It’s almost that time of year again — Cheat River Festival, held in Albright, West Virginia. Hard to believe it’s been an entire year already. The festival takes place this year on May 2nd and 3rd.
Friends of the Cheat, a nonprofit that owns property along the river, helps ensure boater access to the Cheat. Last year, I ended up running Cheat Canyon solo in my Scorch X creek boat. I had to leave my vehicle at the take out and the kayak at the put in (the campground), then bum a ride from another altruistic boater back to the campground where I left my gear.
This year, I might run the Cheat in my new NRS Neutron packraft. I’ll also be reaching out to Friends of the Cheat about volunteer opportunities during the event — it’s a great way to meet like-minded paddlers and conservationists.
In the meantime, enjoy these photos from Cheat Fest 2024. it was 85 degrees and the water temperature was quite warm, unlike rivers that release from dams.
The Cheat River with campground access. This is the standard put in for Cheat Canyon.Wet weekend, not too cold. Luckily I found a good neighbor that was willing to share a tree for the hammock. I arrived somewhat later in the afternoon after leaving work in Annapolis. There was not many decent places left for a hammock unless you were in the woods. There were not too many trees that were suitable for hammock support or in an area that was not already claimed by someone. Not as many vendors as I expected. A lot of handmade cottage industry things. Some food trucks as well.Fletcher’s Grove performing. the holes in the one shell is from making buttons. apparently its not uncommon to find freshwater mussels with holes like this.This was more for children, but it is a “name that hide” Grey fox almost stumped me. I need a better photo. This a slanted table setup that has a small bilge pump in a bucket, the water is pumped and deposited on the higher side and flows downhill. this is to illustrate how large, rocks, trees and soil is to protect the rivers flow, this mock setup also illustrates erosion and flooding. you can move the objects and change the flow in real time. I have always liked these classic squirt boats. I started paddling not long after these started being phased out by rotomolded boats. These are for display, not for sale.
Leave a Reply