CLAUDVILLE, Va. — It doesn’t involve the Mississippi, but an annual event that makes use of an area waterway continues to roll along in its own right.
The 2022 Kibler Valley River Run is scheduled Saturday, when canoeists and kayakers will invade the upper portion of the Dan River in Patrick County for a whitewater event now in its 39th year which benefits charitable causes.
Several hundred people tend to gather along the headwaters of the Dan for the run, both competitors and spectators who enjoy the mountain scenery of the valley along with sporting aspects of the downriver race course.
The event is sponsored by the Red Bank Ruritan Club in Claudville, which is expecting a good turnout this year on the heels of a successful river run in 2021 after being cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus.
“Last year we had more than we’ve ever had,” Ruritan Club President Lottie Gammons said Monday.
“And we were really surprised,” she added of the event routinely penciled on the calendars of whitewater enthusiasts from a wide region. “We get people from all over the place.”
The run is enhanced by the presence of the Pinnacles Hydro Plant at the end of Kibler Valley Road in Claudville where the race course starts. The velocity of water released by it into the river is increased on Race Day to ensure good canoeing and kayaking conditions through a cooperative arrangement with the Ruritans and the company that owns the electricity-generating complex.
“They’re great,” Gammons said of Northbrook Energy, an Arizona company that bought the plant in early 2021 from the city of Danville, the longtime owner of the facility since its construction in the 1930s.
The increased water flow results in Category III rapids, which are high, irregular waves and narrow passages that often require precise maneuvering. Category II waters also are part of the mix — easy rapids with smaller waves and clear channels that are obvious without scouting, but with some maneuvering possibly required.
Trophies are awarded to the fastest finishers of competition categories.
Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at a cost of $25 per person, with the races to begin at noon. There is no charge just to watch. Rustic camping is offered for $20 per night, recognizing the fact that some attendees make the river run into a weekend outing.
The event relies on a shuttle system to transport canoes and kayaks as runs are completed.
“It takes a lot of people to put it on,” Gammons said.
Proceeds from the Kibler Valley River Run are used by the Red Bank Ruritans for an array of community projects that benefit schools along with aiding cancer patients and residents coping with deaths in their families.
The river run area can be accessed from Mount Airy by taking N.C. 103 to Claudville and turning left onto Route 773, also known as Ararat Highway, and then right on Kibler Valley Road and proceeding about four miles.
Concessions will be sold, with no pets permitted in the food preparation area. Service animals are allowed.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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