Annalee Decker

West Virginia, United States

Annalee Decker

FLOTTE AVEC NOTRE

FAVORITE RIVER GEAR

ASTRAL Rescue PFD - Green Jacket

PLUS DE 7 SAISONS D'EXPÉRIENCE

BOAT TYPE: RAFT / INFLATABLE KAYAK

BOATING STYLE: R2 / KAYAKING

I started boating in earnest in 2018 at the White Water Center in Charlotte, NC. In 2025, I am still going strong, boating and guiding at the New River Gorge and Gauley River!

RIVIÈRES / RAPIDES PRÉFÉRÉS

My current favorite section to run is the Lower Gauley.

Nearly every rapid at Fall flow, 2800 CFS, allows the boater to pick and choose high water lines, technical slots or a combination of both. When the water rises above commercial levels, you are treated with stomping wave trains, steep drops, and holes that rival Crystal rapid in the Grand Canyon.

JUSQU'À LA SAISON 2026

LES BAIGNADES LES PLUS ÉPIQUES

Easily convinced through my own naivety, my R2 partner talked me into running the “Hero” line at Pillow Rock rapid.

For those unfamiliar with Pillow Rock, boaters fight the swirling currents to make it close enough to Pillow Rock to slap their paddle on said rock. To pull this off on the Hero line, the boater must flirt with disaster by paddling past a rock upstream of Pillow Rock, known as “Bin Laden.” If you lose your angle and high side off of Bin Laden, you will likely land in an highly aerated eddie called the “Room of Doom.”

We hit Bin Laden.

As we high sided off of the rock, I remember my R2 partner hitting me in the face with their T-grip. This caused me to backflip out of the raft directly into the aforementioned Room of Doom. I swirled around in the eddie for so long that the crowd peered down at me in pity. Just as I finally flushed out, I remember hearing a concerned boater screaming at me “You’re good now! It’s fine now!”

As I swirled ten feet underwater, I thought to myself; “I’m fine now? I was not fine before?” Not having time to further marinade in those thoughts, I slowly swam to my group at the bank.

On the back of my helmet is a “Don’t Panic” sticker from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The short phrase works as a mantra at the top of every rapid to stay calm.

That day, the phrase worked as comic relief and the start of my friendship with SOTAR.

JUSQU'À LA SAISON 2026

RÉALISATIONS

In my relatively short boating career, I have had the pleasure of working with organizations like the International Rafting Federation and Rafting Magazine. With all of these organizations, I have photographed and written short opinion pieces dissecting the nuances of river culture on varying scales. My most recognized works are “5 Steps to Becoming a Rafting Wild Whitewater Woman” and “Rafting Rhapsody: A Grand Canyon Coming of Age.”

Additionally, my recent short film, “Pigeonholed: Rising Tides Floats All Boats,” examining the rafting culture influencing the economy of the often forgotten state of West Virginia, was selected for screening at the Cucalorus Film Festival in 2023.

OBJECTIFS

While I love single day rafting trips, I often find myself dreaming of multi-day trips where all that matters is the oars in your hands and the food in your cooler. These dreams have led me to researching more remote and often short-lived stretches of water like the Owyhee in Oregon, the Salt in Arizona, and the Kaweah in California.

In light of recent developments in the National Park service, I have also found myself researching rivers that many may not even know exist. A prime example is the John River in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska. The John is due to be damaged by the recent approval of the Ambler Road project. To raft and to show via photography or filmmaking this American river to the world, would be a powerful way to fight this project. America does not know what they need to save unless they have seen it and developed a relationship with it.

ÉVALUATIONS

I paddle the 11.5’ SL Liquid, lovingly nicknamed the “Christmas boat,” and the 11’ SL kayak. I love both of these boats because of their surprising combination of stability and sportiness. Both boats keep me upright in the craziest of rapids, but do not hold me back from running technical slots and surfing any hole I can find.