Cheat, Glady Fork

Ran this section of the river on June 7, 2020. As stated by other reviewers, this is approximately a 9-10 mile float. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and this is a fun, easy, remote run in WV's high country. The first few miles are mainly comprised of Class I rapids and the last several miles are comprised mainly of Class II water. However, about 2 miles into the float, an ignorant land owner placed three strands of barbed wire across the creek. One strand is literally neck high. The river was on the low side of runnable and this occurrence was in Class I water. When you start seeing livestock fencing on the left bank, keep your eye out. We didn't see the wire until we were almost on it because this section of the river is also very shaded by hemlocks. We were able to slide underneath the wire, but in high water, this situation could be extremely dangerous to paddlers. Also, as stated by other reviewers, this river is prone to strainers. Because there are many glades (hence the river's name), it often breaks into small channels. There were many times where one or more channels would be blocked by strainers, but others channels were open and passable. There were only two sections (about 6 miles into the float) that were blocked completely by strainers or blow-downs. In the first instance, the river breaks into approximately 5 small, short channels and all paths were blocked; we were able to hop out of boats and cross a glade (located in the center) to get around this. This could be a problem in high water though. About a half mile past the first obstruction, there was a small tree blown across another part of the river. The water was low so we could easily hop out of the boats and 'limbo' underneath it. But in high water, this would be an issue. The float took our party (i.e. 3 experienced boaters) about 3 hours. I would recommend giving yourself and your party ample time to run this section just because of the strainer issue.