From Treetops to River Gorges

On Wednesday, Nathaniel and I saw the Appalachian forest from a new perspective. Traveling via ziplines and rope bridges, we moved from hardwoods to old-growth hemlocks, crisscrossing Mill Creek and looking down on the tops of rhododendrons, boulders and many of the trees. The TreeTops Canopy Tour puts you among the trees - up to 80 feet above the ground - and provides a fabulous way to get a close-up view of the forest canopy.

Thursday was more in line with the things Nathaniel and I know best. We floated West Virginia's New River with Brian "Squirrel" Hager, a veteran guide for Class VI Mountain River On the Gorge. The New was beautiful as ever, and the smallmouths bit from the time Squirrel pushed the raft from the bank until he rowed us to the take-out. Zell Pops were the ticket early. Jerkbaits and YUM Dingers produced the most fish in the afternoon.

Before heading south from the West Virginia mountains, Nathaniel and I made a short but brutally steep hike into the Gauley River gorge to watch rafters and kayakers take their best shot at Pillow Rock, a raging Class V rapid. We saw the best and worst runs through the rapid and every manner of whitewater boat venturing down the river. Nathaniel enjoyed the front-row view of the action.