Tygart Valley

Not sure why people refer to this run as a 'safe' or a 'beginner run'. Ran it at 4.9' this past weekend. Main river left channel of the first falls was easy to boof; but major recirc if you mess up - I give it a III+.

Ran the river right spout on the second drop. Easy and consequence free if you mess up. I give it a III-. Then we ran down another little III- rapid.

Next we came to Hamburger Helper. At that level a solid Class V. This rapid (including the sneak) is probably as tough as anything I have paddled on Upper Gauley or Upper Yough at normal flows. Dangerous recirc and pin potential. Ran it through the sneak and had to roll up (3 times).

Then we came to Twist and Shout. Scouted it for a while and decided not to run it (even though I have ran it seveal times before without problem). There was a big pillow rock near the bottom of the drop that sent about 45% of the river into a bad pinning 'room of doom' situation. It looked really nasty. Have to say Class V at that level.

Overall, I'd say Valley Falls is a III-V run at 4.9'.