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Release Dates
North Branch of the Potomac (Jennings Randolph Dam)
Fall Gauley River Release Dates 2007
Drysuit Repair
Drop off your drysuit at any ARC location and we will ship it for free shipping. All you pay for are the repairs, which are cheaper then buying a gasket kit to do it yourself.
Mud Bear's Put in's & Take outs from the head of the James to Snowden.
At the head of the James in Iron Gate, the put-in is a nice and level. After putting in, you have to drive up an incline to park in a parking lot.
The second put-in that we use once in a while is in Glen Wilton on Rte 633 across the bridge and on the left. It is a short 10 - 15 foot bank that is not too steep. Parking not great.
At Gala, you used to take out at the gas company on Rte 220, but they have closed this take-out.
The third place we use to put-in is Eagle Rock. It is just before the bridge on Rte 220. This is a nice, level put-in too, but you have to drive down a steep, gravel incline and there is a nice parking lot at the top after you put-in.
The next take-out past Eagle Rock is Saltpetre Cave. This is not a good put-in or take-out. For young men or old men, like me. We took out here once and spent most of the time falling down the steep gravel hill or chasing our kayaks when they flew back out into the river. Never again!
It is best to take an early day run from Eagle Rock to Narrows Passage on Rte 43. This is a nice put-in and take-out with a great incline. This is a forest service parking area and boat landing. This run is about 14 miles, but has a good current.
From Narrows Passage, you can float to Springwood off of Rte 43. We don't do this. The put-in is ok, but straight down hill. Sometimes it is very shallow at the put-in. Trying to take- out here, you need a long rope to pull them to the top. It is probably over 50 feet straight up.
We generally do Narrows Passage to Buchanan. This is around 7 miles. Nice boat landing here with good parking. There is gas, food and everything you need.
Buchanan to Arcadia is one that we skip and go straight to Alpine. This is a 10 mile run. Simply beautiful. Good, manageable rapids and good declines to float down. Arcadia has a very steep incline that you can back most of the way down to put-in, but due to loose gravel a four wheel drive is suggested, to get back up the hill.
The next run we do is Alpine straight to Glasgow where the Maury River joins the James. Alpine is a great put-in with decent parking. This is a great float, BUT at the take-out at the Maury River, you will need 2 people to take each kayak out. There is a 20 foot steep incline and then you have to carry your kayak about 100 yards to the parking lot. This can be rough sometimes, but is well worth it because of the float. In Glasgow, you also have gas and places to eat.
The next step of the James is from Glasgow to Snowden. The famous Balcony Falls. Don't let this scare you. It has several sets of great rapids to go through, but you can cheat and go around each one of them. Take out at Snowen is a boat ramp. In the last mile and half are two bank take outs on the left for the young ones.
We also float from Lynchburg to James River State Park, which is 38 miles in 3 sections. Put in's are good. Nine mile float, Twenty mile float, and eight mile from bent creek to James River State Park. We generally float this in the winter, where it is closer to our home in Rustburg.
Need information feel free to email me at TheMudBear