Buried deep under the waters of Summersville Lake since the Gauley River was dammed in the 1960s, the Lost Gauley is a section of the river that only resurfaces about once a decade.

“The dam has to lower the lake to inspect or work on the damn dam,” says Dave Fusilli of Demshitz, who ran West Virginia’s elusive Lost Gauley last weekend during one of those rare opportunities.

With three other paddlers, Fusilli did a 20 mile run ending at the Summersville Dam, where the famous Upper Gauley River begins. The Lost section began with class II to III rapids in the section that’s usually underwater. “This would be the start of paddling 150 feet lower than usual,” says Fusilli. “We could see silt and really cool layering in the silt on the banks of the river. This section reminded me of the last day of the Grand Canyon.”

Watch Fusilli’s video of the Lost Gauley here: 

Adventure educators Dave and Amy Freeman have been nominated as one of National Geographic’s 2014 Adventurers of the Year. The two canoed, kayaked, hiked and dog sledded just under 12,000 miles over three years in a bid to bring environmental awareness and education to school children. Their route took them through Inside Passage, across the Northwest Territories, through the Great Lakes, and down the East Coast of the U.S. Their epic journey ended early this spring. 

Their project, titled The North American Odyssey, was interactive and involved visiting schools and hosting assemblies along their route. Students could also track their progress online through their website. It’s estimated that their project reached a total of 85,000 kids. 

See Canoeroots’  Early Summer 2012 feature on Dave and Amy’s adventure in the feature story “School’s Out” here. 

You can also visit the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year web page to learn more and, while you’re there, vote to make Dave and Amy the People’s Choice.