That’s right… It’s already that time of the year for all of us paddlers to meet up at the biggest paddling festival of the year in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia! I love the state of WV, because it has not only some of the best paddling in the Eastern USA, but also the state has some of the great Skiing and Mountain biking available in the Eastern U.S. of A.!!!
I have a super fun and busy weekend planned for Gauley Fest 07′. I have put together a trip package for a bunch of my paddling friends that should be a blast. Some of the highlights of our trip itinerary include: Hanging out at the Wave Sport Open on Friday, Camping at ACE Adventure Center, Rafting the Upper Gauley w/ USA Raft on Saturday Morning, Hanging out at the Festival Saturday night, and 5 members of our group (me included) will attempt our personal first descent (P.F.D.) of the Lower Gauley in kayaks on Sunday! We will also be treated to some fine eatin’ on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning from the world renowned Chef Dan Thomas of our group… Yummy!! I am also planning on meeting Colin Kemp, some of the other World Kayak Ambassadors, and the winners of the “Am I ready for the Gauley yet” Contestants for a meet and greet on Saturday morning; before I head down with my group to raft the Upper. Whew… busy weekend, but fun beyond epic proportions!
Here is a link off the A.W. web site about the festival FYI: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/aw:events_gauley
Here is a link to the official A.W. schedule of the festival FYI: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/do-op/id/aw:events_gauley_sched
Here is a link to the Wave Sport Open Event that is on Friday during Gauley Fest FYI: http://www.wavesport.com/wave-sport-2007-wave-sport-open
I am really looking forward to Gauley fest this year! It will be great time of fellowship with some of my best paddling buddies. I am quite anxious about our P.F.D. of the lower Gauley in kayaks, but we have 2 great group leaders who are very safety conscious that will be leading the five of us down. I am also hoping to recruit Colin Kemp, EJ, or someone else from the JK team to run with us as a back up safety. That would really help put our group leaders’ minds at ease in case trouble happens to arise. However, I feel that all of us are prepared with the skill required to safely make it down the run. So wish us luck and keep us in your thoughts & prayers, on the Sunday of Gauley Fest. I’m sure I’ll have an epic trip report when we get back from the trip to share!
I hope to see you at Gauley Fest!
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