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The area around the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, WV is very pretty but I'm not sure how much class 3/4 climbing there is.

Are you planning on doing it now or in the future? Bridge Day would be a great time to visit but I went this past spring and all the vegetation was lush with the spring rains. Food for thought.

How about a chunk of the Appalachian trail? It's in your neck of the woods and certainly considered a classic. Of course you'd have to do some research to see if any of it meets your specific requirements.

try http://www.wvwhitewater.com/packages.cfm (look at "combos").

I'm surprised this thread title has not engendered snide remarks.

I largely agree with DMT. You can find class 3 in the east and you can find class 5, but class 4 is probably hard to come by and there isn't much class 3 either. The real problem though is the idea of doing a multiday strenuous hike and then rafting back to the beginning. There's hiking here and there's rafting here but trying to combine them is asking a bit much and might guarantee that you won't get the best of either. Someone mentioned the New River, I'd add that you might want to also look into the Youghiogheny (in PA) for rafting.

In the New River area, I have rafted on the New and the Gauley, and both were great rafting trips. The Gauley is human-controlled and is seasonal, so it might not be open when you're going.

This is not exactly near the New River Gorge, but it is in the same small state, not too far away:

http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=151675

Although I have been there, I have never climbed there, but the main page shows routes of 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4, which of course are hardly different from class-4.

Dingus Milktoast wrote:There are no places in your target area to fulfill your wish list, that I am aware of. The Appalachian Mountains just don't have much of the climbing you seem to be looking for. And the whole 'rafting back to starting point'... doesn't seem consistent with the goal of mountaineering.

I'll echo that. West Virginny AIN'T California.

Fayetteville is the heart of climbing/whitewater in WV.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=fayetteville,+wv&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.371289,56.337891&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Fayetteville,+Fayette,+West+Virginia&ll=38.052888,-81.103991&spn=0.243312,0.44014&z=11

New River gorge has some good class 5 climbing. Fall is the best time of the year. It's too cold in the winter, it rains during the spring, summer is pretty humid and things get greasy... Most climbers congregate in a small area under the New River Gorge Bridge, but there are miles of cliff where you won't see another climber all day.

If you don't mind driving, you can get to Seneca Rocks from Fayetteville in about 3.5 hours by driving through some of the most beautiful parts of the WV highlands.

If you really want class 3/4 climbing, pick just about any mountain in WV. You'll find steep class 3/4 bushwhacking anywhere you go.

The New River has water all year. During the spring it rains a lot, the river often floods, and all rafting can be closed now and then. There really isn't any climbing per se on the water, but you can easily hike from the river up to the cliffs above (<2,000 feet). The New River is big and deep with great class 4 rapids. During the spring floods the New can be one long class 5 rapid.

Another reason to go in the fall is that you get whitewater releases on the Gauley River. Again, the Gauley has natural flow all year but the real action is in the spring with runoff and in the fall with dam releases. The releases are scheduled every Fri-Mon from the week after labor day until Bridge Day in early October. The Gauley River Festival (3rd weekend in September) in nearby Summersville is a hoot if you've never gotten drunk and puked with 5,000 other boaters. I've been going to Gauley Fest for 13 years now.

The upper Gauley is definite class 5 with consequence, and every year a few boaters die here (mostly rafters who get tossed from the boat and flushed through the rapids). Hike down to PILLOW ROCK and watch the carnage if you don't feel like running the Upper.

The middle Gauley is infrequently done and is class 3. The lower Gauley is in-between, with some great class 4 rapids such as PURE SCREAMING HELL.

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2378/

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2418/

Here we are at one of the slack pools on the Lower Gauley in glass kayaks (squirt boats) on a cold spring day. That's Trash Compactor Rapid in the distance. When this photo was taken, the water was 38 degrees F.

start in Pittsburgh

bicycle to Ohiopyle on the GAP trail
climb, hike, swim, play in Ohiopyle
raft/kayak back to Pittsburgh.

Any of the outdoor outfitters in Ohiopyle could help you plan a trip like that.

There's a lot of "I's", "Me" and "My" in yur OP.

Ya really wanna impress yur wife on yur Honeymoon?

ASK HER WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO and then go do it...TOGETHER!

I guarantee ya that she will NEVER FORGET THAT!

Guy asked his wife:
-Do you want to spent weekend that you'll NEVER FORGET?
-Sure!
-See you monday!

The New River i.e. Kanawha and The Gauley are good for kayaking and stuff. The New has plenty of sandstone climbing and is real well known. I echo the comment on climbing a WV mountain class 3 bush wacking hiking out of the gorge would meet that objective too. Just watch out for Deliverance types

Bushwacking up true class 3 terrain sounds like the least fun I can imagine.

Gafoto wrote:Bushwacking up true class 3 terrain sounds like the least fun I can imagine.

You can use the trees as extra holds.

The Chief wrote:There's a lot of "I's", "Me" and "My" in yur OP.

Ouch