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Ohio River

Symmes Creek Across from Huntington, WV (Mile 309) to Guyandotte River (Mile 305.5)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

(Navigation Charts 147-148)

I'd just tried to do what I thought was right for someone, only to have both that person and seemingly the Lord himself acting against me.  I say this because the situation was punctuated by an impossible coincidence that left me utterly humiliated.  It could only have come from a higher power.  All of this had me livid and completely disheartened.  Why did I even care?  Well, I thought about it and decided that I cared simply because caring is part of who I am and that I'd continue to do so because the fact that you care means that you are seeking to do what is good.  For me there was no choice, and that was the worst.  I felt completely alone in addition to everything else.  Friend, if you ever find yourself in a situation like this know that a river and time will be your best friends.  The river will calm and heal you as time dulls the pain.

This is only a 3 mile section of the river, but there’s a lot going on with downtown Huntington, West Virginia being front and center.  Indeed, there are no fewer than 4 boat ramps in here – one in downtown Huntington, one directly across the river inside the mouth of Symmes Creek, one at the mouth of the Indian Guyan Creek at mile 306.5 and one at the mouth of the Guyandotte River.  Me, I checked out the Indian Guyan ramp first before opting instead for Symmes Creek which lies amid the community of Chesepeake, Ohio.  They don’t have any facilities at this one, but the ramp is nice and there's a good amount of parking. 

Once on the water I decided to paddle back into Symmes Creek to begin.  As a general rule I like to leave the fishermen in peace, and I know that there are apt to be more of them out late in the day when I return, so I try to paddle the side streams early.  Symmes, I was to find, goes back nearly a mile and a half – exactly what the charts say.  I thought it was quite attractive, and at one point I noticed what looked like a farm atop the bank along with some horses.  Turns out this was an Equine Medical Center!  Also of note was a point at which I was sure I’d have to turn back.  The stream was getting quite shallow and gummed up with deadfall debris.  Yet, after poking around a little I found that I was just able to make it through with my boat practically scraping the bottom. 

The spot at which I would eventually stop (below) was one that I found quite pleasant.   I even startled a deer foraging here among the flora atop a little “step” in the bank.  This stream would be a nice one for a hiking trail.  There appears to be a tiered level up there almost the entire way. 

On the way back out I came across some lily pads.  No sign of Kermit though…  :)

On to the Ohio River!  As mentioned, the mouth of Symmes Creek lies almost directly across from downtown Huntington at river mile 309.  A major bridge (the Robert C. Byrd) lies just downstream.  You're in the midst of one of the longest (7 miles), straightest sections of the river I've yet encountered.  I'll cover the bridge better in the next downriver section, but you’ll be able to get some pretty nice pictures of Huntington from this vantage point if the sun cooperates.  In fact, from the right perspective it can look almost tropical amid the trees here. 

Huntington was originally a settlement known as Holderby’s Landing before it was re-named for rail tycoon Collis Potter Huntington.  It seems that the western end of his railroad was here, a fact that really helped to establish the town (more on the town history here).  Huntington has a nice park along its waterfront (David Harris Riverfront Park) that contains a ramp and even a little amphitheater.  If you wanted you could easily stop, walk up to the city and browse a nice shopping plaza (Pullman Square) where there are also a lot of dining options.  

The marina you see beside the ramp is known as Holderby’s Landing/Huntington Riverfront Marina.  From their website it looks like they have big plans to make this a complete entertainment location, but as I paddled by I wasn’t sure how much of it was still in operation.  NOTE:  The place is sadly closed.  In fact, as of 2021 I can see no trace of it.

The next photo below was taken looking back at the marina, behind which Huntington is now obscured from view.  That's the Lee Synott of Ingram Barge coming upriver toward me with the aforementioned Robert C Byrd bridge in the background.  You'll find that Ingram is quite prominent on the river.  They're headquartered in Nashville.

Following the marina you’ll have some steel yards on the West Virginia side for about the next mile.  This is the location of Steel of West Virginia, Inc., and as per the web link they actually started as a railroad - West Virginia Rail Company - in 1907.  Today they're owned by Steel Dynamics, a publically traded company under the symbol STLD.  It was in this area where some power lines went over the water that I saw a bunch of discarded barges that had been repurposed by Mother Nature as flower pots.   I also noticed some beaches that looked to consist of a combination of poured and discarded concrete.  Meanwhile, directly across the river lies the community of Chesepeake, Ohio.  There was a line of barges over here which looked to still be in use.  They may have been for a cement company called Pickett Concrete whose grain elevators can be seen up onshore.

Up ahead you’re liable to see a couple more things in West Virginia before the river makes a right curve at mile 306.  The first is a Huntington Municipal Water intake, while the second is a line of barges and mooring cells at a former Ohio River Terminals Company location.  REO Logistics, a specialty chemical company, operates here now but I'm not sure if they have a river presence.  All of this may now be idle.  Directly across the river in Ohio you'll have some more old, abandoned barges and this time I was actually able to paddle right into one!  

By this point you’ll be getting some great, sweeping views of the river and this is where the Indian Guyan Creek (a.k.a. Fourmile Creek) enters at mile 306.  I was able to get back about ¾ mile.  There's a boat ramp right at the mouth and as I look at it, this stream takes the shape of a face looking left.  :)   I got past the “mouth” and almost to the tip of the nose before I reached a point where I was getting awfully close to being in some people's yards!  I went back.  

Did I mention the sweeping views back on the Ohio River?  Here are some perspectives....

The beautiful bridge you see is the East Huntington Bridge, a.k.a. the Gunner Gatsby Memorial Bridge (named for Marshall University’s first Hall of Fame football player).   The Guyandotte River merges with the Ohio at nearly the same spot the that bridge goes over (mile 305.5) but just prior to that point you’ll find the former headquarters of Superior Marine in Ohio.  When I passed there were some interesting apparatus visible which might have been used to take barges or boats in and out of the water.   According to the web link, Superior moved just downriver to Burlington in 1984.

Anyway, as you get close to the bridge and the mouth of the Guyandotte River you might be able to see Huntington's Cornerstone Hospital up there in the midst of what look like some very nice homes and a couple town parks.  As for the Guyandotte River, it's said to run about 166 miles but you might call that into question when you look at it's width.  It runs all the way to Amigo, West Virginia near Beckley.  I’ll save it for a separate exploration.

Anyway, it was time to head back and this time I paddled along the Ohio shoreline which generally takes on a rocky character in this section.  Here you’re apt to encounter a good amount of little minnows swimming among the fairly dense patches of alga you'll see.  You’re also likely to spot many different kinds of birds amd today these included the trio below.  I believe these to be sandpipers.  I thought that 3 was a crowd, but these birdies looked to be pretty chummy!

…and later I was able to get what was possibly my best wildlife picture yet as the bird below posed for me for a while.  He certainly doesn’t look very happy to be doing so though, does he?!?  That is one very serious looking bird!

DIRECTIONS:

The Symmes Ramp can be accessed off Ohio Route 7 across from downtown Huntington in Chesepeake, Ohio.  You’ll see a sign for the ramp on the road which will have you heading north on Symmes Creek Road, or Route 123.  After you make the turn off Route 7 you’ll want to veer to the left and then you’ll see the ramp parking lot not even a mile back.