The first four rapids on the Upper Gauley are called Initiation, Balance Beam, Insignificant, and Meadow View. None of them is bigger than a Class IV rapid, and none of them gave us any trouble whatsoever. In fact, Meadow View, a Class II, gave us so little that we drifted the whole rapid while talking about the fifth, which is called Pillow Rock.
About a sixth of the way down that part of the river, Pillow Rock is the first Class V of the trip. The rapid is named after a house-sized, pillow-shaped rock on the left-hand side, around which the river bends. At the beginning of the rapid, and toward the center, is a large inertia hole formed by several consecutive rocks under the water. If you hit it, it takes away all of your momentum and can throw you into another eddy on the left side of the Pillow Rock. They call that eddy The Room of Doom.
Just past Pillow Rock, and towards the center of the water, lies another large obstacle called Volkswagen Rock. You have to go to one side or the other, but going to the right could force you into the bank. And to make matters worse, Volkswagen Rock is undercut.
Undercut rocks are the rafters nightmare. Having been slammed by years of cascading water, rocks tend to wear away, leaving holes through which the water continues to pound. Sometimes the holes are big enough to pass a person. More often, though, the holes are too small, pinning the rafter below the water until the dam can be closed. By that time, it's way too late.
"There are a couple of things you absolutely have to remember here," Tom implored. "First, if you go in the water, whatever you do, don't go near Volkswagen Rock! If you can't help it, put your feet against it and push to one side, hard. We don't want you going under. It might be a couple of weeks before we see you again."
Laughing nervously, one of the guys from the back of the raft asked, "What else do we have to remember?"
Tom became more serious. "Remember what I told you about getting high-sided? If we high side at Pillow Rock, everyone lean into the rock. It's very important because Pillow Rock could flip us over."
We heard Pillow Rock rapid long before we saw it. Over the course of the rapid's route, which is just north of 100 yards, it drops 30 vertical feet, creating deafeningly-loud, bus-sized waves. To add to the suspense, just after Meadow View rapid the river takes a sharp left turn to the southeast, making it a thunderous, though invisible, specter.
"There are two routes we can take down this rapid," Tom said. "We can go down the right side near the bank and around Volkswagen Rock. That way we stay away from Pillow Rock and we all stay dry. That's the safe route."
I looked askance at Akers. Safe routes were for losers.
"What's the other?" he asked, wiping some spray from his grin.
Tom smiled widely. "The other way is to go down the left side," he said. "The rapid will take us right up to Pillow Rock and then whip us around to the right. As soon as we get around we have to start paddling Left Full to keep us away from Volkswagen Rock. That route is called The Heroes Route."
We all stewed in that information for just a few seconds before Tom asked, knowingly, "Who wants to go down The Heroes Route?"
It was unanimous. Every one of us raised our paddle to indicate our vote. We all felt like heroes and we wanted to prove it.
"Good," Tom said through a toothy grin. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Making the left-hand turn, the rapid loomed just in front of us like a powerful, roiling dinosaur. "All full!" Tom shouted, and we dug our paddles into the water as if we were digging post holes for a fence. Forcing our way down the left bank, and missing the inertia hole, Pillow Rock emerged directly in front of us.
"Right full!" Tom cried. Being on the left, I relaxed for just a moment before he commanded, "All full!"
- Coming soon, Part IV
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