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Wilderness Canoe Company rents canoes, kayaks and tubes along the James River all summer long.(Photo: Submitted)



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NATURAL BRIDGE — Last year was the worst season Wilderness Canoe Company had ever had.


And because the canoe, kayak and tubing company relies on good weather to provide business through the peak summer season, last year’s petulant weather wreaked havoc on their overall stability.


“It was a continuous flood,” said Charlie Pickle, co-owner of WCC with his father, Dick, who started the business in 1994 in Natural Bridge. “The river never calmed down until August 15 and by that time school was almost back in session. We only got 15 days in peak season.”


Fortunately, Pickle said, 2014 is already turning the corner. With stable weather and a calm river providing the product his customers so desire, business has been steady since June began.


While the company is open from April until October, the “silly” season is June until August, when the most tourism floods into the area.


Pickle estimates nearly 2,000 customers come through every year, often times completing the most basic James River journey that runs about 10 miles.


Customers pop into Pickle’s office looking for three types of river boats: canoes, kayaks or tubes.


Boats and tubes are typically replaced every year, he said, for newer models, though some have lasted far longer, with one nine-year-old kayak, Pickle said, that just will not die.


However, Wilderness Canoe isn’t solely a boating experience. You can get an elongated stay, too, with families sometimes renting out space at nearby campgrounds — the WCC has seven auxiliary camping sites. Some families also picnic or fish along the James River, which Pickle says is the “the most private section of the river that you can get out here.”


In most cases, experience isn’t needed for boating trips. The company uses basic kayaks, open air to prevent the boats from sinking if they tip. If an individual flips, “the boat won’t sink,” Pickle says.


However, the most difficult trip, a five-mile course down the James River which features class II and III rapids, requires previous experience. All boaters are required to sign a waiver upon entering the water, though this is the biggest reason why.


If you’re looking for a good summer activity, kayaking across the James certainly isn’t a bad option, with canoes setting customers back $70, kayaks at $35 and tubes at $12.


Pickle buses individuals to the entry area 10-miles away, making sure that when the trip is done, all you need to do is walk to your car.


For more adventurous types, they can opt for harder forays down the river, maneuvering across class II or class III rapids in the process.


The alpine trip, which is a basic 10-mile journey along a mostly stable river, offers rich forest landscapes and almost no intersection of urban culture —”you might come across one house,” Pickle says.


In 20 years of business, there have been some bumps along the road. Pickle didn’t come on board with the family business until 2005, when he was honorably discharged from the Air Force, where he was an ammunitions system expert.


It was just four years removed from a brief spell when the company didn’t operate in 2001, mostly, Pickle says, as a result of up and down business.


But that’s a result, he says, of diverse weather patterns. Before 2013, the worst year the company had seen was in 1996, when “a real funny jet stream pattern messed with the river,” Pickle said.


Still, traffic fluctuates from year to year, and because the type of work is seasonal, some years are better than others.


For as much as business creates for itself —through word of mouth advertising —sometimes revenue simply comes down to the kind of year you have on the river.


“If we get two inches tomorrow and the river floods, we’re out of business for a week or two,” Pickle said. “We have certain limits for boats on the water.”


Luckily for Pickle, 2014 is already turning into a solid year.


Write to Cory Mull at cmull@newsleader.com, or follow him on Twitter at @NL_corymull.


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