Tygart Valley

Monday morning we were up and driving back to the state park. It was looking a little low at the put-in, but the run turned out to be just perfect. The rapids were similar to those on the Big Sandy. The run starts out with a very creek-like feel for the first 3 miles and there were some great boulder gardens with fun little chutes and some nice surf waves. I took lead for most of the day and everyone paddled strong. The run changes dramatically in character as you're dumped out on to the Tygart. It takes on a bigwater feel comparable to the Clearwater up in Canada although the class IV sections are separated by decent stretches of easier water and there are good places to scout. We pounded and weaved our way through mazes of holes and waves. Everyone had a great time. The only downside is the run finishes with a walk out of 3/4 mile on the railroad tracks. We finished up with dinner together and then began the drive home. I finally settled down in my bed at 2 am.