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 The lightweight jacket with heavyweight features, the IR Session is made of a lightweight, waterproof, breathable 2 layer shell fabric that has superior DWR. Now: $135.99 (Save 20%)Was: $169.99  The lightweight jacket with heavyweight features, the IR Session is made of a waterproof, breathable 2 layer shell fabric that has superior DWR. Now: $128.00 (Save 20%)Was: $160.00    | Important Cheoah Details:
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Cheoah River FAQ:
Q: I've heard about the Cheoah but I'm not sure it's for me. What other rivers does the Cheoah compare to?
A: That's a great question. The Cheoah combines features of many of the nation's premier whitewater rivers and creates a very unique challenge. Like the Upper Youghiogheny in Maryland, the Cheoah has a steep gradient with many rocks and boulders constricting the river channel requiring constant technical maneuvering. Unlike the Upper Youghiogheny, once you're in the middle of a long 1.5 mile rapid, there are really only a very few places to catch an eddy and regroup. Like the Lower New at higher water levels, there are huge holes and chaotic reactionary waves, but unlike the Lower New the Cheoah is very narrow and the raft lines are very precise. Like the rapids of the Five Falls on Section IV of the Chattooga, the the biggest rapids on the Cheoah wind through huge jumbles of rocks and fall through the steepest gradient on the river. But unlike the Five Falls on Section IV, the biggest rapids on the Cheoah do not have pools to recover in, but rather, they run together and create a series of non-stop Class IV+ whitewater 1.5 miles long.
Q: Wow! So it sounds like the Cheoah is definitely different than the Upper Gauley?
A: Yes. You really can't compare the Cheoah to the Upper Gauley. None of the rapids individually on the Cheoah are as big as the Big Five on the Upper Gauley. But what makes the Cheoah a very different challenge than the Upper Gauley is that the Cheoah is far steeper and for very long sections, there is really no place to rest. If you are familiar with Lost Paddle, the biggest and longest Class V on the Upper Gauley, you know that after the first drop you get to take a break before Hawaii Five-O (2nd drop). And after you pass Six-Pack Rock, third drop is simple and you eddy out before running Tumble Home (4th drop) with just a quick succession of forward strokes (usually). Lost Paddle is almost a half mile long. In comparison, on the Cheoah, you run Class IV Submarine, Class IV+ MOI, Class IV+ Chaos Theory, Class V Bear Creek Falls and Class IV+ Python back to back to back to back to back. One and a half miles of constant paddling without rest except for a short eddy-out below Bear Creek Falls. Because of the risk to anyone swimming this 1.5 mile section of whitewater, this section of the Cheoah should be considered Solid Class V.
Q: Hmmm. It sounds like the Cheoah is over my head then.
A: Maybe yes, maybe no. Our Expert Guides know this river well and are very skilled river runners. But what matters most on the Cheoah is your contribution to the team. On some rivers, the guide can take easier lines if the crew is struggling or muscle through a rapid on his or her own if he or she has to. This is true on rivers like the New or Upper Gauley that are big and wide open. The Cheoah difference is our guides can't make it down the river cleanly without your in-sync teamwork because so much precise and constant maneuvering is required in the middle of rapids that in many cases go on for hundreds of yards or even a mile or more. So the questions you need to ask yourself in determining if you can and should raft the Cheoah are these:
1. Can I follow all guide commands quickly and accurately no matter what, even if a huge wave is about to crash over the raft or we're about to crash through some tree branches or we are about to slide over a six-foot drop?
2. Can I paddle in-sync with the other members of the raft crew using proper technique and strong strokes while sitting out on the tube with my feet braced in and stable on the floor?
3. Do I have the physical stamina to paddle forward or backward or any combination thereof twenty or thirty strokes in a row without rest instead of maybe the four or five strokes in a row as I have on easier rivers?
Q: I think I can answer "YES" to those three questions, but I want to warm up on other rivers first. What rivers would you recommend for good practice?"
A: That's the spirit! We think the Cheoah is an awesome river and we want you to be able to experience it! We would recommend any paddling that would give you solid Class IV experience or above. Paddling any of these rivers would be good training for the Cheoah, and really, any of these rivers would be great training for each other:
Chattooga Section IV, Nolichucky above 4000 cfs, Upper Ocoee/Middle Ocoee Combo, the Upper Youghiogheny, Upper Gauley, Lower Gauley, Lower New River at 6' or higher, Tuolumne, Upper Klamath, Cheat, Penobscot, Arkansas Pine Creek/The Numbers, Arkansas Royal Gorge, North Fork American, North Stanislaus, Kaweah, Payette, Yuba, Skykomish, Merced above 4000 cfs, Hudson, Rio Grande Taos Box, Snake Canyon, Lochsa, Selway, and the Ottawa. |
