Pillow

If you made it through Insignificant without a problem, you've probably loosened up quite a bit. You're probably more relaxed, and ready for a little funny water. Well, you'll need to be loose and relaxed for Pillow Rock. After you've run the few rapids below Insignificant, you'll find yourself in a short stretch of flatwater, working your way around a left-hand bend in the river. If you look high on the river right wall, on the rim of the gorge, you can see a small gap in the trees, with a small overlook. That's the Carnifex Ferry Battle Monument, and it signals Pillow Rock. About the time you can see the overlook, you'll start hearing the actual rapid. There is an unofficial trail from the monument down to Pillow Rock providing an access for those who wish to hike in and watch the action (Caution: The trail to the river involves some serious scrambling).

The basic deal with Pillow Rock is that a large portion of the river slams against a house-sized rock on river left--Pillow Rock--creating a huge pillow, rebounds off, and slithers around another huge rock down below known as Volkswagen. The screw-up potential is enormous, but the actual danger is quite low.

Start off by catching an eddy just to the right of center, in the flatwater above the rapid. At this point, if you are unsure of the line you can always get out on river right to scout the drop and watch the show. You will always find a crowd of spectators here and the video cameras will be rolling so take a deep breath and make sure you look good as you peel out. The typical line is to start center entering just right of a boulder at the top, then hug the left side of two successive boulders downstream (one mostly dry and the next mostly covered at 2800 cfs). If you are getting hammered already, more than likely you didn't listen to your guide and you're too far left already and are in some big juicy holes in the center (the hero line). Once you pass the third rock, ride the current to the left to avoid the nasty shallow hole on the right. At this point you should be on the "green highway" and you will find that amidst the chaos of holes, waves, funny water, rocks, and other nasties, there is tranquility.

At this point things are moving fast but if you've planned your route and are still on line you have two options to finish out the rapid. You can turn hard right and run like hell away from Pillow Rock. If you do this, you will simply need to paddle to the right to avoid the toilet bowl below Pillow Rock, and ramp up on Volkswagen rock, go around it and be happy that you are done.

The second option is the big splat move on Pillow Rock on river left and this is what the crowd has come to see. If you choose the splat, you should know that you will be swallowed in the toilet bowl. It's not really a problem, but it catches some off guard. You want to aim right at the corner of the rock. Not the upstream side, that's the Room of Doom. If you do it correctly, you probably won't even hit the rock itself. You will definitely flip, and you will get flushed immediately below. Roll up just in time to go around Volkswagen, and you are done.

The Room of Doom is actually a wedge-shaped eddy just above Pillow Rock. It is formed by a gap between the next rock upstream of Pillow, and Pillow Rock itself. The only way to get out of the Room of Doom is by rope, or by paddling/swimming out of the eddy. The rocks on both sides are 8-10 feet vertical and smooth. The exit is not easy because water is constantly being slammed into the Room, causing an eddy fence that is challenging--but not impossible--to cross. Complicating matters is the fact that the water in the Room is super turbulent and aerated. The water surges several feet up and down. Don't go in there unless you plan on doing some spectacular rodeo work, and understand the hazard (if you know enough to go for the Room of Doom for entertainment value--and many folks do--you don't need this guide).