cboaters on the Blackwater
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 12:48 pm
Got the chance to paddle this past weekend on two straight days with C-1ers on the Blackwater in West Virginia. On the first day I was lucky enough to paddle with Jay Ditty, and on the second day with Bernie.
Jay paddled a Blunt, Bernie paddled a Remix, and I paddled a Large Burn, which I am just learning how to paddle, really, and definitely starting to enjoy.
We were all righties, and the great thing about the Blackwater is that there are so many great boofs both for the onside and for the cross bow. One of the best is the one shortly below Flatliner that looks strikingly similar to one pictured in a recent Northeast guidebook as being "on an island off the coast of Maine" (complete with Jay hitting a huge boof there in the picture). But some rapids just look similar to each other, I guess.
That's part of what makes Tomko Falls such a great rapid -- you can make it into two of the best, dynamic onside boofs you do all year, or two of the best cross bow boofs you do all year, depending on what lines you take.
Whatever it is about the rocks on the Blackwater, they are just perfectly made for boofing. They are so clean. Having in the past few weeks run several other area creeks on which just the action of looking at certain rocks seems to result in a pin, the flat, smooth faces of the rocks on the Blackwater were a welcome, addicting change. As I was telling Jay at the take out, the Blackwater, with its steep mazes of boulder drops and constant 3-5 foot boofs, is the kind of river that makes me always want to paddle C-1. Great boating! Next time I get there with some other cboaters, I'll have to get some pictures!
Alden
Jay paddled a Blunt, Bernie paddled a Remix, and I paddled a Large Burn, which I am just learning how to paddle, really, and definitely starting to enjoy.
We were all righties, and the great thing about the Blackwater is that there are so many great boofs both for the onside and for the cross bow. One of the best is the one shortly below Flatliner that looks strikingly similar to one pictured in a recent Northeast guidebook as being "on an island off the coast of Maine" (complete with Jay hitting a huge boof there in the picture). But some rapids just look similar to each other, I guess.
That's part of what makes Tomko Falls such a great rapid -- you can make it into two of the best, dynamic onside boofs you do all year, or two of the best cross bow boofs you do all year, depending on what lines you take.
Whatever it is about the rocks on the Blackwater, they are just perfectly made for boofing. They are so clean. Having in the past few weeks run several other area creeks on which just the action of looking at certain rocks seems to result in a pin, the flat, smooth faces of the rocks on the Blackwater were a welcome, addicting change. As I was telling Jay at the take out, the Blackwater, with its steep mazes of boulder drops and constant 3-5 foot boofs, is the kind of river that makes me always want to paddle C-1. Great boating! Next time I get there with some other cboaters, I'll have to get some pictures!
Alden