New River Dries Goes Off

-

- Advertisment -

It doesn’t run often, but when it does it goes big. This time, in early March, it careened in at more than 70,000 cfs, drawing hairboaters like Trent Thibodeaux, Sam Fulbright, Chris Wing, Pablo McCandless and Chris Gragtmans out of the watery woodwork to ply its epic waves. And its name, the New River Dries, is about as much of an oxymoron as you’ll find in the paddling world…

“It doesn’t run very often–maybe a couple time a year,” says Thibodeaux. “When we woke up Tuesday morning it was running about 70,000 cfs. All I can say is wow. I have never seen or surfed waves this big.”

The crew put in about 20 yards upstream of the section’s biggest wave. After washing off, they’d get carried about 200 yards downstream before making it to shore to hike back up and do it again. “The middle wave was a massive hole-wave thingy that could rip your face off,” he adds. “The right wave was good, though. But it’s a super hard wave to gain control on and time your tricks because of the constant surges and boils that randomly appear. One second you’re in a surf, the next you are engulfed by the foam and then bounced three feet in the air. Needless to say there was a lot of carnage.”

The Dries section is below the popular 14-mile Gorge Run that ends at Fayette Station. It’s only runnable on rare occasions when upstream flows are high enough (usually over 9,000 cfs) to overcome the water diversions at Hawk’s Nest Dam.

For more info and photos, visit Trent’s Blog

Staff Post
Staff Posthttps://paddlinglife.com
Paddlers writing about all things paddling.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -

Latest news

Upstate New York Launches 3-Trip, Scenic Paddle Challenge

Chasing the gnar isn't the only way to be challenged on the water. For whitewater paddlers, the area in the...

SUP Maker BOTE Opens 5th Retail Store, in Ft. Lauderdale

SUP, IK-maker Continues Growth with Immersive, Community-Driven Retail Experience BOTE, longstanding leader of innovation in the paddle board, kayak, and...

Canoeists Study “Environmental Kidneys” of Florida 

Expedition Team Studies Everglades, the “Environmental Kidneys” of Florida  As reported by Expedition News, a team led by a University of Florida...

“They System is to Blame”: Landing a Coveted River Permit an Upstream Battle (By The Colorado Sun)

Want to float one of the West’s most popular rivers? You have roughly a 2% chance of getting a...
- Advertisement -

Canoecopia ’23 : Canoe Country Gear Video Roundup

Want the lowdown on what's new from this year's Canoecopia show? Our good friend and videographer Aaron Black-Schmidt stopped...

Paddle Camping in Style: Tune Outdoor Unveils New Truck Canopy Camper

Paddlers have always employed whatever it takes to crash near their favorite waterway, from sleeping on the dirt and...

Must read

Upstate New York Launches 3-Trip, Scenic Paddle Challenge

Chasing the gnar isn't the only way to be...

SUP Maker BOTE Opens 5th Retail Store, in Ft. Lauderdale

SUP, IK-maker Continues Growth with Immersive, Community-Driven Retail Experience BOTE,...
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you