Saturday July 26th, brought the annual Kibler Valley race/release, just in time with everything in day trip distance about dried up from lack of rain. This occurs on Section 1 of the Dan starting at the Pinnacles Hydroelectric station at Kibler Valley Va. The upper most part of this run features a nice class 2+ to 3 creeky run. The hydro station cranked out around 10KW this day, close to full release, so there was enough water to play this section. The middle section of the run opens up a bit but has some nice class 2 play features along the way. The lower section is moving water with a few play features but mostly a paddle out, though moves well with full release. I had decided to open canoe and ran into John H. another open boater almost immediately and paddle my first run with John.
Now the Kibler Valley run is actually a fund raising event for a local Ruitan club for local charities and includes several categories for those who wish to race or you can just use the shuttle and run the river. John and I paid our registration fee, as it is for a good cause and provides shuttles and parking, but we declined to race and just played the river and enjoy some good local water. After shuttling to the top we found the water on, warmed up a bit surfing the outflow wave from the turbines, and decided to head down ahead of the crowd.
Leaving the hydro station we played our way down the ledges, catching eddies, ferrying chutes to the 1st bridge. Below the bridge we started playing an area know as the basketball court (there’s actually a court by one bank ), which is a really nice play area with nice fall/drop, some good eddies, ledges, as places to surf a bit. Now John and I had been down there a while when finally some others came down racing. Well, next thing you know the 1st racer looses it, slamming into line of rock below us, swimming and boat broached and paddle going it own way. Then here come his buddies #2,3,4,&5 one behind the other doing what in-experienced folks do, each one looking at the one in front of him and getting that “Oh No - he’s flipped - I’m gonna too” look on their faces, and heading right where they are looking instead of where they need to go. Well, enough said, you guessed - ”domino’s - crash and burn - one behind the other, all swimming and all boats broached.
Well for the 25 minutes John and I did a impromptu rescue clinic, getting these happless 5 out of the river. 3 of the boats came free easily, 2 where pinned solid. All 5 where in rec boats with no flotation, so pins where bad, none knew the first thing about self rescue. Well, After I crab walked out to the 1st boat highest up in the rapid, 2 of these guys where trying to muscle it - “STOP” I hollered, they where about to fold the boat. John and I got a rope around the boat to support the end, and then via a couple of people on the rope and me below we freed it. Then we repeated the same on a 2nd boat downstream. Others we worked free by hand. Afterward, someone brought the 1st paddler’s paddle up to me and I did a hairy ferry through a rock maze over to deliver it. At this point John and I looked at each other exhausted and both said, let’s get out of here before the next group comes down. So we where off, beating a hasty path out of there.
Down below basketball we played the couple of surf spots and worked the rapids on down. Someways down we stop to buy a cup of lemonade for an enterprising young boy who was trying to earn money to buy his own kayak. Somewhere above this James C. had caught up and joined us and we all surfed a great little 360 hole there for a bit.
Well we continued down all of us in our OC-1’s playing most any spot we could having a good time. Finally after the last ledges below the 2nd bridge we ran out the bottom section. After a good run we got a bite to eat at the food tent, John left for home, and James and I both got rides back up.
My second run, I ended up pretty much running on my own with various friends I would catch up with along the way, as James had already started down ahead of me, but there was plenty of good paddlers I knew all along the way. I did a bit quicker run this time, mostly not having to do rescues at basketball, and only playing for a briefly at spots.
Well it was an excellent event, and its nice to have a reliable release close to home mid summer. Beautiful warm sunny day, cool clear water, good friends. Good times!!!
SYOTR - Paddlin-ed
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