Can you dig it? Can you dig it? CAAAAN YOU DIG IT??? Panther Creek Falls
by: Bobby Miller
For years I have walked up along Panther Creek during the lengthy climb out at the takeout of the Upper Gauley and dreamed of the possibilities. Not far up the creek lies a beautiful and clean 35 foot waterfall into a gorgeous pool that makes up for its lack of depth with a perfectly formed slope in the bedrock to make your transition smooth. I have hiked past this falls countless times and always looked at it knowing that one day I would plunge over its lip. However, year after year, the water levels never cooperated and I stared at a nearly dry creek bed wondering when it would be my turn. As time passed, new and more convenient takeouts such as Woods Ferry were opened up and the crowds that used Panther Creek all but disappeared, thankfully taking the U Haul of Shame with them.* Being a purist (and a fan of exercise), I still continue to use this takeout, heedless of the fact that most of the kayaking world has moved on.
As a teenager starting to run steep creeks, I was enamored with the video Falling Down. The video featured many of the gnarliest runs in southern West Virginia and established the state as a legitimate destination to come test your creeking skills. Paddlers like BJ Johnson and Clay Wright became heroes of mine and I worked hard to emulate the style and grace they exhibited in the face of some of the toughest whitewater being run. Panther Creek Falls appears near the end of the video, providing an exciting finish to the greatest steep creek video ever made. As the powerful bass line and blistering guitar riffs of Circle 6’s “Tricks of the Trade” pounded away, these smooth and fearless paddlers sailed off the falls, acing the line. Any young paddler in the Mid-Atlantic region at the time period can attest to how inspirational and ground breaking this video was. I made it a personal goal of mine to run every drop in the video and, over the years, have been able to one by one knock off most of them. Still, Panther Creek Falls was one of the few that had eluded me.
My opportunity came unexpectedly as a long dry spell was broken by localized thunderstorms that hit only the Gauley drainage on Gauley Fest weekend. My friends and I made a high water run down the Upper Gauley before the festival, enjoying every moment of the extra flow. All of the side creeks were pumping in lots of water and I commented more than once that I thought this was going to be the day that I would run the falls. When I finally came over a crest in the trail and could see that the falls had an adequate flow, my heart rate increased as my excitement grew. Luck was on my side because my friend, Chad, had decided to borrow a Fluid Bazooka to make his first run down the Upper Gauley. It is rare that anyone in my group would have a creek boat for this run so I thanked my lucky stars that I had one at my disposal on the one time the creek would actually run. Bryon and Matt expressed questions about the depth of the pool but I assured them that it was plenty deep (this was based more on the fact that no one pitoned in Falling Down than through actual probing). Deep or shallow, my mind was made up and I was going to run it.
I scouted everything out and made my plan.The falls isn’t complicated but a poorly placed tree or overhanging branch could alter your carefully thought out line. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray, but I took extra precautions to ensure this wouldn’t happen to me. I canvassed the entire approach and knew every downed tree, every branch, every twig and every leaf that could get in my way. I got in my boat and slid in, shooting into an eddy on the left bank. I peeled out, slipping under a downed tree and headed to the center of the flow as I entered the lead in slide. This short slope carried me to the lip where I lined up just to the left of an overhanging branch and pointed my bow straight down the drop. I cascaded down, falling a long way and catching a few small shelves before plunging straight into the pool. I resurfaced cleanly and celebrated my run.
http://vimeo.com/75649150
I am stoked to have accomplished a long time goal of mine from an important time in my life. It was a nice to take a stroll down Memory Lane and run a SIK drop in the process. Scouting drops and creeks during times of low water and then catching them later after a significant rain event is one of my favorite parts of kayaking. All your dreams can come true, if you just have the courage to seize the moment and pursue them.
*The U Haul of Shame represents a dark time in the history of the Gauley. It basically was a moving van that used to carry the boats of lazy and out of shape kayakers up the hill. However, it didn’t count as a true run down the Upper Gauley if you used this abomination.
