Last Wednesday, 12 campers and 4 naturalist educators headed out on a 29.5 mile journey down the New River…. and what a trip it was!

Day 1: Wagoner Access to Riverbend (1.5 miles)

The naturalist educators spent the morning putting the finishing touches on all the efficiently-packed gear we’d assembled over the past week (shout out to Cade and Brendan) and enjoyed a quick, quiet lunch before the craziness of the next few days! Campers and their adults started rolling up to the schoolhouse at 2:00PM for check in. This year we had a full roster! After tossing everyone’s personal gear into the bed of the truck, doing some introductions, and reviewing rules, we headed to our starting point an hour and a half away. Drew gave the campers a quick run-down on water safety (emergency whistles, paddle signals, etc) and then the adventure really began! Within the first 10 minutes, we saw a beaver (Castor canadensis) swimming by the shoreline! 1.5 miles passed in the blink of an eye, and we were pulling up on the shores of our first campsite. Riverbend is remote- no cell service, an outhouse a half mile away, and no water source. But that’s what makes it everyone’s favorite! Cade took some campers fly fishing, others waded for crayfish (we’ll never forget Kyle Crawdad, who’s a failure for committing tax fraud). After a delicious walking taco dinner, we crowded around the campfire and told stories- some silly, some scary. And of course, ate s’mores!

Fly Fishing with Naturalist Educator Cade

Day 2: Riverbend to 221 Access (8 miles)

You know it’s going to be a great day when you wake up to the smell of pancakes and bacon! We’re so spoiled in the first 24 hours of NRE. The theme of today’s journey? SWIMMING! All three of our stopping points were great swimming spots. Ariel’s Riptide has a strong current great for floating, or fighting your way upstream. Trying to perch on Ariel’s rock is a balancing act not for the faint of heart. After limboing under the low-bridge, we spent our lunch hour snorkeling and trying to grab an elusive northern watersnake (Nerodia sipedon). Right before the end of our day, we stopped at a wide, shallow stretch with shady shores to go fly fishing and search for macroinvertebrates. Plus we saw plenty of bluehead chub (Nocomis leptocephalus) nests! When we pulled up to 221, the kids demonstrated their impressive bucket brigading skills to get ALL of our gear (kayaks and canoes included) to our campsite. We had a relaxing evening of games before we explored 221’s trails in the dark. We didn’t have any luck calling in a barred owl (Strix varia) on our walk, but one started calling as soon as we got back to camp! Throughout the night, bold raccoons (Procyon lotor) wandered through our camp, trying to get their paws on our precious food buckets… and skillfully avoiding Drew sleeping in one of the canoes.

Ariel’s Rock (under Naturalist Educator Olivia) and Riptide

Day 3: 221 Access to Allegheny Access (15 miles)

Today, we were hustling. Going 15 miles in a day is no easy feat. And the campers handled it like champs. Our first break was at the big rock, before our first real rapid. These rapids are split into two paths: one goes straight downriver but is steep and rocky, the other has a sharp turn but is full of water that creates a quick current. Last year taught us to take the sharp turn! Our next stop in the day was very different- a calm, wide stretch of river when we rafted up and did drive-thru PB&Js. Last, but not least, we made it to Old Rusty’s Falls, our second major rapid. Named affectionately after our first river camp session last year, when Cade and Olivia capsized the canoe and lost our stove in the river. The kids made it look easy! And we know from our Rusty recovery mission during our second session that it's a great swimming spot to cool down towards the end of a long day. When we finally paddled into Allegheny Access and unloaded everything, everyone was dead tired. So we took a nice long break and then ate a hearty dinner. Our evening was filled with a nature walk (collecting chanterelles that we cooked up), sculpting mud faces, manhunt, and riddles! Plus, admiring the special New River candle that Cade makes for every river camp out of a decorated can and Baby Bell cheese wax. We were all so tired that nobody stayed up too late!

Campers learned about the importance of accurate mushroom ID- some were fooled by Jack-o-lantern mushrooms!

The Sprouts

by Esme

Granny

by Olivia

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

by Annabelle

Day 4: Allegheny Access to 93 Bridge (4 miles)

Our last day! Time passes so quickly on the river. No crazy rapids or huge distance in front of us today (and some of us still sore from yesterday’s miles), we weren’t in any rush to make it to the end of our trip. We made time for a last game of battleship and enjoyed some bird watching. When we did make it to 93 Bridge, the snack feast began! All our leftover snacks and food were up for grabs (and man did they disappear quickly). And then we loaded our gear up and headed back to BRDC.

Our final raft-up, right before we reached 93 Bridge. We struggled a little to get the right formation, but it came together in the end! Every person shared their favorite part of the trip.

Another amazing New River Expedition in the books- even knowing the route, the river is different every time. We couldn't have asked for a better crew, better weather, or better river conditions, and are excited for next year’s trip already!