Paddling into Pillow on Gauley Fest Saturday is a little different than paddling it any other day.
Normally, I sit up a little higher in my seat, tighten my focus, and get ready for one of the Gauley’s signature rapids.
On Gauley Fest Saturday, however, Pillow feels less like a rapid and more like entering a gladiator arena. Paddlers line both sides of the river, cheering for your line, hoping for a beatdown, or simply enjoying the spectacle. Some are friends you haven’t seen in years. Others are complete strangers who are just excited to watch somebody get worked.
And that is Gauley Fest.
Once again, the paddling and whitewater world converged on Summersville, West Virginia, for the annual American Whitewater Gauley River Festival. The yearly festival is the ultimate pilgrimage and party, both on the water and during the two nights of celebrations that follow.
Since 1983, the festival has been the number-one fundraiser for American Whitewater, helping fund its efforts to protect access for paddlers and establish recreational rights on rivers throughout the country. What began as a humble gathering of a couple hundred paddlers has grown into a gathering of several thousand whitewater enthusiasts from around the world.
And for good reason.
The Gauley River is one of the most famous whitewater rivers in the world. The Upper Gauley features Class IV+ big-water rapids such as Pillow, Iron Ring, Lost Paddle and Sweets Falls. Along with the challenging rapids, there is an amazing variety of play spots, fun slots and boofs scattered throughout the river.
For those looking for something a little less challenging—but perhaps with even better scenery and more opportunities to play—the Lower Gauley offers 13 miles of Class III and a handful of Class IV- rapids.
Beginning the second weekend of September and continuing for the following five weekends, the Gauley comes alive with guaranteed releases from Summersville Lake. For most of those weekends, you’ll find a mix of advanced paddlers and commercial raft trips enjoying the legendary whitewater.
But go on the third weekend, and the river becomes a full-on party from top to bottom.
After completing their run through Pillow, many get out to join the party on the rock where you might catch pro-paddlers tomahawking back into the rapid or others jumping into the turbulent waters or onto an unexpecting raft. Pillow is not the only stadium-esque spot on the river, after completing the other major rapids or Lost Paddle and Iron Ring you are left with a finale at Sweets Falls.
The cliffs rise above you as you approach the final major rapid. Once again, both shores are packed with paddlers cheering for good lines and spectacular crashes. Somehow, the crowd at Sweets seems even rowdier than the one at Pillow.
Maybe their exuberance comes from knowing they’ve successfully navigated the Upper Gauley. Maybe it’s because they know the party is coming that night.
Or maybe it’s the PBR.
It’s probably the PBR.
After making it through Sweets, there is yet another group of paddlers waiting at Postage Due, eager to pull you up onto the rock before tossing you back into the river.
Eventually, you make your way to the takeout, load your boat and head back to Veterans Memorial Park. The river is over, but Gauley Fest is just getting started.
Back at the campground, it’s time to clean up, grab some food and prepare for the night’s festivities. Live music, vendors, boat manufacturers, food, friends and BYOB—just no glass—create a giant celebration of all things whitewater.
The Gauley Fest party has its own traditions. Dane Jackson perched on top of his RV throwing Frisbees into the crowd for a chance to win a free boat. Dagger selling raffle tickets for the annual custom Gauley Fest kayak. Vendors filling the campground with boats, paddles, gear and every other piece of equipment a paddler could possibly convince themselves they need.
As the night gets longer, more parties break out throughout the campground. There are DJs, dancing and, depending on the year and your definition of good decision-making, the occasional Jell-O or mud wrestling.
But the real spectacle of Gauley Fest is the river itself.
During the weekend, you’ll see just about every type of floating craft capable of navigating the Gauley, along with plenty of people who appear to have no craft at all. You’ll see professional kayakers throwing huge moves off Pillow, relatively new paddlers—or perhaps just older paddlers—struggling to put their rolls together, and creature crafts tumbling through giant waves.
There are so many rafts on the river that at times it feels like you could walk the nine-mile Upper Gauley by hopping from raft to raft.
The lines at the play spots fill with kayakers waiting their turn at Insign Wave, Geeks and Hungry Mother. Along the river, you hear hugs, shouts and familiar voices:
“Hey, bro! Good to see you again. Haven’t seen you in years!”
That might be my favorite part of Gauley Fest.
It’s not just the river. It’s the community that surrounds it.
The Gauley brings together professional paddlers, weekend warriors, longtime river rats, first-timers, raft guides, industry veterans, families, friends and people who may have only met once before—but somehow remember each other.
The scene on the river can be chaotic at times. It is loud, colorful and occasionally ridiculous. But it is also incredibly beautiful. Beautiful because of the river. Beautiful because of the people. And beautiful because for one weekend every September, thousands of paddlers come together to celebrate the thing that brought them there in the first place: whitewater.
That is Gauley Fest: a little intimidating, a little ridiculous, incredibly loud and absolutely unforgettable. Beautiful chaos on the Gauley.
— Author Brad Burden is a Paddling Life ambassador and host of podcast B-Flow Sessions.
(Lead photo by Rick Thompson/Ricky T Productions)