Meadow (Gauley River trib.)

4/26/06 For years, I would look upstream from the lower meadow, or downstream from the upper meadow, and think that that is a section of river that I will never do. But let me tell you, this is a great section of river! It is very beautiful, with numerous large boulders, 50 feet high and up to 100 feet long, vertical and overhanging on all sides, one of which broke and has a 50-foot-high, symmetrical, V-shaped crack; many of these boulders are moss-and-tree covered, making this perhaps the most beautiful section of river in WV (top 4, at least). HOWEVER, while admiring the beauty of these gorgeous boulders, don't get sucked underneath them, because they are all table rocks, with plenty of space underneath to trap errant paddlers and boats!! I just ran it at an estimated 1200 cfs, and I'd give it a Class 5- rating above perhaps 900 cfs, but that's just a guess. There were numerous narrow lines between blind, keeper ledge holes and pushy currents slamming into undercut table rocks, occasionally cluttered with boulders. Reading the river safely and accurately took pretty much all of the skill that I could muster, because it is often quite subtle. This section seems to have more undercuts than even the dreaded lower meadow, excepting the big Class 5's on that section, and that's saying something!

Also, I found that the Class 6-ish rapid discussed below is actually the third rapid in the miracle mile, although I guess it depends on how one defines 'major.' Anyway, stay alert there; I snuck it on the right, past several disconcerting sieves; at that level, there was no way that I was going to try to scout the left side, and I didn't see anything over there from the bottom that I liked, anyway! A portage would be more prudent.

I scouted twice in the miracle mile, and twice in the section downstream of the last road, after putting on a mile below Nallen. The first and third scouts were difficult, but worth it. The second and fourth were easy, and worth it.

Don't go expecting beautiful, high sandstone cliffs; there is only one that I saw, toward the end, on the right. But this is still much, much better than the flat water paddle that I was for many years led to believe that this was. It may well be fun Class 3-4 at lower levels, but approach with caution, because at 1200 cfs (well below the 'maximum' of 2000), I felt fully engaged, and I've got quite a few Class 5's behind me, so I want to caution any Class 3 boaters from jumping on this with too much water.

It is steep enough and fast enough that I never took a paddle stroke downstream---only for control. It is as good as the upper meadow, which is the quintessential fun, Class 4 river at high water, but the upper is much safer than the middle, so you should be solid on the upper or its equivalent before coming here. But definitely put this on your list!