Weeks ago, my friend Jen “Jukebox” and I planned a weekend in New River Gorge. Jen and I met in person earlier this year at Trail Days, after being instagram friends for a long while. We have both been eagerly awaiting to reconnect this weekend, and it’s finally here! Though not without some setbacks.
On Monday, Shooter and I did a hike with our friend FL and Shooter’s dog buddy Leap. We were in a remote area where the dogs could be off leash, and they had a rowdy time sniffing squirrels and attempting to locate a missing dog we knew had last been seen in the area. Monday night, Shooter didn’t want to walk; I assumed he was sore from over-exertion and didn’t think anything of it. Tuesday morning, he had a grooming appointment, and I got a message from his groomer that he had a hard, swollen testicle that needed to be checked by the vet. We both immediately assumed the worst: a tumor that I hadn’t noticed growing over the last few weeks. Thankfully, we already had a vet appointment Tuesday afternoon for a re-check from his last visit (where he was diagnosed with anaplasmosis).
The vet took one look at Shooter’s enlarged testicle and said, “we have to get this out, immediately.” They decided to work Shooter in for surgery Tuesday night, and I went home without my best buddy in tow. I shot a quick text to Jen to let her know of the emergency surgery and my optimism of still making our trip happen, but also the reality that it may not, as my stomach tied itself in knots with worry. A neuter is a routine, low-risk procedure, however Shooter is almost 10 years old. Anesthetizing a dog his age for ANY reason comes with risk, and I’m also terrified of what they might find.
My worry turns out to be for nothing; when I speak with the vet Wednesday morning Shooter is doing great, and he did not have a tumor or growth of any kind. Instead, his swelling was due to a condition called testicular torsion, a medical emergency in which the testicle gets twisted internally. While potentially serious, the condition is easily resolved with surgery. Shooter is happy and healthy, and I’m now the proud owner of a neutered dog for the first time in a decade. I can pick Shooter up at 2pm, and the vet assures me there’s no reason he can’t do gentle hikes.
In addition to Shooter’s narrowly averted testicle crisis, a hurricane has been brewing off the coast of Florida. Hurricane Ian threatens to dump buckets of rain and send severe winds across the southeastern US, and the forecast for the weekend isn’t looking great. I text Jen that Shooter is well and we are a go, and pack up my things for the trip back to West Virginia, crossing my fingers the weather doesn’t ruin all of our plans.
It’s been a fantastic month at home in North Carolina, but I’m eager to return to the Mountain State. For those who may not be aware (if you’re new here, welcome!) I’m a travel nurse. I live in North Carolina, but I work wherever I’m needed. I spent the summer working in Charleston, West Virginia and adventuring all over “almost heaven.” I enjoyed my time here so much that I decided to stay an additional three months, continuing my tenure at a local hospital, and expanding my adventures into the winter season. One big driver of this decision was my desire to be in West Virginia for “Gauley Season” — six weeks in the fall when the Gauley River is open for whitewater rafting. I have never rafted the Gauley, but with any luck that is about to change.
September 29, 2022
Long Point Trail and Butcher Branch Falls
I first hiked Long Point Trail a little over a year ago during “fake Bonnaroo” — some friends and I had bought tickets to Bonnaroo, which got delayed due to Covid, then cancelled altogether due to flooding two days prior to the event starting. The franchise offered us our money back, and since we all already had time off we decided to visit the nation’s newest National Park: New River Gorge. That was my first time visiting West Virginia, and we did several hikes during the five days we spent here, including Long Point Trail.
Today, I’m meeting Jen at our campground at Cantrell Rafting, and we decide to rehike Long Point because the trailhead is very close to the campground. We’ve both done the hike before, but it’s a gorgeous walk and an absolutely beautiful day so we decide to do it again. Additionally, there’s a waterfall I’ve been wanting to see that can be accessed from the Long Point Trail. Butcher Branch Falls is off a short spur, and we are both excited to finally hike to a waterfall together!
After checking in and setting up camp, we take the short ride to the trailhead. Even on a weekday morning, the trailhead is relatively full; this is an extremely popular trail. We strike out into the woods, deciding to take the spur to Butcher Branch first, and then continue on to Long Point. The spur trail to Butcher Branch is about ¾ of a mile into the hike on the right, and is signed. From this point, the hike gets a little confusing. I’m not going into specific details as those can be found elsewhere on the web, but I will post a GPS track at the end of this section. You use a series of unofficial climbing access trails to reach this waterfall and a lower climbing wall, and I don’t recommend attempting the route unless you know where you are going.
After a little over a mile, we reach the “waterfall” — unfortunately today Butcher Branch is hardly more than a wet rock. Two days from now, in the aftermath from Hurricane Ian, I’m sure it’ll be a different story; but I won’t be here then. Butcher Branch can be seen from the climber’s trail, but to reach the true base of the waterfall requires a slightly sketchy and slightly technical scramble over some boulders and wet rocks. Do so at your own risk.
After snapping a few photos and checking out the climbing wall further along the trail, we turn back for the second part of our hike: Long Point. We make good time to the overlook and are thrilled to find that we have it to ourselves, if only for a few minutes. The last time I was here, I shared this spot with at least a dozen other people and had to photoshop bodies out of my pictures. Soon, we are joined by a sweet couple who are more interested in taking photos with Shooter than they are of the view, but they do agree to snap a few pics for us before we hike on. After the hike, Jen and I head back to camp to cook dinner and rest up for tomorrow: it’s Gauley day!
September 30, 2022
West By Gauley!
I awake before my alarm, excitement creeping in. I’m meeting a Rover petsitter early this morning who is going to watch Shooter while I’m rafting today. I have to drive him 15 minutes away to meet her, and when I return Jen and I will get ready for rafting. We’ve been debating whether to choose to rent wetsuits for the trip, or whether we will be ok in our own clothes. We’ve both decided to save the $25 rental fee and risk being cold; its around 50 degrees this morning, but supposed to warm up to the 60’s by midday. I’m a little worried about being too cold, and we both feel a twinge of trepidation when we notice everyone else on the trip today has rented suits.
What initially was just going to be Jen and I, and my friends Devin and Melody as guides has turned into a boat FULL of other guests. We will be in a huge 16ft boat today with a total of 10 people on board, and will be going down the river with two other boats from Cantrell.
Field notes: I highly recommend this company! They are a small mom & pop operation with experienced guides and significantly lower prices than other outfitters. They provide a professional and safe, but also fun and laid-back rafting environment
We all cram into a schoolbus with “Cantrell Ultimate Rafting” emblazoned on the side and off we go for a wild and wonderful ride down to the Gauley put-in. I admittedly have been VERY nervous about this trip. I have been whitewater rafting so many times on so many rivers, in colder and more treacherous conditions, as a “passenger” on multiple training trips where the new guides had no idea what they were doing. You would think my fear of whitewater would have subsided, but nope. I get a lump in the pit of my stomach every time I climb into a raft, and this time is no different. I like to think a healthy respect of the water is what keeps me safe, but damn, I’d really like to eventually feel a little more confident.
Turns out, I really had absolutely nothing to worry about. The Lower Gauley is a fun ride with a few potentially dangerous rapids, but we had an awesome guide and our big boat handled the rapids with no issues. The rain held out, and Jen and I didn’t end up being cold. We both wore synthetic leggings, base layer tops, an insulating mid-layer (I wore fleece, and Jen wore alpaca wool), and rain shells. This combo kept me relatively warm and relatively dry, on the top anyway. We absolutely can’t WAIT to come back and raft the Upper Gauley in the future.
Adventure Like A Girl 