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5 Adventure Activities On The SummitCorps Schedule

New River Whitewater Rafting
Arrowmen get to paddle through class V rapids in the Lower New River. (Photo by Gary Hartley)

After 32 hours of shoveling, raking, breaking rocks and so much more, Arrowmen volunteering at SummitCorp: The New River Experience are getting to experience a bit of adventure in the New River Gorge.

Each week, Arrowmen were given several adventure options to choose from in return for an intense week of hard work. Not a bad deal, huh?

Here’s the breakdown of activities Arrowmen are enjoyed:

  • Whitewater Rafting For thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies, whitewater rafting on the New River was amazing. Arrowmen will paddle their way through Class V rapids (those are the hardest around) and experience the gorge on one of the oldest rivers in the world. Hopefully they didn’t get too much whitewater up their noses.
  • Zip Line Canopy Tour After experiencing the thick New River Gorge forests all week on the ground, some Arrowmen saw what it’s like from above. As they zipped, they zoomed through the trees 200 feet off the ground on 10 zips and walked on 5 bridges.
Scout Rock Climbs In New River Gorge
A Scout reaches for a good hold while climbing in the New River Gorge. (Summit Blog Staff Photo)
  • Rock Climbing With thousands of climbing routes, the  New River Gorge has some of the best rock climbing in the country. AMGA-certified climbing guides took Arrowmen  of all skill levels out to the sandstone crags. After breaking, laying and moving massive rocks all week to build trails, climbing them was surely a great change of pace.
  • Mountain Biking Now that the Arrowmen know what makes a good bike trail and the labor that goes into one, they could appreciate some on two wheels. Let’s hope they also know what makes a good mountain biker as they ride deep into the gorge on all types of terrain.
  • Summersville Lake Adventure Those who were ready for some classic R&R  headed to Summersville Lake to kayak, climb and swim. Thirty-two hours of intense manual labor definitely warranted some downtime in the sun.

Water up your nose, dirt on your back, or wind in your, um, helmet. Which adventure trip would you choose?

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