Bloody Knuckles

Lower James river Richmond, Va 8\'..I took some helmet cam footage of the past weekend on the Lower James in Richmond, Va at 8 feet.
Hope you enjoy it, I had fun shooting it.

Upper Gauley helmet cam 10-12-2008
Helmet cam footage from the Upper Gauely in October of 2008. Standard release 2800 cfs.
Hope you enjoy it.

January 1, 2009 welcomed once again the Chilly Chili paddle. Tons of people showed up on the James river with 30 degree air temp and almost as equally cold water. An excellent showing of rafts, canoes and of course kayaks hit the river to start the new year. We had some swims a few sodas and a good time.
It has been said that starting the new year off on the river brings good karma. I hope it works.

This past 4th of July I was fortunate to get on the Top Yough, Upper Yough and Lower Big Sandy in Western Md and WV. These 3 runs have been on my list for quite some time, but I never got the oppurtunity until now.

My buddy Russ and I drove up early friday morning from Richmond, Va just in time to catch-up with Justin, JR, Eddie, Hazmat and Monster. We changed, loaded our boats and hit the road for the Top Yough put-in. This was a PFD on both the Top Yough and Upper Yough for myself and Monster. Russ had never run the Top but had a few runs on the Upper. Everyone else had multiple laps on both.

We put-in on the Top and a few hundred yards later got to Swallow Falls. This is a very intimidating rapid from the scout but no that terribly tough. You basically launch off the top and let the water and boat do the rest of the work. Although I certainly would not want to flip anywhere on this rapid, or you could end-up with some bloody knuckles along with some other bloody stuff. The next rapid Swallow tail is almost immediately after the falls. This rapid is a 6′ riverwide drop, make sure you hit your boof. The rest of the run is basically class IV read and run boogie water with the exception of Suck hole. Better get out and check this one.

We decided to paddle the flat stretch between the Top and the Upper which was around 3 miles. We arrive at the put-in for the Upper and much to my surprise and a few others the level was around 2.6′. Which is a bit on the high side. What the hell things have gone well so far, lets keep on getting it. Most of the run is a blurr to me. All I can really say is it is one hell of a ride. We all had fairly good lines, one swim at the slots on Charlie’s Choice (sorry Monster).

The next day we hit the top again at twice the flow than the day before. Things got bigger but they also seemed easier. You can make the run in less than 45 minutes and do as many laps as you have the energy for.

Day 3 brought another pfd for Russ and I. The Lower Big Sandy was running just over 6′ and we where on our way. The shuttle for this run is less than short and less than smooth. The LBS is an awesome run, we all had good lines with the exception of a hole beat down above Wonder falls. Justin fired up Big Splat, pretty awesome sight. The LBS is definitely on the top of my list for all time great runs.

Good times. Thanks Kessman for the shelter.