Elsey Run
from county road to Cheat River
| Difficulty | V+ |
| Length | 4.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 371 fpm |
| Reach Info Last Updated | February 10, 2009 |
River Description
This is one of the steepest runs in the area, dropping at an 800-fpm rate for a quarter mile, according to JB Seay. Check out his description, with some great photos, of a run in the winter of 2009; click here.
There's a serious access problem on this crick; one landowner has reportedly threatened to shoot kayakers if he sees them. For this reason, JB Seay recommends parking at the takeout for Daugherty Run, just downstream on the Cheat, and moving quickly when checking levels or finishing a run.
Click here for a 260k video of the Zone Dogg running a boof on this stream. Click here for a 451k video of the Zone Dogg's first attempt at a slide; Click here for a 471k video of his second, better attempt.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportNo point in writting a howto for this creek. For your own safety, scout *everything*. Strainers and undercuts abound.
Big Sandy level at 7.5
Elsey level 'low side of good'
Big Sandy level at 7.5
Elsey level 'low side of good'
Time to finish Elsey Run was about 6-7 hours, due to lots of portaging around wood blockages like this one.
We worked hard to clear a tree out of this drop, but it was worth it. This is the end of a very tight and technical set of drops.
This was a technical little slide where you had to land perpendicular into a narrow slot. Fun, fun, fun.
Elsey Run: Tighter than a virgin's daughter.
Just a reminder: Last summer a good friend of mine from WVU obtained permission from the landowner at the end of the run to sample Elzey Run for fish. He noted that the landowner couldn't stop talking about how much he hated kayakers, and that he wouldn't hesitate to shoot anyone floating down the creek in front of his house. Apparently he doesn't have too much to lose...