The Year Long Day

So let me get this right, your flying out to the far north of Canada to take part in one of the worlds toughest canoe races, paddling 450 miles, day and night, with little food or rest, with a team of Rugby coaches who aren’t paddlers, that you’ve only met once before and have never paddled together as a team?

Yep, sure am!

Your mad, tapped, insane or simply stupid!

That along with a few other niceties or rather obscenities were the usual comments I received from people when I told them the challenge I was about to embark on.

We were on our way to take part in this years Yukon River Quest, Race to the Midnight Sun which you can find out more about by reading THIS  previous blog article.

Finally we arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon after a twelve hour flight delay, a night in a hotel at Vancouver airport and plenty of eating and drinking! The view from the aircraft window on its way in was stunning, flying over snow capped mountains and as we drew closer flying along the mighty Yukon itself.

As we were now a day late in arriving we set to work quickly identifying our boat at the local outfitters, Kanoe People and making any needed alterations or repairs to it. One thing thing in particular that did take some time and effort was the construction of some sort of spray deck in case we encountered choppy conditions during the Lake Laberge crossing or more likely to prevent swamping whilst negotiating Five Finger Rapids. Quite a daunting task producing a spray deck for a 30 ft Voyageur Canoe, never the less the team addressed it and were justifiably proud of their work. Meanwhile others busied themselves about town getting last minute bits of kit we needed and of course food and drink for the race. The Super stores in Whitehorse were quite interesting with everything from shower gel and toilet roll at one end of the store to bear decoys, semi automatic rifles and ammunition at the other end! Tesco you still have some way to go to match this !!

In between all the hustle and bustle of the race prep was also the opportunity to take our boats and paddles for a test drive. This came in the form of a few little trips in the local area. During these we practiced a number of scenarios including man overboard, should I slip off the boat leaving them without a steersman. I was hoping we wouldn’t need this for real as I ended up spending quite some time floating around as the boat and crew disappeared into the distance before making some valiant efforts to regain control and steer themselves in my direction! Another drill that was rehearsed lots was that of changing paddling sides. Might sound easy but when you have a boat full of rather large rugby boys moving around in a canoe at the same time then it’s bound to end in tears unless you have a plan. On one such occasion we were lucky to see the first of many bald eagles on our trip, on its nest with its young. The novelty of numerous eagle sightings soon faded for some.

Another important task was that of sorting out our food for the journey. Some of the team visited the local stores and others set about preparing some meals. During one such occasion members from the other team had taken over the support vehicle and turned it into some form of soup kitchen. We had all opted to source our own snacks etc and I had chosen various nuts, raisons, chocolate and jelly sweets together with some fruit and energy bars, all of which were hung from a thwart in front of me in plastic tubs. These tubs were provided or rather acquired courtesy of our hotel, where they were meant to be used for ice from the ice machine. Incidentally they made great on board toilets!

Time was soon upon us and it was the day before race day. Briefs had to be attended and the first of many kit checks took place. After having had our team details, entry form and insurance checked we acquired a number of ink stamps on my arm entitling us to a River Quest Race pack.

This contained among other things a YRQ-shirt, our race bibs with our all important team number printed on them and a couple of stickers for our boat. We were to be team 27. After we had all signed every bib on both the back and front it was off for an official team photo proudly wearing both our t-shirt and bib as requested by the officials. One half of this bib has to be returned either on completion or if you withdraw from the race as a way of accounting for everyone.

That night it felt a bit like the last supper as we sat together as a team and ate a hearty meal. Then with race day looming the following morning it was off to bed to dream of the events to come, knowing that this would be our last chance for sleep for over 25 hours!

Race day

Our boat and our team had to be ready at the launch point for another kit check at 0730. At this point our official team mascot was added to our boat, which looked remarkably like the character Wilson from the film Castaway staring Tom Hanks.

Once this was out of the way then it was off for some breakfast and a chill before the 1200 start.

Racers all started to converge from around 1100 at the start area. All the teams were announced and introduced, lots of good luck wishes exchanged and photos under the official start line taken. 4,3,2…1 the air horn sounded and we were off. We now had 14 hours to reach the end of the Lake, 35 hours to get to Carmacks, and 84 hours to get to Dawson. For some this truly was to become the year long day!

 

All teams jogged or walked their way down to their boats before launching, remembering that this was only 400m of 450 miles! The turn out by the locals was quite surprising with lots of cheers, whoops, whistles and shouts of “Yukon”and camera action.

That was it we were on our way, next stop the old Coal mine camping ground at Carmacks which would be around 210 miles later and would hopefully take us about 24 hours. Conditions were the best they had seen in years with good weather and high river levels. After a couple of hours we seemed to loose all the hustle and bustle and settled down to a steady rhythm and just the odd couple of boats around us as we entered the start of Lake Laberege and passed the first of 5 check points before Carmacks. These CP’s are all manned and act as safety to give help when needed and also to record the times of racers before sending them on via sat phones to the Comms centre were they are updated and posted on the race website.

As well as these CP’s there are also a number of Safety Monitoring points or MP’s on route, which again are manned, they quite often have fires burning and hot drinks,for racers to warm up. There was to be 3 of these MP’s between us and Carmacks which proved very useful.

The crossing of the lake took us around 8 hours in excellent conditions meaning we arrived at CP3 Lower Laberge at around 2215 well ahead of the cut off time of 0200. As the temperature was quickly dropping with the sun low in the sky we made the decision to change from daytime light weight clothing into thermals, topped off with our brilliant Palm Aegean cags and Viper pants. Great combination, lots of room inside with freedom of movement and easy to get on and off quickly. After a quick warm up by the fire for a couple of the team and some food it was time to get paddling again.

The temperature continued to drop as we paddled on down the section knows as The 30 Mile River. By now the light was fading but as the name says its the “Race to the midnight sun” and sure enough at midnight we were presented with a stunning sky.

Our next point of interest was MP2 Lower 30 Mile which is around 40km after leaving the lake. The names of the locations we passed made me smile with such things as “Gold diggers point, Klondike Bend, Fish Eddy and Shipyard Island” The scenery by now was very much the same with little if any change from steep banks and pine trees. I was eagerly awaiting us passing the spot where the Teslin River would join us and hopefully give us a bit of a helping hand. The Teslin came and went with no apparent noticeable difference, the temperature dropped more, and we were reminded by a passing paddler “that coldest time yet to come would be around 0500”! Cosmic I thought, I cant wait for it!

By the time we reached MP3 just down stream of where the Big Salmon River joined us, it was definitely daylight and still a tad cool. So we took the decision to stop here and spend sometime re-warming in front of the fire as a number of the crew were starting to feel the effects of cold together with a lack of food and sleep. It was here that Team 1 who were by now ahead of us had also stopped and gave first aid to a fellow racer who was suffering badly from exhaustion and hypothermia. We had been warned by officials at the race briefs that “hypothermia accounts for more than half of all crews that fail to finish, and that on cold years more than 50% of racers will suffer from hypothermia”.

We set off once again and paddled our way down the river. For what seemed like an eternity at one point we paddled through what remained of a huge forest which had been burnt to the ground, it really was mind numbing. By being at the stern of the boat and having to concentrate on steering and keeping an eye on the navigation kept me more than occupied and definitely gave me a focus helping to pass the time, prevent boredom and ultimately the potential to fall asleep. As for wild life well we didn’t really see much aside from the odd eagle, however during the journey back to Whitehorse by vehicle there were moose, wolves and bears to name but a few. Apparently they use the highways just like us to get around.

 

At around 0900 after having been paddling for over 21 hours and a short distance after the Little Salmon joined form the right, we eventually passed our last check point before Carmacks. From here we knew had around a further 4-6 hours of paddling until will reached the sanctuary of Carmacks where we would have a compulsory 7 hour stop. A chance for a hot shower, some food and a well earn’t sleep before tackling the remainder of our Yukon Quest.

 

This last couple of hours leading up to our arrival at Carmacks proved to be a real challenge. Some of the team were now really starting to suffer and hallucinations had taken over with sightings of giant beetles, knights in armor, chimpanzees and goblins all on the river bank along side. On a number of occasions crew members even nodded of whilst still paddling. I was unaware of exactly how severe the situation had become, but I did know that I had to get the canoe and its crew safely to Carmacks.

The journey seemed to take for ever, as we turned a corner only to find yet another corner loomed ahead. With an hour or so to go I got out our sat phone and made a call to our support crew at Carmacks. I made a point of letting them know we where not far and that hot food was the order of the day for all of us as soon as we arrived. However un-be-known to my team was the fact that my signal had cut out after only 20 seconds and that I had decided to keep talking pretending to have communications so as not to unsettle them any further. Another memorable occasion was when a team member stated that “I’m sure we’ve been past this before, are you sure were going the right way?” I must say for moment he even cast doubt in mind and could have caused a mutiny. I did have a moment when I feared I may have been thrown over board.

As we neared Carmacks the map and our race briefs clearly mentioned an overhead cable across the river which is approximately 2km from the campsite, and after which you are advised to keep far right so as to avoid missing the pontoon. After announcing in a very calm manner that we now had only a very short distance to the landing it again seemed to take an age. Moral was high with the thought of food and rest but to my horror as we turned yet another corner I was greeted with what I thought was another overhead cable! My heart sank as I reluctantly announced I had made a navigation error and in fact we still had 2 km to go, not a good feeling to have! But all to soon it became apparent that I was right the first time as the Old Coal mine camping ground rapidly approached. Officials were waiting our arrival and barking incoherent instructions at us. At around 1500 with a loud thud, a big wobble and after more than 27 hours of paddling we finally arrived at Carmacks.

Our next problem was getting out of the boat as we were all somewhat wobbly form our adventure. As officials helped us from the boat it became apparent the toll it had taken on us. We all took some time to compose ourselves and get our thoughts whilst support crew and officials busied themselves helping those that needed it and giving us all a good check over.

A few minutes later some race officials called us together and announced that on the grounds of safety we were being “scratched”! Scratched is the YRQ term for being withdrawn. We were all deeply upset but fully understood the reasons behind their decision.

This really had felt like a year long day….

 

After some food and a hot shower and as we de-rigged our canoe team 1 surfaced from their slumber, had some breakfast, reloaded their boat and set off on the next phase of their adventure. Around 30 hours later they triumphantly crossed the finish line at Dawson in a time of 54 hours. A very well deserved congratulations to Team 1 for completing such a grueling event.

I am glad to say that we are all now back to fitness and going about life as normal. Not forgetting our overall aim of doing this challenge was to raise money for our chosen charity Help for Heroes, and I believe to date both teams together managed to meet their target and raise £100,000

Q: Did I enjoy it?
A: Yes a fantastic experience

Q: Would I do it again?
A: Next years race beckons to me and Im already looking at flights etc. After all I cant leave an unfinished chapter in my life. Bring on Yukon River Quest 2013!

A big thank you to my enduring companions on this trip, who were Toby Booth, Justin Bishop, Neil Hatley, Gavin Cleave and Tony Cilia and to Davis St John Claire who had the thankless task of being our support crew. Thanks also Interserve for making it happen.

Lastly a special thanks goes out to Palm Equipment, Desperate Measures, Rab and Outdoor Active for their help and support throughout.

Hasta la vista…. I’ll be back !!

See you on the water…

Jules

Bespoke Canoe Coaching, Guiding, Safety & Rescue training and BCU awards

www.voyageur-coaching.co.uk

Sunset over Sionascaig

Finally as the sun was setting and after more than nine and a half hours of paddling, poling, portaging, grunting and groaning, and enduring everything from bright sunshine to wind and rain I was treated to my first glimpse of my planned destination. That location was Sionascaig, a beautifully wild and remote loch in the far north of the Scottish highlands surrounded by some spectacular mountains.

I had been wanting to explore this area for a while after having spent some time researching it and pouring over maps thinking how interesting the area looked. When planning I’m always looking at how I can link up watersheds or how I can extend previous trips. Being that I’m not a particularly sociable beast and that I enjoy my own company, plus I really like the challenges presented by solo expedition paddling, I felt that this trip would lend its self well to this style of expedition. Careful consideration should be given to any solo ventures remembering the associated hazards, especially should something go wrong. I always leave details of my intended route with a friend together with details of what to do if they don’t hear from me at certain times. As a safety system I carry a GPS tracking device which allows people to track me but also has a built in message service allowing me to check in and let the world know I’m ok, plus alert the emergency services should I really need them. As best I can I make sure Im self sufficient and that Im not going to be putting anyone else at risk.

Sionascaig is a part of a series of lochs in the Inverpolly National Nature Reserve which lies to the North of Ullapool in the Scottish highlands. It is part of a system which includes Cam Loch, Loch Veyatie, Fionn Loch and Loch Sionascaig. The skyline to the  north is dominated by  the peaks of Suilven and Canisp whilst to the south are Cul Mor, Cul Beag and the classic ridge of Stac Polly.

You can view the area and my route in Google Maps HERE

As I left Dingwall the sun was shining with blue skies, however as I headed north the cloud thickened and the inevitable wind and rain started! I passed the track leading down to the fish farm on Loch Veyatie and found a small pull in off the road with good access to a tributary flowing into Cam Loch, loaded my boat and launched. I had chosen my Mad River Explorer 15 as my boat. I love this as my expeditioning boat. With its shallow “V” hull it tracks well and is equally at home on moving and open water.

I spent a couple of hours exploring Cam Loch before heading to the South West corner in search of a waterfall leading to Loch Veyatie and the first of many portages on this trip.I was quite taken a back when I turned a corner in the narrowing loch, as the the water a short distance in front of me disappeared out of view! For some unknown reason I had been expecting the waterfall to be flowing towards me rather than away and into Veyatie.

The waterfall itself is quite spectacular and the short portage around it rather interesting as it drops 12m in a very short distance. Portage complete and with my boat loaded Loch Veyatie was now stretching away northwards for 7km to my front.

After some 5 km of paddling a large bay opens up on the western shore. This marks the point at which there is a portage between the Lochs Veyatie and Sionascaig and as this was the portage I intended to use on my return I thought I would check it out, and also take the opportunity for a break and some lunch.

By this time the rain and wind had subsided and was replaced with sunshine which was an invite for the legendary Scottish midges to make an appearance. They don’t normally bug me but on this occasion as there was no other option available, they feasted on me! I carry a head net in my PFD for just such an occasion which I normally put on just before landing and for short periods. I also carry a full midge jacket which I then put on for longer periods once settled.

A few km’s later the Loch becomes a river and I was now being overshadowed by the  classic peaks of Suilven. This gave me the opportunity to engage in a spot of downstream poling, which was a great way to stretch my legs. Not that this would be a problem soon with another portage looming. Some distance later after picking my way through the twists and turns,  the flow slows and you find yourself in the calmer waters of Fionn Loch.

I was now  looking for a bay on the west side where the water leaves the loch and heads downhill heading for the Falls of Kirkaig. At this point I needed to leave the Loch and try and find a portage route across to Sionascaig.

 

 This wasn’t to be an easy portage, with over 2 km of rough ground to cover and no chance of a trolley being used. I like to keep the legs short whilst portaging, sticking to 100m at a time, and always carrying my kit first and then returning for my boat. This then allows me to vary my route and select the best option for when Im carrying my boat. Several times I managed to loose either my boat or kit and on one occasion both whilst walking back and forth. Eventually I found myself looking down the final 500m of the remaining portage that would take me into Sionascaig, accompanied by some spectacular sunsets over the surrounding mountains.

It felt good to have water under my boat again as I paddled a couple of km around to  Boat Bay. After searching around a bit for a good bivy site, I eventually set my tarp up for the night in a sheltered spot opposite Boat Bay, sorted some food and went to bed tired but happy. Luckily I had taken a hooped bivy bag with me, which saved me from a night of misery courtesy of the midges.

Next day after a late start I spent the day exploring Sionascaig further before finding a new bivy spot very close to the start of the portage trail back over to Loch Veyatie.  As I settled down for the night the weather was turning with the wind building and  light but steady rain.

I could hear the weather worsening as it whipped and lashed at my tarp making sleeping a challenge. This continued throughout the night until at around 0430 a huge squall flattened my tarp!  Luckily because of the way my tarp was set with my boat along the back edge it didn’t take off and disappear. I crawled out into the pouring rain and wind and surveyed the situation. As it was nearly light I decided to quickly pack and retreat to Loch Veyatie via the  previously mentioned portage route.

Kit packed I set off with my familiar routine of kit first and then boat, again with the legs kept to around 100 m. It was hard going as there was no real path just a wet, tussock strewn 2 km of slog, all slightly up hill and then there was few hundred metres descent down to the water in a sheltered bay. I was quite tired and hungry at this point so stopped for breakfast before continuing.

 

As luck would have it the rain had eased and the wind was blowing down the Loch in the direction I was heading. I quickly rigged my solo sail, sat back and enjoyed the swift journey down the Loch to the fish farm I had passed previously.

Unfortunately there was no vehicle access down from the road to the farm, so I set off on foot back to my car, moved it to the gate at the top of the track and returned to my boat with a portage trolley. With my boat strapped on I set off on the last part of my journey back to my car before heading back to Dinngwall.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, despite the bad weather that woke me and cut my trip short. There is lots of scope to extend this trip and include a few more lochs. I could easily have spent more time exploring Sionascaig, in fact I would very much like to head back there soon and maybe even take in one of the surrounding peaks or ridges. A beautiful place with stunning views and well worth a trip. Go and see for your self.

Meanwhile here is a little collection of memories from my trip. Hope you enjoy it

Music by Dan-O at DanoSongs.com

Happy paddling and see you on the water…..

Jules

Bespoke Canoe Coaching, Guiding, Safety & Rescue training and BCU awards

www.voyageur-coaching.co.uk

Coaching Dispatch – Trim

Wether your paddling on open, or moving water, having a good understanding of and being able to apply the principles of trim are fundamental to being an effective open boat paddler.

One way to think about trim is as a footprint that is created in the water by the boat, or the amount of boat in contact with the water and the shape that is created in the water by the boat. The size, shape and depth of this footprint can be changed by both your position and that of any kit in the boat, both of which can have a dramatic effect on performance.

Usually when things aren’t quite working as they should be, or paddling seems like hard work then I encourage people to revisit their trim and adjust it accordingly as a first priority.

Think trim, trim, trim and trim again!

You can develop your understanding of trim especially in relation to wind with a few simple exercises. Firstly find a safe area of open water with a steady wind blowing. Then use extremes of trim by moving your position to either all the way forward to the bow or back to the stern and take note of the effect this has in relation to which end of your boat points into wind. Once this is confirmed try paddling around into, down and across the wind.

TOP TIP: You can help your awareness of wind and its effect in relation to trim with the use of a few quick and simple visual aids. Drop a couple of balls into the bottom of your boat and watch where they settle in your boat. More towards the bow or stern? Use a simple tell-tale flag on the bow of your boat to determine a definite wind direction and now relate this to the direction your boat faces with your given trim.

Very soon you will become aware that although these extremes of trim work they can effect your overall stability, control and ability to paddle effectively. So lets look look at changing our trim with more subtlety. After all Im sure you will agree that you really don’t wont to be getting up and moving around in your boat too much in windy conditions i.e. the middle of a lake or Loch risking a capsize!

So rather than making big changes to our trim by moving, lets look at being more subtle by moving our kit/bags. A good way to experiment with this is with the use of some dry bags full of water.

25 Litres drybag is a good starting point (you may need more) and will result in up to 25 Kg of weight. When placed right at the bow or stern this can can have quite a dramatic effect. View someone else in a boat using the bags full of water to see the effect or have someone photograph you in your boat. Pay particular attention to the where the bow stem or stern curls and under the boat and how much much if any of a gap is produced.

Now imagine your boat is sat in the center of a clock face with the wind coming from a12:00 direction. By using subtle movements of the bag/s, and then fine tuning with small movements of yourself (leaning forward/backward or simply moving slightly ) try and get your boat to point to the various numbers/hours on the clock face, and naturally stay there without much effort from yourself.

Next time your out try and achieve the same effects with your kit bag or simply carry a spare drybag that you can fill with water and use to adjust your trim.

Hopefully with this new found knowledge you can get your boat to naturally point in your desired direction of travel and life will be somewhat easier! It makes sense that if your boat is already pointing in your desired direction of travel, paddling will be a lot easier and there will be no need for wasted energy trying to fight with any wind.

Remember think trim, trim, trim and trim again

In my next coaching dispatch I will give some ideas on how to use trim when paddling in windy conditions on open water, along with a few other strategies for coping with wind.

This along with more of my coaching articles will soon be available for download as PDF’s and in ibook format

Big thankyou to Andy Morgan for giving his time and helping with the photos and filming

See you on the water……

Jules

Bespoke Canoe Coaching, Guiding, Safety & Rescue training and BCU awards

www.voyageur-coaching.co.uk

Storm Chasing in Strathglass

I had half a day to kill after a long journey and needed a bit of a chill and a shake out paddle. I remembered an interesting little paddle, quite local to where I was that I had done a year or so previously. That trip is the much overlooked Rivers Glass and Beauly.

Both these rivers really are little gems and very often ignored due to their low grade, with the River Beauly having the stunning steep sided Aigas Gorge which is quite unusual at this grade of water, and is home to some regularly seen Otters. Only the River Conon has a larger catchment area than the 270 square miles of the Beauly system. The Rivers lie to the south west of Dingwall in Strathglass and to the North of the Great Glenn and is easily be accessed via the A831 through the Muir of Ord and Beauly.

This system finds its origins in Glen Affric with the River Affric which then becomes the River Glass above Cannich. Here there is a good access and egress, from where this stretch can then be paddled to the road bridge at Mauld which crosses the river just before the River Farrar and Struy Bridge. Again there is good access and egress and the river now becomes the Beauly and is a nice trip down through the Aigas Gorge to the get out at the Aigas Dam.

As I only had half a day I opted on this occasion to put on at Struy bridge and paddle the section to the Aigas Dam. I made a point of stopping at the the dam and inspecting the get out as I drove to the put in, and left my bike for a quick shuttle at the end of the day. After the usual faff associated with open boating I launched from the field beside the bridge and paddled down the Farrar to where it met the Beauly.

The weather was rather interesting as to my front were great black, bellowing storm clouds and very loud rumbles of thunder could be heard, whilst over my shoulder was blue sky and sunshine. This was to the be the case for the remainder of the day along with the the occasional heavy downpour. Although I could see and hear the thunder and lightning I never really caught up with it and ended up feeling like I was chasing it all day!

Part way down I decided to stop for some lunch and a brew with the aid of my Kelly Kettle. I always carry a fire steel steel with me for lighting fires, stoves etc so all I had to do now was find some tinder and some fuel. Luck would have it that very close to where I had stopped I found an old Birch tree. On closer inspection I found that its bark was in just the state for lighting my kettle. I chose some of the very flakey, loose paper thin bark as tinder for my spark, and some of the thicker more substantial bark to add to this to get it going, along with a collection of small dry twigs. I generally carry a small leather pouch with some dry bark and other dry tinders just in case I cant find what I need. I like to use Birch bark for tinder as it contains natural oils which help it to burn, even when wet plus it burns hot and for quite sometime ensuring the fire gets a good start.

Preparation is everything when lighting fire or in this case my kettle. I prepared a pile of tinder in the form of the very thin bark, a few strips of the thicker bark and broke the twigs up into piles of thin to thick. Kelly Kettle filled with water and ready I drop a few sparks onto the very thin bark and gain a flame quickly. Now I add some of the thicker strips of bark and once they have caught’ place the kettle over the fire base. This acts like a chimney and draws the fire. I can now carefully add the sticks trough the hole in the top starting with the thinnest first and gradually building up. Be careful not to overdo it and smother the the young flames.

Now is a good time to give the fire lots of oxygen via the holes in the base of the kettle, by blowing or fanning. Once your kettle is going drip feed the thicker sticks until the water is boiled. Remember not leave the cork in, and be careful lifting the kettle off the base as the flames may still be coming out of the top where the handle goes. With practice, lighting and using a Kelly Kettle can become second nature and can be as quick as using a stove but definitely more satisfying and fun.

I soon arrived at Aigas Island and the start of the Gorge, which as I mentioned earlier is a bit of a surprise. Its hard to get your head round, but you are now actually paddling through part of reservoir! Very steep rocky sides tower above the paddler as you paddle through. The Island itself can be paddle on either side although I feel the left is much more interesting.

On leaving the gorge and paddling around to the right a very big and grand property is clearly visible above, on the Island. This is Eilean Aigas House, previously a seat for Lord Fraser of Lovat. The original family home was demolished by a Canadian Millionaire and has been replaced by this stunning building, in this stunning location. Incidentally if you happen to have a spare £15,000,000 plus just lying around doing nothing you could put in an offer on the property as its up for sale!!

Back to reality and it’s only a distance of 2 km to the Aigas Dam and the get out. The egress is short distance before the dam itself and is a bit of scramble up the bank with your boat and kit, before finding the tarmac track up to the main road.

After a quick portage up to the road it was time to head off back to the car courtesy of the local shuttle service … aka my bike. The short cycle back gave me time to reflect on my day of storm chasing, Kelly kettles and gorges. I finished in a very chilled and relaxed state ready for some more challenging paddling later in the week.

This section I paddled is only 10-12 km long but as mentioned earlier a longer paddle of 25 km can be had by launching further upstream at Cannich. I have on one occasion portaged 2 km down the road from Aigas Dam and launched again by the Kilmorack bridge and paddled a further 4 km down to Lovat Bridge. It really is a lovely paddle with no nasty surprises. Wether a days relaxed paddling, a family trip or an introductory paddle for people its well worth the visit.

Happy paddling and see you on the water…..

Jules

www.voyageur-coaching.co.uk