Week 37 2024

I went whitewater rafting with five friends last weekend on the Gauley River in West Virginia. Not only did we raft the Gauley—but we also rafted the Upper Gauley twice in one day. The Upper Gauley has five class V rapids, so we ran ten class fives yesterday. What a day! And what soreness. My thighs are sore from wedging my body in the boat all day. It was worth it, though. None of us fell out of the boat.

Our guide yesterday was Jeff—a veteran of the Gauley River. Jeff has guided runs on the Gauley for 33 seasons. No one makes it that many seasons unless they know what they are doing, and Jeff is an expert. All of us in his boat trusted Jeff’s guidance when navigating the river, and on our second run, Jeff took us down lesser-known lines —something we could have never experienced unless we did the Upper Gauley twice.

The adventure was epic. And so is the soreness in my thighs. 🙂