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Ohio River

Guyandotte River (Mile 305.5) to Athalia, OH (Mile 296.5)

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

(Navigation Charts 148 – 150)

There are ramps at the beginning and end of this stretch including one at the very mouth of the Guyandotte River, yet I just had to check out the one I saw listed on the charts as the “Old Lock 27 Launching Ramp”.  This one is right about in the middle of this section at mile 301 and it's actually just behind the Fairland Board of Education in Proctorville, Ohio (complete directions below).  I drove in and was pretty impressed with the grounds which still included both of the old lock houses…

Be prepared, however, that if you want to put in at this spot the parking can be a little undefined.  What I mean is that it appears most of the parking area is often covered by water.  I was walking over river mud and alga as I was bringing my stuff to the water but it wasn't too bad - especially because I had a sweet little family of ducks for company…  NOTE:  I'd find this put-in to be almost an exact duplicate of the one upriver at mile 129.  It, too, is an old lock and dam site near New Martinsville - the one for old number 15.

Anyway, I began the day by paddling down to the Guyandotte River to begin.  This stream enters the Ohio on the outskirts of Huntington, West Virginia between mile 306 and 305.  It's supposedly 166 miles long in and of itself so I’m hopeful of doing a separate series of journals on it sometime too.  If you look inside the mouth, however, you might not suspect it to be that lengthy.  It really doesn’t look very wide at all.  There's a nice ramp here and plenty of parking.

This is also the point where the East Huntington (or Frank “Gunner” Gatsby) Bridge crosses the river to connect Huntington with the community of Proctorville, Ohio.  According to the weblink, Proctorville was originally known as Quaker's Bottom, yet there was a man in the community named Proctor who operated a general store that was very popular with the riverboat captains.   They came to refer to the town by his name instead of Quaker's Bottom and it stuck.  Proctorville is on your left as you head upriver and it’ll begin with a long line of recreational vehicles.  If there's a name for this RV park I can't seem to locate it.  Further ahead you’ll be able to spot the town water tower, yet I saw no visible way of reaching Proctorville aside from the ramp at the RV park - and these ramps are usually private.  One classic old brick house really caught my eye here.  I don’t usually put up pictures of other people’s homes so I hope this owner doesn't mind!

Meanwhile on the right side of the river in West Virginia and just upstream from the mouth of the Guyandotte River you’ll find the Adam’s Landing Yacht Club alongside Schooners Waterfront Grill (the grill is now called Pier One Landing).  Then, not too further upriver, you'll find what looks like the remnants of an old pier.  This is unfortunately all that’s left of an older marina and restaurant called the Showboat Marina and Cajun Kitchen Restaurant.   It all apparently sank in 2009.

Signs of industry will greet you next at mile 304 where you’ll spot some power lines going over the water at a point where there are businesses on either side – West Virginia Paving, Inc. in West Virginia and Shelly Materials in Ohio.  West Virginia Paving apparently operates 13 asphalt plants in both West Virginia and Virginia while Shelly has quite a few different facilities at various points on the river. 

Paddy’s Creek comes in on the Ohio side right after the Shelly facility.  I couldn’t get in an appreciable distance but I did think the houses across the river looked pretty picturesque.  I don’t see a separate community on the map over there, but they almost seem to be going for one along Siders Avenue in West Virginia!  This particular cluster of homes will be the first of a couple of them between this point and the Dogham Bend Light and Day Marker at mile 302.  You’ll have noticed, by the way, that the river is making a long left curve in this section, so this must be Dogham Bend as per the marker name. 

Meanwhile, if you paddle along the Ohio side in here you’re apt to find a lot of wildlife along the beach-like shores.  Patches of alga lie at different spots and I've found that these patches will get denser and denser the further upriver you go, providing a great habitat for minnows!  You’re likely to see many schools of them along with a lot of other fish and different kinds of birds too.  I saw a few heron, many kingfishers, some bitterns (at least I think they were bitterns) and what looked like either egrets or white heron at different spots today.  Please pardon the bottle and the tire in the last picture!  It’s unfortunate, but in general I’ve found – and pretty consistently – that the trash really isn’t that bad on the Ohio!  It really isn’t!  Quite frankly, I expected a lot more when I first started paddling it.

Something else of note in Ohio (besides some generally spectacular homes) is one particular dwelling that has the most interesting of river overlooks!  A metal walkway leads to it straight out from atop the bank, while at the shoreline it rises some 2 -3 stories above the water on stilts!  I’ve got to include a picture of it, too, and hope that the people won’t mind (I’ll take it down if anyone objects)!

It was at this point that the Mary Ellen Jones of Amherst Madison passed me.  You’ll see Amherst Madison vessels all over the river in this vicinity - they’ve got a fleet less than 40 miles upstream in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.  In fact, this was the first of two of their vessels I’d see today.

Next up – the Old Lock and Dam 27 on your left at mile 301.  I’ve already mentioned how beautiful this location is…

Meanwhile, directly across from here in West Virginia, there's a lot more going on on than one might think.  Two communities appear to blend together here which may or may not be divided by the Sevenmile Creek and a Hanson Ready Mix (a part of Lehigh Hanson Inc.) facility at mile 300.  Quite frankly, I can't really tell!  That's just my best guess.  You see, one business has an addresses in one of the commnities even thought they've got businesses with the other communities name on either side!

Anyway, I do know that Cox Landing, West Virginia comes first.  They've got a YMCA with a large recreation area called Kennedy Center Field visible from the water.  They've also got the Robert Newlon Airpark that offers RV camping, a restaurant called the Fly In Cafe and even skydiving.  After Cox Landing comes the community of Lesage.  Here you'll find a golf course along the river (the Riviera Country Club) and you'll also pass the mouth of the Ninemile Creek.  I was able to get into the creek maybe 100 – 200 yards, taking the photo below at the mouth...

Meanwhile, on the Ohio side, you’ll find a nice line of homes following the old lock and dam for about a mile.  Later, a mountain will creep in toward the water leaving room for little else besides Ohio Route 7.  This is an area where the shorelines are especially inviting and at one point I did stop to take things in.  The first two photos were taken looking at the Ohio side while the third was taken at a spot where I stopped in West Virginia.

At another point I noticed a tiny trickling stream that I thought was quite picturesque, and I encountered an egret here too…

At mile 298.5 you’ll find another docking facility in West Virginia, this one for Adams Trucking.  It was near this point that 3 push boats crossed each other in front of me.  This was interesting.  On the left side in the first photo below you'll note not one, but two vessels pushing that load of barges upriver.  One was operated by the aforementioned Amherst Madison while the other was from Superior Marine, which has it's base down near Huntington.  Meanwhile, the vessel on the right coming downstream is the Speedway of Marathon Oil.

Pass under a set of power lines now and you’ll be one mile from the ramp in Athalia, Ohio.  This ramp looks pretty solid but I’m not sure how much parking they have up there.  The Twomile Creek also enters here and I was able to get in just a little way, about 100 yards.   Athalia is classified as being a village, and according to the web link it was named after the town founder's daughter, Athalia.

One last picture...  My blue boat seems to attract these little blue dragonflies…

DIRECTIONS:

I’m going to direct you the easiest way, not necessarily the fastest.  It’s not too much further and it eliminates a lot of confusion.  The Old Lock 27 Launching Ramp can be reached off of Ohio Route 7 just north of the East Huntington or Frank “Gunner” Gatsby Bridge spanning the river East of Huntington, West Virginia.  If you’re coming from Huntington go 3 miles after crossing it and make a right at the 4th light - Township Road (or TWP) 1242.  There will be a little green sign.  Go a short distance to a dead end and then take a left.  This is County Road 411 or Beulah Road.  You’ll take it all the way to the water – about a mile.

If you’re coming from Gallipolis the light for TWP 1242 will be the first one after you go through the community of Athalia.  Then follow the directions above.