Cheat

The Cheat is the biggest free flowing (undammed) watershed in the East. With severe thunderstorms multiple days prior, including the night before, this is the Big Nasty Rapid at Cheat's 'The Beast of the East' level. Rafting is via a 'wild side' small raft. Yeah, we all did finally end up swimming here (have never been so deep - could see the light at the surface but wasn't sure I was ever going to get there), but this was the only place swam. Maybe just a bit too small of a raft? - Nah, No way. What a blast. Only regret is that we couldn't go back up and take a second run at 'Big Nasty' with a different technique, especially since it has taken me 33 years (since 1971 without helmets nor guides in the raft) to be fortunate to return to and catch the Cheat again at Beast Level. But we did get to run, try out the new technique and successfully punch through the two nasty hydrolics of 'Even Nastier', the very next set of rapids.

A sad however necessary note of caution, especially for us amateur infrequent weekend warrior rafters, is later this day a small group of three crafts ran Big Nasty (during the day the river rose to 6.25 feet). They all went swimming. I don’t know if it was early in the Big Nasty rapids (which is a challenge in itself) or at the Big Nasty gigantic hydrolic (where we went swimming), but one did not come up. His body was recovered the next day.