Life Outside Fall 2018 - 33

STORY AND PHOTOS BY BRUCE INGRAM

On the

JAMES

The contexts of floating and fishing, hiking and camping,
history and adventure converge gloriously in the James River
Face Wilderness area of the James River.
WHENEVER I'VE APPROACHED the Class III-IV
THE JAMES FROM
ABOVE
This view from above
is of the James River
Face Wilderness Area.

Balcony Falls, I confess that a flood of emotions
overcomes me. A sense of wonder at the majestic
mountains of the James River Face Wilderness to
the right. A sense of the historical at the chiseled
stone wall remains of the James River and Kanawha
Canal (JRKC) to the left. A sense of fear at the
precipitous drop and boulder that looms at the
heart of Balcony. A sense of anticipation for the
sublime smallmouth bass sport that lies below
Balcony.
And sometimes I forget about all these extraordinary things and, well, simply wimp out and portage
around Balcony on river right through a shallow
slot that meanders through car-size boulders. That
was the case on my most recent visit to the Face,
this time with Dick Pickle of Wilderness Canoe in
Natural Bridge. Pickle and I were afloat in separate canoes, he with his dog Skipper and me with
camping gear and fly and spinning rods-gear and

a pet that we were loath to lose in the churning
maelstrom that defines Balcony Falls.
Our exercising the better part of valor did in
no way take away from our ramble through the
Face, as this float, which is a 5 ½-mile excursion
from Glasgow to Snowden, is one of the most
unique in the Old Dominion. No other designated wilderness in the state offers float fishing for
smallmouth bass, and no other section of the
James in our region features as much whitewater
as this one does. What's more, it's legal to camp
along the river, specifically that part that flows
through the wilderness area, which is part of the
George Washington and Jefferson National Forest
(GWJNF). Here's what we experienced.

DAY ONE
After the Glasgow ramp, the rapids unfolded in
swift succession. We coursed through Class I Fork
Falls (run it on the left), the Class I-II Flat Rock
Falls and its mid-stream boulders (aim for straight
down the middle), and then a series of fairly easy
Class I ledges-easy, that is, if you are in a kayak
or a two-person canoe. I constantly bemoaned the
fact as a solo canoeist that I had to pay attention
to the rapids and couldn't fish because I've dueled
with bronzebacks up to 20 inches there.
Then came the Class II Little Balcony Falls and
below it the remains of the James River and

LifeOutsideMag.com // Fall 2018

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Life Outside Fall 2018

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