Rafting and Running

I (Eric) just got back from my fifth trip to the place that inspired the hit song "Country Road", Fayettville, WV and the Gauley River. This is a trip that I first took in college with four friends and now has turned into four straight years of madness. The Upper Gauley is one of the Top 3 commercially rafted rivers in the United States and the #1 on the East Coast. It is only open for rafting for 22 days in September and October with water being released from Summersville Dam***. If you are ever looking for an unforgettable rafting experience and great camping, check out http://www.songerwhitewater.com/

***Side note on the dam...almost always, dams are named for the town that was flooded. Unfortunately the name of the town under the lake is called Gad. The residence thought it would be a bad idea to name the dam, Gad Dam (True Story...Google it!).

The river is a combination of about 80 rapids with five of them being considered Class V rapids, which are at the top of the rapid scale. This is not for the faint at heart! We all survived again with the group only being "violently ejected" once. Almost everyone fell out at least twice during the day with some daring rescues that followed. The trip always includes a great trip to the New River Bridge which is one of the highest bridges in the world and closed each year for Bridge Day where BASE jumpers and bungee jumpers come from all around the world.

Check out the video I put together of our trip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hETIe7kH58



New River Bridge


The Group with our trustworthy guide


A great picture of Pillow Rock and the second Class V rapid

Additionally this weekend...
I am proud to announce that my mom completed her first Half Marathon in Philadelphia at the age of 59! She has been running for 30+ years now, normally running 3 miles 4 or 5 days a week. She challenged herself this year and set a goal to do her first half marathon. What an inspiration to many! Awesome job mom!!!