Immersion Research 2010

Man Sweater

After kayaking with Ben Lediwitz (center) Sunday afternoon he filled me in on Rogers Sweater party. The picture above of Roger, Ben and Ben displays the influence of Holiday Spirits. Clearly the sweater party was a success and Roger is doing well. Happy Holidays from IR!!

A lot has happened amongst us extreme kayakers in the last 2 weeks in and around the little town of Pucon here in Southern Chile. When I last checked in I was recovering from a horrible line on the first descent of Salto Bellavista on the Carhuello. Since, I have man’d up and took out the stitches and have been getting after it as much as I can. And of course, I split my elbow wide open on the first day of paddling, so the healing process has been ongoing but slowly getting better.   Check out the whole story here.

http://www.demshitz.com/demshitz/Blog/Entries/2009/12/17_Pucon_Spring_Season_Wrap-Up.html

Get yours today

Recently, Andrew Miller, a employee for one of our loyal shops- Backcountry Outfitters, made a trip out to paddle some of PA’s finest!  Here is a shot of him staying dry and all decked out flying the colors!

A small group of us were denied access to one of our trusty “year round” runs on the White Salmon this weekend! A frozen “get in” and sub freezing temps led us to hike in and do the infamous Orletta section of the Truss, which for the most part, has enough moving water to still be free of any ice shelves. I thought it was good testament to the warmth and durability of the newly improved Double D Drysuit….after an hour in the 33 degree water, I was able to wear my Unionsuit home!

Jesse

New River Academy Student Stephen Forster

I have spent the last week at the rio claro and it has been epic. This river is renowned for its siete tazas section, which is a series of seven basalt pool drops that are some of the cleanest waterfalls I have ever seen. what many people do not now is there are two other sections known as the entres saltos and the veintidos saltos sections. The veintidos saltos consists of mostly clean waterfalls ranging from 10- 30 feet.  The section is completely gorged in and hiking out is not an option.

The Entres saltos is a longer section that consists of three parts the upper, cinco tazas, and the garganta del diablo canyon. the first section is class 3-5 with possible portages for the less experienced boater

Then comes the cinco tazas. This section is a set of waterfalls, easier than the sieta tazas, but offers a fighting chnce to be more pristine than its sister section , the siete tazas.

Lastly, the most notorious section the garganta del diable begins with a 15 foot slide that banks 180 degrees off a wall and into a 25 foot free fall.  Its stout but fully epic. This drop leads into a committed canyon with a 20 meter slide and a few other sick drops.

Are you planning on doing all your Christmas shopping at Target this year? Consider the gift of hand-crafted coolness.

Brand-spankin new…IR Splash Pants with waterproof 2mm neoprene socks glued to the ankles- totally dry from the waist down. Great for fishing too. Now in-stock and shipping!

Interested? Get details here

Dear Friend of the Cheat,

We appreciate and need your support now more than ever!

In 2009 we attracted $59 in outside support for every $1 received in membership and donations. Your dollars “prime the pump” every year.  We hope you’re primed to make our 2010 goals become reality!

While the country struggles to recover from the Great Recession, Friends of the Cheat has also faced unusual challenges. Our Executive Director, Keith Pitzer, continued to lead our efforts despite a year-long battle with cancer. With his guidance, the staff made real progress to “restore, preserve and promote” the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River watershed.  Unfortunately, Keith is now forced to devote all of his energy to his health, so co-founder and former Executive Director Dave Bassage is returning as Interim Director to keep our momentum moving forward.

Acid mine drainage(AMD) remediation remains our primary goal, and this year we completed projects on Pringle Run at Jessop portals, the Middle Fork of Greens Run, and on Dream Mountain, which we started in September and just finished. It will restore seven tenths of a mile of Muddy Creek just above Route 26. We also completed maintenance to projects on Muddy Creek and Morgan Run. The schedule for 2010 includes a project which will make Sovern Run the first acid-polluted stream in West Virginia to be taken off the DEP’s “303d list” of AMD impaired streams.

In June, after years of negotiation, FOC purchased 17.5 acres just below the Cheat River “Narrows” in Preston County.  A river access, parking lot, and picnic area were built by Patriot Mining as part of the sale. We were also awarded $17,000 in Brownfields mini grants to help develop the site. This land is the “anchor” of the proposed Cheat Narrows Rail Trail. FOC, working with the Preston County Rail Trail Committee and the Preston County Economic Development Authority, won a congressional earmark for $294,000 and has a $300,000 commitment from Greer Limestone to purchase the CSX Rail Corridor through the Narrows.  We also hope to purchase the former Kingwood Northern rail corridor, which runs from Kingwood to Tunnelton, by January 2010. This will the first of three rail corridors in the area converted to rail-trails for non-motorized recreation.

In late August there was plenty of activity at the Cheat fest site. We broke ground on a rustic post and beam pavilion named for long time supporter Eloise Milne that will be the centerpiece of The Doug Ferris Outdoor Classroom. Other work includes invasive plant eradication, tree planting for stream bank restoration (including several blight resistant chestnuts), and construction of a limestone channel from an open mine portal which drains into a wetland on the property.  This channel, combined with the wetland, will demonstrate a passive AMD treatment system with great potential.

As the snow begins to fly we’re hard at work planning next year’s projects. Your continued support is a terrific investment in these tough economic times! Please give as generously as you can so we can continue to bring new life to the lower Cheat River!

Thank you for your time.  We wish you all a healthy & prosperous New Year.  Happy Holidays!

Janet Lenox                                Charlie Walbridge

Associate Director                       Board Chair