CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two West Virginia adventurers will start what is believed to be the first modern day traverse of West Virginia’s Elk River.
Outdoorsmen Matt Kearns and Adam Swisher will hike, bike, and paddle the Elk River from where it forms in the Monongahela National Forest to the where it dumps into the Kanawha River in Charleston.
Their trek is for the adventure, but also to raise awareness of the proposed Birthplace of Rivers National Monument in West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest.
“The Monongahela National Forest is the headwaters of West Virginia,” Kearns said in a press release announcing the journey. “We need to protect the headwaters in our public lands for world-class recreation and clean drinking water.”
A National Monument area creates a more strict prescription of land management on public lands and can be designated by either Congress or the President of the United States.
“The monument would guarantee our rivers get a clean start as they move downstream to be enjoyed by paddlers, anglers, and swimmers; and as drinking water supplies,”Kearns said.
The “Elkspedition” as they are calling it, will begin Tuesday with a hike down Laurel Run to Slatyfork, W.Va. The pair plan to continue on bike past the Elk River Dries, Bergoo, and Webster Springs to Centralia. There they will paddle the length of Sutton Lake, portage Sutton Dam, and then continue 100 miles to the confluence with the Kanawha River in Charleston.
But looking at the water levels Monday, Kearns said they could face some challenges and may have to shift their plans around.
“Just watching the river gauge go all over the place has been kind of filling us with anxiety,” he said. “So now it looks like the upper part of the river might be too low to paddle.”
They plan to complete their journey on Memorial Day with a stop and picnic reception at Coonskin Park in Charleston which will be open to the public before completing the last leg of the journey from Mink Shoals to Charleston.
Kearns called the Elk River a “hidden gem” compared to other rivers in West Virginia like the Kanawha and Ohio.
“It is the longest river entirely within the boundary of West Virginia,” he said. “It’s just going to be a beautiful trip the whole way down.”