Rowed 13ft Aire raft from the swinging bridge to Alone Mill bridge on 2/9/25 in 3.5 hours. Flows of 2000 cfs and dropping. Some big waves but still boney and technical. Went far right in Devils Kitchen and it was not very smooth, but still made it down fine. Quite a few large logs on that side. Epic run in a beautiful place. Would row again at probably 2500-3000+

Paddled in a cataraft today @ 2000cfs. Great trip. Probably the minimum level needed for our 14' Aire. Can't wait to do it again.

The putin was easy but the takeout had a very steep bank. Instead we took out just below Indian Pond at Island Ln. Missed the last few rapids but had an easier time getting out.

View down the river right lines on Devils Kitchen just downstream of house rock. ~550cfs

View down through the Kitchen from Cadillac Eddy on river left ~550cfs

This river is awesome and starts to approach amazing at the 3,000+ cfs levels. Big fun.

Alone Mill

The annual Goshen Pass Race is the first weekend in March with flows of 600 cfs or higher.

March, 1997. Gordon at 'The Schoolbus Boof', Goshen Pass, VA

Double splat, 'Wigwam' rock, Goshen.

Ran this at around 400 cfs on 11-16-09. I wouldn't recommend running Goshen Pass at a lower level than that. The margins running through Devil's Kitchen are extremely tight and the rapids below what I call 'Wall Rapid' are so rocky you can barely get through. No doubt Devil's Kitchen gets somewhat easier at higher flows as the passages open up a bit.

Paddled the Maury on Nov 14, 2009 - the Strainer in Devils Kitchen on the left side of House Rock was gone. Confirmed by the locals that the removal attempt was successful, and it was totally gone. Several of our group ran that slot directly on the left side of House Rock with no issues, including one who ran through it upside down :)

is the new sug. min level 300 now?yea right -in who's boat..?c

Scene at the finish line.

Flip unveils a new prize.

Trevar trying out his new undergarment.

Some of the racers enjoying the warm after-glow of the Great Goshen Race.

Got tired of seeing a lot of rain and waiting for the river to rise, which it didn't do. So I ran it this morning anyways around 240cfs (1.9 feet) and even though this level is considered below recommended, it is definitely runnable. You scrape a little on the boulder gardens right after the put in, but after that you are good to go and if you look for the lines along the main flow it's actually pretty good water. The water isn't pushy enough through the kitchen or any other rapids to make any good boaters end up in bad spots, but there are a few more sieves and undercuts that you need to watch out for. Definitely some must make moves in the kitchen. There's really only one or two lines available, but they both require a mid-rapid ferry all the way across the kitchen in a skinny/flushy pool, and if you over-launch your boofs then you're doomed to end up stuck in some manky stuff or caught up against some of the more unfriendly rocks. The rest of the way down was really fun and clean with good boofs and nice lines. I won't hesitate to do it again at this level. Just wanted to let everyone know that it's still do-able around this level (however, I wouldn't try it any lower). Message me if you wanna know more.

Wendy boofs Corner Rapid

The rootball strainer in Devil's Kitchen has been removed thanks to the efforts of several local paddlers. There is log in a slot in the top/middle of the rapid but almost no one goes there anyway. The strainer that had been the site of a fatal accident last spring is gone. Props to the Kline family for their efforts!

The log is wedged against House Rock (the largest rock in the rapid) with the rootball against the rock's upper/left side. The tree extends to the left and downriver at least 15-feet at about a 45-degree angle - so stay away from the left side of House Rock as well as the danger area above House Rock.

Top 10 finishers of the Goshen Race 2008. In order of finish, left-to-right.

theif must hit all the takeouts cus there was broken window glass all over the rt 622 (alone mill rd.) lower maury take out on 5/28/07!

Recent break ins (Goshen as well as Balcony Falls section of James) -

A number of recent breakins and thefts reported at Goshen Pass section of the Maury as well as the Balcony Falls section of the James which is another run close to Goshen. Thefts were reported to local law enforcement and it appears that they have stepped up patrols at the local runs. Thefts appear to be classic 'snatch & grab' as Johnny Law calls them so they ain't professional theives by any means. Just a heads up for those that frequent the areas.....hide your valuables or better yet, leave 'em at home.

1/2/2007 update: In addition to the tree, a rock tunnel has been cleaned out and is now a hazard at higher flows. See http://coastals.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3116 and scroll down a bit for details.

The USGS recalibrated the gauge stage / cfs relationship in November of 2005. The river has run so seldom since then it took me this long to notice the discrepancies. From what I can tell, for example, at USGS 2.6 feet what used to be 638 cfs is now reported at 511 cfs. Seems like a minor difference but if your zero is 600 then it makes the difference between a day at work and a day digging the Pass!

Sharon Myers (orange boat) in the middle of Devil's
Kitchen and Spencer Muse (green boat) about to
be. Taken from road that runs above river.
Full-extent view of Devil's Kitchen, taken from the
road along the river, about 70 feet above river level.
The scouting party on upper river left is led by
Sharon Myers (Durham, NC, CCC).
View of Wall Rapid, taken from the road along the
river, about 70 feet above river level.

BREAK-INS and VANDALISM in the Pass.

From Glenn Rose (April, 2004):

> There is nothing concrete on who broke into my van last week, but the prime suspect is a local boy who lives only a few miles away. He drives around the neighborhood in a red Chevy pickup with 'Farm Use' tags, the type one buys at the co-op, not state issued. I think it has a 6 ft. bed. He also travels with another low life in a tan 1980ish pickup with an 8 ft. bed, a darker colored tailgate, and tags that end in something close to '1033'. He may travel in his mother's pick up which is around a 1970 Ford two wheel drive dark vehicle also with store bought 'Farm Use' tags. I know the names of both of these punks and where the prime suspect lives. There's not enough yet for the law to move, though. Keep an eye out when you're boating. The prime suspect is 18, long haired and bearded with no job, so he steals to make ends meet. The other fellow is early 20s. He may also be bearded and long haired. Both fellows are slight in build from what I've been told.

the boof was just barely in on this day

Brad finishes Devil's Kitchen with style - you just can't help spinning down this rock.
Brad runs the Kitchen
Brad runs the Kitchen
Brad runs the Kitchen
Brad runs the Kitchen
Brad runs the Kitchen
Ryan goes for the last move below Devil's Kitchen
Ryan runs the Kitchen
Ryan runs the Kitchen
Ryan runs the Kitchen
Ryan runs the Kitchen
Ryan runs the Kitchen

Brad shizzolates through the Pass

The log shown in this picture (near Tombstone Rock) is now gone.

This is the rock on river right, just down stream of the put-in.

Local paddler Wendy Dalton runs the classic line at Corner Rapid on a low-water run.

The Route 39 bridge at Rockbridge Baths following the 85 flood. It was a long way around until they fixed this one.

Corner Rapid at high water, Where did all the rocks go? Good wave train, with some big play waves in there. Looked good
Lava Falls at High water. Looks like a good play wave, it had good eddy service on river right too.
Kitchen at high water
Yo the kitchen dont look so clean
the Runnout on the Kitchen, Looks super fun, could prob surf some of those waves

From the overlook
This was in the first turn below the swinging bridge, you know, where its normally flat. This was followed by about half a dozen more before the first rapid

Nick throws down in the hole at the top of Indian pool. Shooting the picture into the sun produced an intresting effect.