a big deal if you are upside-down or out of the boat. Just be aware after you punch a hole you will more than likely have to keep your bow up and keep your eyes open. <br /> <br /> S-turn is now open to the left or right of the big rock in the middle. If you go right it is not nearly as easy to get back left. the water wants to go through the rocks at the center right of the drop. Eddy hopping may be the way to go. The main thing to keep in mind is the rapid has changed and some sieves are way easier to get into. S-turn is not what it used to be. It should be considered a first decent and scouted, every thing else can be boat scouted. <br /> <br /> Also, we did notice what we think was the big tree in the first major drop downsteam about 200 yds on the left. There is (was) no wood in the run itself.

The following was posted on BoaterTalk by Matt McMillion on 12/30/03... <br /> <br /> Paddlers need to be aware of some changes on the Cranberry (middle) River. The very large tree that was in the first drop is gone. I did not see it further down stream. <br /> <br /> Many of the drops have changed, the stream bed seems to be more cluttered. <br /> <br /> I WOULD SUGGEST THAT ALL PADDLERS LOOK AT &quot;S-TURN&quot; TO DECIDE HOW THEY WANT TO RUN IT OR WALK IT. THE MAIN LINE IS NOW SIEVED OUT AND FEEDS IT AN UNDERCUT THAT HAS A HUGE FLAT ROCK AGAINST IT LIKE A LEAN-TO. IT LOOKS VERY BAD. IT CAN BE RUN EXTREME RIGHT. BUT I WOULD LOOK AT IT. <br /> <br /> Some of the more drastic changes are more apparent after s turn with some rocks moved around. Nothing major. <br /> <br /> If you know some one that paddles the Middle Cranberry tell them to scout s turn and be aware of changes in streambed. Running s turn as normal could be very dangerous! <br /> <br /> The level today was 3.9 (low) <br /> <br /> Matt McMillion <br /> wvsurfer@charter.net <br />

Seems like this run may be overrated. I remember it as a class 3/4 run. It might approach class 5 at really high flows.