Aug 8

I left the Downing House and Middleport about eight AM, headed for Point Pleasant, West Virginia. About a twelve mile paddle, pretty routine. No locks, no big barge traffic, although the banks of the river are what they call "fleeting areas " which means it is where they park the tugs and barges between trips.

Got to Point Pleasant about two and was surprised to find that there was no direct access to town, no boat ramp, no docks. The city is surrounded by a flood wall, about thirty feet tall on the river side, less than that behind the town. You can see the gate in the one photo i took of the road running into town. During a flood, all the gates are closed but the bridges are much higher than the wall, so there is access to the town on them. I found an inlet that ran up behind the downtown, with a nice boat ramp, a quiet place that will make a good campsite. When I walked up to the highway I could see the downtown just a few blocks away. Nice that I found this place, but I just stumbled across it. Could have easily missed it.

Walked into town and visited all the Mothman stuff, which I talked about in a previous post. Interesting but a little hokey.. But a welcome break from river paddling.