Fluffy Box of Kittens

What a great weekend! West Virginia is so beautiful, the Gauley River was awesome, and between our Duke Outdoor Club organizer and Ace Adventure Resort we were well taken care of. It was a long drive there and back, but Robyn was a trooper and Maria introduced us to a car game that made time fly. We are completely wiped out and more than a little bit sore so I'm going to try to use mostly pictures to tell you about our weekend and you'll just have to forgive any grammar or spelling errors. If you're curious about the blog title then keep on reading. For starters, meet Strawberry Shortcake

She came with my (very fancy) dinner. We decided she could be our trip ambassador and she got a prime spot in the rafters of our cabin. Our bunkhouse slept sixteen, but was very comfortable. This picture was actually taken this morning since we arrived to the campsite in the dark Friday night, but as you can see from the picture we weren't exactly 'roughing it'.

Friday night when we arrived to the campsite we cracked open a couple of beers and joined our fellow Fuquans around the campfire for roasting marshmallows and S'mores.

There were 38 of us in all, quite a group and probably a bit of a challenge for the Outdoor Club organizer. Side note, Cameron was informed this weekend that he was selected for a couple of cabinet positions in the Outdoor Club. He will be the Hiking Coordinator and part of the Outdoor Series where they teach people skills for the outdoors (think Bear Grylls). The Co-President also mentioned that he may ask Cameron to organize the whitewater trip next year - fun!

We weren't allowed to take our cameras on the whitewater trip, but I snapped a photo after we changed into our wetsuits, and before we ditched our gear in the car. I actually snapped more than one, but the others didn't make the cut and even the one below of Robyn and I had to be cropped because we all quickly realized that wetsuits are just not flattering unless you're one of Suzanne Brockmann's fictional characters.

After a thirty minute bus ride we arrived at Summersville Dam, or the Upper Gauley River. The excitement of the guides helped calm our nerves as we passed over the Gauley Bridge, home to the largest festival in West Virginia. I particularly like how the website for the festival spells it all out for you and even points out all the various names for the festival including, "Y'all are crazy day". Check it out by clicking here. Depending on the timing of Cameron's internship we might have to plan another trip. It won't be Gauley season, but the New River is supposed to be a great time in the spring and some of those festival activities sound fun. Below are the pictures we took after we arrived.

That gushing water you see in the background is what makes the Gauley River one of the best whitewater rafting destinations in the WORLD. From Labor Day through October the Army Corps of Engineers conducts a series of 22 controlled releases through the Summersville Dam. The releases have come to be known collectively as Gauley Season, and it's a really big deal in the whitewater community. These releases are specifically for the purposes of recreation and they lead to a river full of class V+ rapids. Wikipedia has a good page where you can learn all about it, but basically this is the premier North American whitewater rafting river.

The photos that follow aren't the best quality since they were taken with a waterproof camera that often had water on the lens and most times we needed to take a picture FAST and get ready for the next rapid. I can't possibly remember the names of all of the rapids, but for those of you that have never been whitewater rafting, the rapids have to earn their names and they are usually pretty unique and funny. Our first Class V rapid was appropriately named Initiation and we quickly learned that your ride is dependent on your guide as other rafts dumped people and we were all dry. We managed to snag the Team Leader for our group and his experience on the river made for some of the best lines throughout the day.

With names like Insignificant, Lost Paddle, and Shipwreck, it's hard not to be nervous, and it's nearly impossible to describe the feeling you get when you are nearing a Class V+ rapid and the rafts in front of you are just disappearing over the edge of a wall of whitewater. You don't have a ton of time to get nervous though because the Gauley is FULL of rapids, six Class V+, one Class V, seven Class IV and countless IIIs and IIs. Just when you get through one rapid your adrenaline starts pumping in preparation for the next. I often found myself repeating the directions the guide instructed us to swim if we fell out of the raft like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, "Left to the shore, left to the shore" or "back to the boat, back to the boat", sometimes, "AGRESSIVE right and don't hit that rock in the middle".  

Lucky for us, and thanks to our guide Richard, we all stayed in the raft as we took aggressive lines at Pillow Rock and over Sweet's Falls (Sweet's Falls is behind us in the picture below. After you get through the rapid you stop for lunch).

All in all it was an amazing experience and we really enjoyed ourselves. We would love to share it with friends and family who are up for an adventure and plan on going back as soon as we can. Here are a few more pictures from the day, again sorry for the quality. 

Okay, you read the whole blog and I haven't explained the title yet. Well, you might've figured out that it was the name of one of our favorite rapids and the quote of the day went something like, "Fluffy box of kittens my a$s!". Let's just say we didn't all stay in the raft on that one. Our second favorite of the day, in case you're wondering, was Hawaii Five-O. Come with us next time so you can see what all the hype is about.