Solo Getaway- Whitewater Rafting Weekend

Solo Getaway- Whitewater Rafting Weekend
Oak Hill, West Virginia
October 7-9, 2011

I just knew that I was going to win as soon as I entered the contest. When Ace Adventure Resorts announced a contest to win a free whitewater rafting trip during Gauley Season just by posting your best ‘Warrior Face’ picture on their Facebook page, I knew exactly which pic to enter. When J first saw the picture- one I’d taken in my Warrior Helmet after the Logan, Ohio Warrior Dash- he told me that it was so scary that I should delete it. But I knew it would come in handy should I ever need to intimidate someone or to win a Warrior Face contest or something. A few days later I heard I was their very first winner of a free Gauley trip- what a huge score!

I decided to make it a solo trip combining my annual three-day Algonquin Mill weekend with the West Virginia whitewater adventure. The weekend started as usual on Friday morning- Jo and I stopped for breakfast, for a little antique shopping and then onto the Annual Algonquin Mill Festival for a few hours. From there, we split up with Jo heading east toward Pittsburgh for a Women’s Retreat while I drove south toward West Virginia. Autumn in the country is spectacular and the drive from rural Ohio into rural West Virginia was full of vivid color and stunning views. I checked into a comfortable room at the Holiday Lodge in Oak Hill, West Virginia, very near Ace Adventure Resort. Unfortunately, I was coming down with a killer cold and decided to stay in my room, order a club sandwich from the hotel restaurant Dory’s Grill, dose up on cold medications and get to bed.

The next morning I got to Ace Adventure Resort early so that I could enjoy their breakfast buffet and fuel up for the day ahead. After enjoying bacon, bagels, fresh fruit, and juice I walked up to the big top and checked in for the trip. We went through the safety stuff, talked about clothing, got our equipment and filled the bus. Ugh, the bus- this hour-long ride was the only bad part of the entire trip. I was still feeling under the weather, getting hot in my gear and becoming more and more regretful of eating anything at all that morning as the bus went careened down narrow and twisting mountain passes.
Every fall monitored water releases from the Summersville Dam gush into the Gauley River turning it into a huge whitewater adventure. The weather was perfect for my fall excursion down the lower portion of the rushing Gauley River. While the air temperature was in the low 70’s, the water temp was a crisp 55°F. I wore synthetic fabrics under a neoprene wetsuit and rain jacket and was comfortable all day.

Our guide, Jim, seemed laid back but commanded authority of the boat. I really liked Jim’s guiding style- he’d talk us through each maneuver, yell encouragement the whole time and extol us when we succeeded. The motto of our boat became ‘Nice and easy- like walking the dog.’ He whipped us into shape in no time which is a good thing- the rapids started almost as soon as we put our boat in the water. It is hard to put into words the exhilaration one feels bouncing and splashing through Class V rapids like the Upper and Lower M.A.S.H. or Pure Screaming Hell. What I can say is that it lived up to the expectations that I held for a wild and crazy whitewater ride- huge boulders, crashing waves and lots of screaming along the way. I cannot thank Ace Adventure Resort enough for the amazing time I had on the Lower Gauley River.
Not one to miss a shopportunity, I spent the time between our return to base camp and the premiere of our very own whitewater rafting trip video browsing the Ace Adventure Resort Gift Shop for a T-shirt declaring I had conquered the Lower Gauley, stickers for my kayak and a postcard for my collection. After viewing the hysterical video done by Rob, the same kayaking video guy that recorded our previous adventure, I thanked Jim again for all the fun, traded info with a girl in the boat so that we could share pics (although mine turned out to be less than awesome- waterproof camera fail) and headed back to my hotel to relax in the hot tub for a little bit.

That evening I enjoyed a pizza from ‘Pies & Pints’ in Fayetteville, WV, about a 10 minute drive from my hotel. I ordered ahead and drove to pick it up- when I arrived the place was so busy I had to wait at least ten minutes before I even made it to the counter to pay for my pizza. I ran into a few people from another boat in our rafting group and chatted with two recent Ohio State grads that were taking on the Upper Gauley the next morning. The pizza was worth the wait! I ordered a small Grape Pie ($11) with red grapes, gorgonzola cheese and fresh rosemary and it was scrumptious! I spent the rest of my evening drinking wine, eating pizza and watching the Ohio State/Nebraska game (which started off great and ended in crushing defeat).

I woke up early on Sunday morning and watched the sun rise from my hotel room window. I had one last activity I wanted to do before leaving the area. Just a few miles up US Route 19 in Fayetteville is the New River Gorge Bridge, one of the world’s longest arch bridges. A winding stairway down into the Gorge offers breathtaking bridge views from a few overlook points. I arrived in the morning when fog still hung in the valley under the bridge but by the time I was preparing to hike the approximately 150 steps back up to the parking lot the fog had lifted revealing even more magnificent vistas. Fall colors were also vibrantly displayed on trees throughout the area making my drive home just a slightly longer Sunday drive through the countryside.