A History of the Upper Yough is a narrative in two arcs. The first is a story about a river, a destination, and the people that make it special. It’s about a kayaking community that, over a span of fifty years, has formed around the river. It’s about a river gorge that is both rugged and accessible; where you can feel alone one minute, and surrounded the next. And it’s about the people that surround you, the characters that have defined themselves by their achievements and mishaps, leaving lasting legacies behind.

The second arc is what would have prevented the first story from ever happening. Massive logging operations, numerous planned dams, and acid mine drainage that threatened the gorge’s pristine nature. It’s also about a region that has always turned to Garrett County for its resources, and so rarely thought about the consequences of those actions.

But most importantly, it is about where those two arcs intersect. The boaters and townspeople that worked to save the river and make it a destination. To make it something special; a place worth telling a story about.