Would any of the survivors of the June trip down the Cheat River (or anyone else for that matter) be interested in doing a run down the Gauley river either before or after the Regional Techs meeting? The Gauley, located in central West Virginia, is considered by many to be the best whitewater river in the East. There are two one-day runs (which can be combined into a two-day trip): the Upper, which has one class-VI (!), two class-V+'s, and two class-V's (including Sweet's Falls, a 12-foot waterfall which they *do* run), and the Lower, which is comparable to the Cheat, with a couple of rapids which are class-V at high water levels. Both runs have numerous class-III, IV, and IV+ rapids. Personally, I'd prefer to do the Upper, as I've never done it before, but I'd recommend against first-time rafters trying it. I realize that Ann Arbor is not particularly close to West Virginia, but what I've found is that if one adds a weekend stopover, one can often get a cheap enough airfare to justify taking a small detour. My thought would be to stop off in Pittsburgh, which is about a three-hour drive from the Gauley (and I have friends to crash with there...). If anyone is interested, please let me know... --Vince P.S. My apology if this note is considered inappropriate use of this mailing list. Given the very positive response to the last rafting trip (everyone had a blast, even those who were ejected at Coliseum rapid :-), I decided to send it anyway.