Kayaking Through Zoar Valley

Kayaking can be fun as hell, it really is something just about anyone can do. But you gotta be smart, and you gotta be prepared. I just freshened up some of my old lessons, so let's take a trip and learn.

We went further than I've ever been, down probably the worst part of Zoar Valley, down water I've mostly never seen before. First lesson - Don't do that. It's best if you know what's coming so you know where to go and what to avoid. But if you're just winging it, be prepared.

It wasn't long after we left until we were totally off the grid. While the road is "right there" for the first 500yds or so, once it's gone, it's gone for good. I commented to Ash that we were totally off the grid, a fact she didn't seem to get at first. But it's something I really pressed on because awareness saves lives. Although we had just left, although we were never more than a 10 minute car ride home, we were alone. There were no phones. The road was blocked by 100' of sheer cliffs. And not a soul knew we were going out. An issue here meant a camp out, a camp that would have to wait until someone missed us (likely days) and the only way out was by helicopter. 10 minutes from home and a slip on the shale meant a life threatening survival scenario that could last up to a week or more. Wild stuff.

I also realized another thing - I'm officially old. Nearly the entire time I was keyed up in complete caution mode. Not once did I feel that rush of adventure, of wanting to find a wild hole and bomb it. I was on guard about as much as I have been in certain times of fatherhood (first steps, first time at the crick, first time around a fire).I suppose that's a good thing, but it's mentally exhausting =p

Kayaking running water basically gives you two choices - safe but exhausting, or fun and dangerous. The "fun" part comes when the water is up. There's enough water in even the smallest rapid to shoot right through it. Paddling consists of little more than control strokes to keep you pointed in the right direction; all the rest is just riding. Unfortunately, enough water in the short stuff means there will be a ton of water in the bad stuff, and that gets real sketchy real quick. Add to that the times that the water is up is usually spring, and said water is like coming in at about 40*F. For these reasons, I've never gone out at that time.

We went in late August. The crick is mellow, the water is in the 70's, and it's a much more leisurely go. The problem here is hangups. You will get stuck on rocks and shale ledges. We probably got out close to 20 times on our trek, and that means dragging the kayak. Sturdy shoes are a must for this type of walking as you're doing it in knee deep water. Something with tread and with a tight fit (to keep stones out) is a must. A rope of some sort is also crucial. Bending over and pushing through the rocks is back breaking and unsafe. A simple rope is a godsend in this scenario. Just deploy and drag, easy peasy.

Loading your kayak properly is also crucial. Kayaks are pretty difficult to tip. Even the strongest stroke will only rock it a bit. The biggest cause of a capsize is getting caught in a current and having the water throw you over. You basically want one point of the kayak to contact in the shallow stuff, and that point should be in the back. If you've done so, the front will skip over obstacles and the rear will stick. Your kayak will then self orient in the current, keeping you pointed dead straight, much like a flag on a windy day. Improper loading will cause the front to dig rather than skip. If the front digs, the momentum and current will cause the back to come around. If you're lucky, the kayak swinging around will loosen you and you'll be free, but then you're backwards. This isn't good. If you're unlucky the back will swing around and also get caught. Being trapped sideways in a current causes the entire profile to absorb the blast of water, the water will pile up, and it will flood your kayak. In 2 seconds, you're flooded and in the drink. This is bad.

Time is a big deal as well. You DO NOT want to get caught out in dark. We brought the fishing gear to make some stops along the way. I insisted that we not fish in some of the sweet spots, instead waiting until we were very close to home in case we run into an issue. It's a damn good thing I did. There's nothing worse than wasting a bit of time you end up not being able to afford, then getting stuck in the dark.

Last is probably your ears. Since you're sitting on the water and your waterway goes downhill, you often can't see what's coming up. The noise, by far, saved us the most on this trip. White noise similar to a TV set is a mellow rapid. How loud it is will tell you how long the rapid is. Light buzz, it's short. Deafening, it's gonna be long. But the biggest safety oriented noise is bass. If you hear any bass whatsoever, you have a high volume waterfall or chute. GTFO of the water and scope it before just bombing in. We avoided every big and unknown issue this way, and at least 3 of those chutes we'd have almost definitely capsized and got hurt in. They were brutal, above my skill level, and certainly outside the parameters of a heavily weighted, two-man kayak. Trust Your Ears.

Other than that, it's just reading the water. You want to stay in the main flow as that'll be the deepest. You also need to orient so you're pointed with the flow. Many times the current meanders withing the meandering border or the crick. Often times, you'll be pointed at the shore, or even at a cliff face on a 90* bend. Don't fight it. If you maintain orientation, any obstacle encountered will be one you just bump over, or that might slightly push your nose to the side. Twist out of orientation and you'll be hitting that obstacle broadside, causing the vessel to rock severely or even take on water and tip. Like many things in life, just go with the flow.

It was certainly a beautiful ride. The Zoar Valley Gorge is stunning. It was in the 80's, slight wind, and NO BUGS. Once you left the road, you really were in the middle of nowhere.



Much of the trip was just like this. Mellow pools, sheer cliffs, tree covered hills. We came upon a few herons and their gigantic footprints...



Ran into active rock slides and the caves that result...



And found one of the most epic waterfalls I've seen in the area...



But while all of that was fine and dandy, every one of those sites were separated by a rapid. Many were shallow, requiring an exit and a drag hike. A few were full of enough bass to warn me to get out, resulting in another drag hike. But some gave no warning at all, and before you knew it...



This particular rapid sort of blew my mind. First, I of course wasn't expecting it as I've never been there. And I couldn't see it coming because of our low profile. By the time I could see anything, we were already in it, and once I seen it... I'll admit, I was scared. I've never in all my years seen a waterway that dropped off so quickly. Had this been a field, you could've used it as a sledding hill, it was that steep. And it went on forever; it made three turns, passed where I couldn't see it anymore. We got in that, and between trying to read the water ahead and scoping way ahead to see what was coming, I sort of ran out of talent. And again, I got scared. There wasn't much to do other than bomb it and hope. I did good, keeping in the main flow through the first turn. In the next straight we really started picking up speed, enough so that I had very little control. I couldn't even thrust, I had to steer using only braking maneuvers. We hammered a big rock that caused Ash to turn in the pick above. I made a mental note to focus on the rocks, and proceeded to hammer over one more. I now knew I was looking for them and still couldn't see them, and I knew we were in the shit. The next rock I saw way too late. I basically braced, our front dug hard, the rear came around, and we got flooded. I lost all my fishing lures, I lost my underpants (I had them draped over the back to dry =p), I thought we were going over and were gonna lose it all. I shifted hard to the right to counterbalance and that broke us free. We floated away upright but completely flooded. Somehow, I managed to get to shore to bail out.



Right after I say "up and over" and we go sideways, that little shunt filled the kayak up to the brim. I don't even think we were sideways for a full second. That's how fast you go from fun to funeral.

As if the dragging and brutal rapid weren't enough, we came to another. We walked past most of it but I declared the end was "safe enough" to bomb. Wouldn't you know, as soon as I get in the chute, right when I need to make a hard dig to orient, "PEENK!", my oar breaks in half. We ended up bombing it out of control, smashing off rocks sideways, and damn near tipping it for good. We managed out of it and I had to finish up using Ash's way-too-short paddle the rest of the way.

We stopped only once to rest, pitching up onshore for a ten minute break. All the rest was floating the mellow, blasting the rapids, or trudging through the shallow stuff. Never wet a line once, lost over $100 in fishing and kayak gear. And although we were in the water at noon and our finish line is 2 minutes from the house, I didn't get home until 10:20p.

Know your water, people.

Dude! I can't decide if you would be the last person I'd want as a wilderness guide, or the first!

(I guess it depends on how many times you keep coming back alive and in one piece)

Beautiful scenery. And of course Ash is as lovely as ever. I will come back and read the thread later sometime.

As to this "off the grid stuff" wait until someone misses you ... That is okay for you, but buy Ash one of those personal signalling beacons for 89.00. Or a SPOT beacon/phone: gives you text, GPS and 911.

On-Edit: Yes, I admit, a SPOT satellite phone is probably what cost the crew of the Nina their lives, but coverage over the Tasman Sea has never been particularly accurate and the elipse of uncertainty can have a major E-W axis or 260 kilometers or more.

Quote: rxwine

Dude! I can't decide if you would be the last person I'd want as a wilderness guide, or the first!

(I guess it depends on how many times you keep coming back alive and in one piece)

I'm getting better =)

"Home alive" was solved by fatherhood. Dying is out of the question now, so I don't take as many stupid chances.

"One piece" came about from racing, strangely enough. Used to be that March to September was my "free period". Break a leg, suffer a concussion, who cares? It's summer. Whatever I was gonna do could wait, or I'd just do it on crutches. Now, summer is like hockey season. I can't get hurt because getting hurt means missing something, in this case, racing. So instead of taking a chance in some of those chutes, we get out and walk. I ain't missing no race =p

Plus, I'm a smoker. Guaranteed to have two Bics whenever I'm in the woods. Fire is the hardest, and I got it covered easily =D

Great post.
I love kayaking.
Own a Malibu pro explorer sit on top.
I love it.
Tons of rivers and streams here in Florida, no rapids but no biggie.
I typically kayak up river till I am tired then float back down.
I get to see lots of gators,

Quote: Fleastiff

Beautiful scenery. And of course Ash is as lovely as ever. I will come back and read the thread later sometime.

As to this "off the grid stuff" wait until someone misses you ... That is okay for you, but buy Ash one of those personal signalling beacons for 89.00. Or a SPOT beacon/phone: gives you text, GPS and 911.

I think part of it is intentional, a sort of "tempting fate" I can't seem to shake. I always said that being stuck and having to survive is one of my life goals. Maybe this is just the manifestation of that desire.

Quote: terapined

Great post.
I love kayaking.
Own a Malibu pro explorer sit on top.
I love it.
Tons of rivers and streams here in Florida, no rapids but no biggie.
I typically kayak up river till I am tired then float back down.
I get to see lots of gators,

There, I might have the issues that rxwine mentioned. I'm too curious. If I saw a snake or gator or shark, provided it's not enormous, I have to have it, gotta see it up close.

But that type of kayaking, provided you're not too close to the ocean, is the perfect thing for any age. Just sit and chill, paddle when you want to, and go whenever, wherever. I'd love to cruise some of those old swampy canals with fishing pole in hand and just waste the day.

Cook's Forest in Clarion, PA, is another of my favorite spots. It's very much like the Catt in that it's small and wooded. But it's much deeper and as a result, much mellower. Many of those rapids you can bomb 2 or even 3 wide, even though the waterway is the same width. A very chill ride.

My best friend kayaks Emerald Isle Sound in NC, sometimes even heading into the ocean. His stories would kill you lol. I couldn't imagine hitting big water like that. My luck I'd forget about tides and end up in Haiti =p

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22787213@N02/14994553785

Kayaking up the Hillsborough River, Tampa, and saw this big one.
Only picture I could get.
I startled him, he quickly slipped underwater.

Quote: Face

Quote: terapined

Great post.
I love kayaking.
Own a Malibu pro explorer sit on top.
I love it.
Tons of rivers and streams here in Florida, no rapids but no biggie.
I typically kayak up river till I am tired then float back down.
I get to see lots of gators,

There, I might have the issues that rxwine mentioned. I'm too curious. If I saw a snake or gator or shark, provided it's not enormous, I have to have it, gotta see it up close.

The best Gator Wrangler certificate is available in Colorado, the best Snake Wrangler certificate is available in Florida.

thought I'd post the link

cool [and crazy] stuff, Face!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Zoar+Valley+MUA/@42.437301,-78.8722237,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89d2ee526006b635:0x2ed999d9e7fef921