Holy. Moly. I know I’ve got rental cabins and everything, but it’s Gauley Season.
You know the river I’m talking about? On of the 10 best white water rafting rivers in the world? With more than 100 rapids on it? And 5 (some people say 6) Class V rapids in between all those other ones?
The infamous Pillow Rock rapid on the Gauley River.
How can I explain it? Gauley Season is just a special time around here. First of all, the weather changes. Summer is awesome, but the humidity can be, um, thick. When it’s time for the Gauley River, all that humidity disappears like mist below Sweet’s Falls (that’s one of the Class Vs).
Then, the leaves start changing. They begin maybe the weekend after Gauley Season starts, which is always the weekend after Labor Day, and tend to hit their peak on Bridge Day Weekend, which is always the last or right after last weekend of Gauley Season. And if you’ve never seen the leaves turn in the Mountain State, all I can say is please please please please please come to see them. They’re that good.
But if there’s one thing about Gauley Season that’s better than anything else, it’s the people. Better than the river itself, even.
No, not really. But close. I love the people of Gauley Season. Everyone’s in a better mood, excited, super-friendly… like we’re all sharing a great secret or something.
Yes, I have rental cabins in the New River Gorge. Also, I’m a dad.
Here’s some quotes from an exchange I had with my kids last week:
Climbing camp? Wait… you want me to pay so you can sleep in a tent just a few miles from home and climb?
@#$%$% You can do that in our back yard for free! Seriously. There’s a cliff right back there- go climb on it. You can sleep under the over hang were the neighbors used to keep the milk cow. And then you’ll still have time to get some chores done.
Now that I hear myself say it, I can see why he wants to go to camp again.
Let the fun begin for Teen Climbing Camp
Our son is a repeat at the camp only because he loved it enough to put up some of his own money to pay for it. Coming from a 12 year old boy, that’s an endorsement!
It’s too late to get your kids here for this year, butyou should start looking into it for next year. Stone cold (climbing pun) pros run the camp with years of experience and training. Both girls and boys of all ablity levels attend. The kids actually “camp” IE in a tent and make meals over a fire. They do have showers and bathrooms at the camp ground. Each day involves way more than climbing.
If you’re interested (and you should be) check out the camp’s web site and Rock your kids world (another climbing pun). You can also see lots of pics on their facebook page.
Okay, time to come clean: this is not a totally selfless pitch for the camp.
The idea is that, while your kids are at climbing camp you might want to enjoy some vacation time in our area, and stay at one of our cabins.
There. I didn’t want to have to spell it out like that, but doesn’t that sound like a great plan? Sunday afternoon, drop the kids off at camp and then go check into the cabin KID FREE.
Cameron helping counselor Leah and Kurt load safety gear
I don’t mean to sound over excited about it but, well, to me, that sounds exciting. Our own kids camps are all opposite weeks this year so we are not KID FREE at any point this summer. Can you believe it?!
I am going to have to work on that for next year. Even if you are not bringing your kids to climbing camp you might want to find time to get away KID FREE some time soon. Seriously. I know I do.
Don’t get me wrong; I love the games and the cheering and visiting with the other parents. Plus the kids need the exercise and really seem to get a big kick out of it. As a sport, I think it’s kind of awesome.
Finial game of U-12
But soccer sucks up the time. It eats away at valuable family vacation time that you could be spending in our cabin rentals in West Virginia. Which is, of course, where you should be spending time (I’m a little biased).
There. I said it. You could be relaxing in a rental cabin in West Virginia. Instead, you’re driving kids from practice to game to camp and back, eating up every weekend from March to mid June and Labor Day to Thanksgiving.
Let’s just say you have a little family vacation planned for a weekend of rafting and hiking in the New River Gorge National Park, and then your kids’ team wins two games in a row for the first time in years and bang you’re in the championship game on the weekend you booked your family cabin. It’s great, but at the same time, ARRRRGGGHHH!
I know I am being selfish. I want you and your families to come and stay with us. The Big Game is very important (I know: I have had the good fortune to have both my kids play in the finials several times). It’s a great experience for them.
Or is it?
Devoted fans in the rain
Most of the rest of the world teaches soccer to their children in a very different way. There are no teams. You just sign up and show up. Dads and Mom still volunteer to do the coaching there just aren’t any games no winners no LOSERS! No referees to yell at. Just skill building fun having no pressure drills of all kinds. Individual drills, group drills, ball handing, foot work, set plays, drills to learn the rules all are studied and practiced.
When they do go into a game situation or live scrimmage the coaches pick the teams and ref the action. This allows them to stop and start the game to point out key strategy and opportunities. The next practice may have more or less in the way of live scrimmage but they never have set teams or keep score until well into their teens.
Not to change the subject, but since it’s my blog, I can do whatever I want. WVU had a football coach named Don Nehlen. I didn’t really like his style, but he got us lot of W’s and a shot at the National Championship.
One day I heard him on the radio. He said something to this effect: “We should not be keeping score until college. Everyone should be practicing skills and drilling, and there’s too much emphasis placed on winning and losing. There’s not enough emphasis on skills sportsmanship and teamwork.
Pizza and ice cream help wash away the taste of Defeat
WOW! A coach of his caliber saying something so unAmerican?! No losers, no kids crying, no parents embarrassing themselves and their kids, yelling at the referees and coaches. No kids quitting because they never get on a “winning team”. We could eliminate those agonizing car rides home after a loss, and you would not have to miss the weekend getaway in the mountains of West Virginia. It’s win-win.
If we followed Coach Neilen’s advice, and the rest of the world’s example for youth sports, we’d be better off. Until then, we’ll see you after the championship.
When I was a kid, long before I knew about the New River Gorge, one of my favorite things to do was get away with a group of like aged and minded kids. Usually the Boy Scouts of America.
Getting out in the woods and exploring and getting in touch with nature was a great way to spend a couple of days. Turning over rocks to see what lived there was a great activity and then to think we are to be responsible for taking care of all of this was a really cool too. It gave a sense of pride and authority.
Scouts. Awesome.
I would have gone winter, summer, spring, fall… it didn’t matter. So when I think about youth groups coming here to West Virginia, I’ve got to go with my gut: any time of year is a great time to be in the gorge.
Spring is time to get out and explore. When winter begins to turn loose its grip and life begins to renew itself, this is the place to be. At the right time of year you can transition in elevation and experience total leaf-out down in the gorge, and bare trees in the higher elevations such as Cranberry Glades. If you time it just right, you can witness the evolution of spring all in the same day. (FYI: you can find some spectacular deals on area activities and lodging at this time of year.)
Summer rolls around and the weather is warmer. It’s time to get in the water. White water rafting is one of the area’s largest outdoor activities. If the high adventure thing isn’t for you, you can opt to take a scenic, relaxing kayak or canoe tour of one of the local lakes (which happen to be awesome). Canopy tours and the public beach at Summersville lake are also a favorite summer pastime.
Fall is my favorite time of the year. The leaves change and the air turns crisp. Bluebird skies and cool breezes flow over the scenic mountains. A day trip to the highlands to visit some of the scenic overlooks and view the colors of fall is where you want to concentrate your efforts. Fall is also the season for rafting the Gauley River, a controlled release river that offers some of the most technical rafting in the country.
Winter is the time that many church youth groups come to the area to take advantage of our close proximity to some great skiing. Plus nothing says “retreat” like winter in the mountains. The winter wonderland setting of the New River Gorge area is a perfect place to gather your group and have some good old fashioned wintertime fun.
So that’s it. I’m not taking a stand. If you want to know when the best time to come up this way with a youth group is, I’ve got to answer honestly: Anytime. Any time at all.
When I signed on here at Opossum Creek Retreat I had no idea what I was in store for. Sure, I knew what the job was. I learned Geoff’s techniques. But there was so much more. You know, stuff that would only be revealed as time went on. Jedi stuff.
Yellow Rumped Warbler. Ha! Rump.
One of the things that were new to me was the New River Nature and Birding Festival. I had heard of the festival from when I worked with Dave Pollard at the County Courthouse, but I never really got more than an overview.
Since Opossum Creek hosted this festival I found myself smack dab in the middle of it. So the romance began. Aw yeah.
I was amazed at how the birding guides were able to identify birds by their calls. This seemed an almost supernatural ability to me. Lynn Pollard was one of the first to introduce me to the art of birding by ear. She’s able to ID over ninety species by ear- incomprehensible to me!
I was introduced to many top birders from all over the states who showed me birds that I would have never imagined in this area. But the New River Gorge area is a main thoroughfare for Neo Tropical migrant birds looking for work (Ha! I joke.) So this might be the place to see all kinds of North American birds. Birds that come here to nest. Birds that inhabit the area for the summer. Birds that just pass through on their way to their nesting grounds farther north.
Here are the five things that helped me get familiar with birding. But a word of caution: I spend stupid amounts of time outside looking for birds I can’t see, or can’t hear, or both. Now that I know these tips, I can never go back to my pre-birding life. You’ve been warned.
1- Get to know a birding enthusiast. Geoff and most of the people you will meet at the NRB&N festival are very excited to turn new people on to the “sport”. I say sport in parenthesis because, while many of the birds you will encounter will definitely give you a run for your money while trying to get a good look at them, a lot of times you’re not moving much at all. Some of the wood warblers are especially secretive; their thick habitat can be a challenge.
2- Get yourself a decent pair of optics. Some of the birds you will be trying to find are small and elusive or they won’t let you get too close. A good pair of binos are essential.
3- A good field guide is also important. Look for something that’s not too big and that’s well illustrated. You’ll want to carry it with you while out hiking or even in your back yard. Peterson’s and Sibley’s are my favorites. A word of caution; don’t get so into the book that you stop looking at the bird. I’ve learned to watch the bird for as long as it will let me or until I feel I have all the visual information I need to make a proper ID. The book will always be there to look at. The bird will not.
4- Get out there! Birding is a great hobby because you can do it anywhere from your office to the wilds of your area. Whether you’re in the city or way out in the country, birds are there.
5- Get a friend into it. Having someone to bird with is even more fun. Share your newfound activity with a friend or family member that you want to spend inordinate amounts of time with.
Birding also raises awareness of our environment and why we should protect it. It is also another excuse to get outside if you need one. If you haven’t already, give it a try. Checkout Birdwatcher’s Digest. Also, take a look at the Beginning Birdwatchers Book. Perfect for kids, this one’s got 19 pages stickers, too!
Okay, Geoff and I play with the stickers. But it’s a good book, I promise!
Whether you’ve been here before or it’s your first trip, the New River Gorge is “that place”- the vacation that you’ll be talking about for.. well, ’till you keel over and die. Probably. Just sayin’.
Doesn't Geoff look like the perfect person to rent a cabin from?
How do I know? I’m a rental cabin expert. But I haven’t always been one…
My wife Tammi and I met in Florida, where I lived in the late 80’s. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, and she’s from right here in the New River Gorge area. When she brought me home to meet the folks the area began to woo me. For several years we traveled here to visit friends and family, and every visit made me feel like I was coming home. The folks here are friendly and most will go out of their way to assure your visit is a great one. That’s right- it’s so true, it’s in bold. Italicized. And, it happens to be reason #1.
That works, right? The 5 reasons are in bold letters and italics? Cool? Okay…
On one trip I talked several of my buddies into coming up to run the River for a few days and do some fishing. Tammi hooked us up with a river guide friend to take us on our four day river adventure. I didn’t know it then but from that point on I was hooked. Two years later I was a resident West-by-god-Virginian.
One of the things that never fails to take my breath away is the fact that there are so many great views in one place. Whether you’re at the end of Long-point Trail (my favorite hike in the New River Gorge National Park) or at Hawk’s Nest State Park, there is an amazing sight to see. I’ve been here now for eighteen years and still find new views that thrill my soul. While being at the top of the gorge looking down is what most people consider a view, it’s equally impressive looking up from the bottom.
If you keep your eyes open you’ll get a peek at some of the local fauna that lives here. They could be hidden anywhere. A word of caution; Beware of the Mad Beaver! There’s great wildlife for your viewing pleasure all over the place. You may be privileged to see anything from black bear to flying squirrels. The New River Gorge is also a great place to catch a glimpse of the secretive neo tropical flying migrants (wood warblers and such) as they pass through.
Nature at its best – Around here there are tons of opportunity to just get out and explore. This place is a naturalists dream. There are wildflowers, warblers, fungi and more. Fayette County West Virginia is one of the few places on the state that you will find the Painted Trillium. A beautiful wildflower introduced to me by my botanist friend and naturalist Jim McCormac.
Here I have experienced nature at its best. When I first came here, the friendly folks, wildlife and natural aspects of the area far exceeded my expectations. The outdoor opportunities are unmatched by almost anywhere I’ve ever been. Most of the folks I run in to who are here for the first time seem to have one thing to say: “This place is better than I could have ever imagined.”
9. Most of you pass the mountains on the way to the beach, or maybe it’s the same distance either way. Total no brainer.
10. No undertow.
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