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I always thought the paddling community was fitter, and appreciated wilderness experience more than the average person, so what is the deal with the u-haul at the upper gauley take out?
first off, I'm a supporter of aw,and the West virginia rivers coalition and i know that a fair bit of your 5 dollars goes to them (but the rest goes to the oil companies and u-haul)but i think people are just as willing to give 5 bucks to a good cause for no reason at all.
so why are paddlers too lazy to carry their boat up a class 4-5 hill after a class 4-5 run?? (class 6 if your from ohio)
It's often pointed out that some paddlers have back backs or knees, or have disabilities, but the question has to be asked, would the gauley be so crowded if there was no road or shuttle there and everyone had to hike out? would all the boaters who can hike out with their boat but choose no too choose to run it if it involved that hike?
in a related story, wal-mart now has carts you can get in the front of the store so morbidly obese people don't have to walk 2 miles around the store to shop.
better access and more access is not nessesarily better for paddling. i think there needs to be some element of going off the map, even at over-commercialized places like the gauley and the yough.
asheville boaters - do you want to see the green full of people? if a river like that was roadside instead of fairly deep in the woods it probably would be.
Come on people, paddling requires you to be in shape, or at least it used to. just like backcountry skiing, paddling requires you to hike to access (and get out of) a remote section of river. the hike is part of the river, so get off your lazy butts and throw your boat on your shoulder, or if you cant, stay in your boat and paddle on down to swiss. it'll be good for you, and you could stand to burn a few calories while your 'exercising' for a change
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The U-Haul of shame and obesity in america New 
BoaterTalk 
