Happy New Year to all the Stuff The Consequences readers, visitors and friends. We hope you had a brilliant Christmas and New Year.
2012 has seen a wicked year from Stuff The Consequences and also the boys from Pro-Crastinate. Fran Smith, Pro-Crastinate's founder, has created a review of the year, showing some of the highlights from 2012. This is a cool little edit, and shows some sweet boating from STC's closest friends. Let's hope that 2013 brings some cracking water, with an Easter and a Summer trip between Pro-Crastinate and Stuff The Consequences in the planning stages.
For more videos from the Pro-Crastinate crew you can check out their Vimeo page by clicking on the image on the right;
Otherwise you can go onto their website and check out everything they get up to.
So, its Thursday evening and I get hold of Dave Underhill. Its been raining so much that boating is needed. With the boat on the car, and kit inside as well, we're contemplating a new river, which always adds the danger factor. I'm nervous and excited, its like a school girl getting ready for her Prom; you know you're gonna have a cracking time, however there is a large chance you could get fucked!
So now it's Friday and I'm at work, but as ever, the slightest talk of boating had dried up the sky. It's as though Mother Nature isn't getting the foreplay she desires! However we decide that the Rhondda may have some water in, so the plan was to meet at 13:00 at the get off. As I drive up, it is clear that the river is nice and full. We get changed, both boats on Dave's car, and off to the top. The run was a real good laugh, and getting to the bottom we decide another is in order. So quick shuttle and back on it. This time Dave decides that I need to follow him close so that we can get a good video of him on the rapid. However this sort of takes from our sense of how to actually run the rapid, and we both get dangerously close to getting munched by the rather large stopper.
Seeing sky after following Dave
But it was sweet to get back on a river, and I'm glad we did get on something.
Now it's Saturday night, after a day of chilling out and watching Wales lose to New Zealand, and I am once again getting prepared for tomorrow's boating adventure. It's raining hard in Cardiff, so hard in fact that it's as though the clouds have employed the best fluffer money can buy! I've still got that feeling of being a girl on her way to the prom, I just really don't want the get spanked too hard tomorrow!
Sunday morning took too long to arrive, and waking up at 07:00 wasn't pleasant. Getting my stuff together to meet Dave for 07:30 did excite me, but checking the online gauges took this feeling of inner happiness away, and I really don't enough that I can afford to lose any! Although the gauges were reading medium for the Mellte and Tawe, this meant that the Giedd would not be running, nor the Upper Tawe. These were the two rivers we were gonna be looking at if water was high. However the option was to meet Max and Stu from Pro-crastinate at the get off for the Nedd Fechan, along with Will Bevan. Now if you're a reader of the Stuff The Consequences blogs, you may notice the name Will Bevan, and this is fo sho the one and only Adam West to my Christian Bale. This was gonna be his first time on the Nedd and the Mellte, so it was still gonna be an interesting day, regardless of the boating we could have had.
The Mellte was on a 0.7 in the morning, but as both Dave and I hadn't run the Nedd in a while, and the others not at all, this was gonna be the first river. So a drive to the top and a quick shuttle saw us on it. The first couple small drops saw us on form, and the river was a treat. It did have a fair amount of trees in, two of which were in drops that would have been quality to run, but this really didn't detract from what is a spectacular river. The most notable event on the Nedd Fechan was the drop that has a shallow landing. A quick look, and Stu said he was doing it. Dave and I looked on nervously, but Stu styled it; a nice boof and a as-good-as flat landing.
Stu headcam on the lip
Then I was to run, again I got a good flat land, however pulled slightly too hard, trying to gain some speed, and landed sideways. However the fact that it was flat was all I was concerned with.
My headcam still from the lip (what's nice about this is that you can still see the Welsh Club stamp on my hand from Friday. I swear the ink cannot be washed off!)
Then it was Dave's turn! Well, as the last to run it, and seeing that both Stu and I got a nice flat land you could probably have agreed that the run was OK to go, but we still were not sure on depth. Dave now wanted to prove just how deep the pool was, and wasn't gonna give a dam about his body during this escapade. There is a slight rumour going around that Dave is 'made almost entirely out of steel', and I dunno how true this is, but he re-surfaced unscathed.
Dave nice and vertical
Apart for this, there was not much else of massive note about the river. Getting down to the bottom, it was obvious that Will had a sweet ride, and then it was off the the Mellte.
Getting to the top of the Mellte, we met a couple lads who were waiting on the rest of their group, and had been for about an hour. If I had been made to wait over an hour for others, there would be some serious law being laid down when they eventually turned up. We ran the shuttle, and by the time we were ready to crack on, the boys had found out the rest of the group had been caught in some floods. They seemed to think this was a fair excuse, but if it were I who was caught in a flood, do you know what I would do? Not be caught in a flood! But it seemed as though these fools hadn't considered that approach. I guess that's why I got a First Class Hons Masters degree, and they're just mincing around some puddles! So we let the lads join in our group, and to the get on it was.
So the 15ft drop was gonna be the first drop that Will would have done (except a low Right Angle on the Etive), and he did it very well. When he got to the bottom you could see on his face that he was happy. Do you know that face a baby makes, straight after it has been crying because it crapped itself, and just as its mother is opening the nappy to find a holocaust of liquid excrement? Well that's the face that Will had at the bottom pool! A smug smile, whilst saying with his eyes, 'yep, that just happened. I did that', and well deserved too.
Will on 15ft
My 15ft
15ft head cam shot
Stu's 15ft run
The run down to the big drop was quick, and we had a cheeky scout of the large drop. All of us, except Will, were gonna attempt the double, with Will giving the full whack a go. Here are the results:
Dave going first
Now I didn't see Dave go, as I went second, and was on the water by this point. What I did see however was him stopping at the top of the drop to line up. This messed with my head, because I was under the impression that we'd already decided a line, but oh well.
My head footage
So straight after Dave I ran it, and its wasn't amazing. I got the boof on the first drop, but was far too left, and didn't react fast enough going down the second, and went in at about 50 degrees.
Andy (one of the chaps who we met) nailing his line
Andy was one of the boys we met at the get on, and he ran the double after me. And he fucking nailed it, a beautiful double boof to crowning glory.
Max running double
Stu running double
Will running the beast
Will once again did very well, and run the full thing almost perfectly. When he tucked up, he rotated with it, and therefore re-surfaced upside down, but still, it was cracking.
From here the rest of the river is still a beauty to run, but not much to really talk about. There were trees about, but all could be paddled around. The whole day was awesome, and even though it wasn't the boating expected, it was still a beaut.
We went to the pub at the get off for the Nedd Fechan for a swift drink before returning to Cardiff. Lucie Parkinson had spent the day slaving over a hot oven to prepare a cottage pie for us lads, and a vegetable whatever for gay boy Max. It was a sweet way to end the evening, and the cottage pie was cracking. A massive thank you to Lucie, and to whomever taught her how to cook, one would assume Lucie's mother, who I hear is a Stuff The Consequences follower ;-).
There will be a video coming from somewhere of this trip soon, although how soon cannot be disclosed for security reasons.
So finally, something else to post about. It has been a long time since I have been in a river kayak, polo once again has been taking over. However Cardiff Uni Kayakers (CUK) has saved the day by running the beloved Usk. Now this isn't a difficult river, but for the freshers of the club it gives a good little ride.
So Sunday morning I picked up Procrastinate's Stu Sheath and Duncan Sinclair, as well as CUK committee Gimp, George Williams, with some banging beats being blasted out. Testosterone levels were running high, as both Stu and I had been shooting the day before. (I mean the manly kind of shooting with guns as opposed to the dirty gyppos that you see shooting up) So we were on a manly high, and to fuel our manliness we went for breakfast. I enjoyed this start to the day, a relaxing breakfast should be eaten before every club trip!
We got to the Usk at around 11:15 and managed to get the van un-packed in a reasonable time. Once again I was placed with the mighty Will Bevan of CUK, and we are swiftly becoming a dynamic duo of power. You may be thinking Batman and Robin? NO, neither of us are Robin. He is a chump that can't take the heat. We're basically Batman and Batman, you can see a photo of the two of us standing next to each other below:
Will and I
OK, so I'm not actually saying that we are both Batman, Although if we were, then I would be the one on the left!!
Down to our group, we had an quality bunch this weekend:
The group
Jumping onto the water, we had no troubles, the girls were rocking it, and Jordan was holding it tight for the blokes too.
So, Mill Falls being the tasty section on the Usk this is really where we're gonna get down to the nitty gritty. To be fair, Holly swam further up, but the less said about that the better. *Note to self - take that comment out to save Holly the embarrassment* *Second note to self - Actually don't*
Mill Falls Eddy
We got out to have a cheeky gander at the section before we ran it, and you could see a couple faces drop at the idea of it, but this wasn't gonna stop us. Watching others get down to the bottom gave us the excitement to get down. Everyone nailed it, well actually we did have someone beach themselves on a rock half way down, but she managed to sort herself out and get tot he bottom. No swims!
Then it was just was simple paddle to the get off and time to get warm. Next week is the CUK North Wales trip, and this should really see some excitement and hopefully some banter to discuss. Watch this space.
This Saturday just been the Cardiff Uni Kayakers annual Fresher trip to Cosmeston Lakes. It was a nice sunny day, but having to get up at 0800 still didn't seem worth it. Getting to the lakes however made everything better, as the sun was breaking through, and the heat could already be felt.
I was asked to take a group with current Polo Secretary Will Bevan (seen below), and therefore I delegated my authority down to him. That's what they told me to do whilst in Uni, so I was just was applying my learning.
Now Cosmeston is a large lake, with nice surroundings. But this has also attracted some unwanted and unsavoury characters. No I'm not talking about gypsies, albeit they are highly unwanted, I'm refering to swans. I hate swans, I don't like that they are as big as they are and people are still happy with them plodding about. And what's with them being so f**king white, just f**k off swans. If I were the queen I would have them culled, its not as though they add anything. They just crap everywhere and get in people's way. Also when I was walking my boat to the waters edge, they were hissing and making the sort of noises that would lead anyone to believe they were about to attack. I'm not proud to say it, but if sh*t did start kicking off, I would have grabbed the nearest person and sent them to the slaughter.
With the swan rant over, luckily everyone surviving this time, I'll go back to the kayaking trip. So the first group Will and I were in charge of had luckily all paddled before, and showed some tasty skills whilst on the water.
Some tasty skills on display
All the groups then got together and had some fun on the water, as well as in the water.
The first lot then got off to play some games, and our second group got on. These chaps and chapettes were not as good, however showed as much determination as could have been hoped for, so well done to them.
The second group were warming up as the first were getting off. apparently this is what warming up looks like:
I dunno why the glutes are needed to be stretched so much, but apparently these two girls had a reason to do so!!! ;-)
After the kayaking part was over, both groups got changed and had some BBQ food before a couple more games were played.
A possible reason to stretch those glutes
People attempting to sit on each other
People succeeding at sitting on one another
Rope game
I was the one spinning the rope in this game, and I'm not gonna lie, I was hot and dizzy. It knocked me down for a good 5 minutes after.
Standard student games tend to involve beer
And spinning (bottles and spinning?)
It was a sweet day, and seemed as though everyone who attended enjoyed.
The main reason for this post was to get some of my camera's photos up, as I try and use it more and more, although most of these snaps were taken by Miss Pelech. For the rest of the photos, the will hopefully be on CUK's facebook page soon.
It’s been a while since I have had the chance to update this blog. I have been to Cardiff White Water Centre a couple times, but not worth blogging about as it was just some playboating after I had been rafting during the day. Otherwise I have been playing polo, resenting the fact that it is taking up more time. If you wanna read about the polo side of the Stuff The Consequences be sure to check out Polo The Consequences blog.
However on Monday evening I managed to get a quick evening run on the Tawe with Procrastinate's Max Emery, Jonny King and Stu Sheath. It was an evening run because both Stu and I are working, so that students like Jonny and Max can continue to freeload through life.
The weather on Monday morning was horrible, which was promising for the water levels, but made the idea of going outside less appealing. An early decision was to attempt to run the Nant Clydach a few times so that the shorter daylight hours wouldn’t pose a problem. However the weather brightened up in the afternoon and it was clear that the Clydach wasn’t going to be on.
The choice was then left between the Mellte and Tawe; basically we knew that both of these runs could be done in time if we were on the ball. With the afternoon being mostly rain free, both runs were looking lower than originally thought. However as none of us have been in a boat for a while, the decision was made to just go have a look and jump on something.
Getting to the Mellte with Max and Jonny, the gauge was reading just below 6. This wasn’t ideal, and I was surprised as the water was as brown as fluids ejected in the art of Klismaphilia, but this must have just been because of the earlier rise in levels washing the banks. Stu turned up just after 17:00, and with sunset due for 18:53, the idea of walking out of the Mellte in the dark seemed unpleasing should it come to that, so we headed over to the Tawe. We knew there would be water, that we could have a little play and be off the water before it was too dark.
The gauge at the get on we use read around 0.45, which was higher than we last run it, but then that was scrapey low. We ran the shuttle and got ready to get on. Jonny, being the amazingly intellectual guy he is, didn’t bring a dry-cag with him. Obviously the cold evening wasn’t enough of a deterrent to get some warm clothing. He did contact Max 10 minutes before we were set to leave saying he was cag-less and there was one somewhere in Max’s garage, but no more detail than that. However, being the amazing handy chap I am, I had a spare that I lent him. Obviously his scrawny body was far too feeble to fill my cag, with the neck seal being as tight as a collapsed Squish Mitten, but at least it would provide some wind resistance.
The level was OK, and running down to the drop it was nice to have a play and be back in a boat. We had a few runs of the drop, as it was the most fun part of the river, and worked on our technique. On my first go, I came up to the lip at about 30 degrees, and my mind stopped. I didn't have a clue which side to boof stroke on, I was more muddled than a dyslexic staring at a Scrabble board, and I just penciled over. Luckily after that attempt, my mind got back into gear and I got the stroke on the others. Max was keen for a Hammer over the edge, and decided to give it a go. Unfortunately he messed it up and pencilled the drop, ended up caught under the drop and swam. Luckily we saw two Swansea based paddlers there, and one of them was in the pool at the time and managed to get his boat to Max and pull him out. This was good, as both Jonny and I were at the top of the drop unable to do much. Max’s paddle exited before he did, and Stu managed to pull his boat out after. It was a noble attempt, crap but noble, and to be fair to him he had balls to give it a bash and commit to it. I was gonna give it a go, but getting to the lip, I froze and didn’t manage to get a stroke in, so also pencilled the drop. Luckily I managed to stay out of the towback, and there were no more swims recorded. A couple more runs and it was getting dark, so we continued on to the end. It was sweet to get back onto a river after so long, and hopefully with the winter months coming, more boating and blogging is to be had.
Have put a little edit together of us messing around on the drop, hope you enjoy. Unfortunately my GoPro fogged up as I didn’t have any Anti-Fog inserts
So I have finally put the videos of my French Alps swim together. This is when I was running the Tunnel down section of the Middle Guil. I haven't swam for so long that I forgot how tiring is was, and watching the footage over again reminded me of how tired I was, just looking at little bits where I can't do simple things shows this.
The reason for the video coming now is that I am aware that I haven't blogged for a while, and thought I needed some more hits. Now that Polo The Consequences (PTC) has kicked off and the umbrella corporation of Stuff The Consequences is growing, much faster than any other similar companies, David James Ltd. springs to mind, I thought that I should keep the momentum going.
The video comprises of my GoPro HD Hero 2 point of view as well as my Canon IXUS 230HS used by Rif. As I say, its pretty raw, but just to show what happened. The title, 'Life of Mole' was conjured up when we were sitting in the Gite watching the video over.
Hopefully over then next few weeks I should be purchasing a new entry level DSLR camera, and will be able to take more photos and videos for the blog, as well as the PTC blog that Andy Francis is leading.
This is a video of the Bachelard, one of the rivers we got on when we spent a day in the Ubaye Valley. As explained in one of the update posts whilst we were in France, this river was really nice and the day was beautiful. It's unfortunate that it is all head-cam footage, we didn't get out to film from the bank, which is a shame as this would have been perfect for getting out the boat.
I originally thought I would put all of the French stuff in one video, but this river stood out, and it is probably the best footage of everything I managed to record, so I hope you enjoy it. And apologies for the length of time between coming back and outputting this video, I have been lazy and not worked on it whilst being back.
It comes in HD 720p if that is not your preset:
This was recorded on my GoPro Hero 2 and edited on Adobe Premiere Elements 9.
Today was a rest day, and this meant a cheeky lie in after
the previous long day. Morgan and Phil left early-ish to go for a cycle up one
of the Col’s whilst Rif, John and I stayed in the Gite for a while to take in
the relatively warm weather. Our plan was to head out and find a Via Ferrata to
do in the morning, and then go into Briançon Old Town in the afternoon. However
on arrival at the first V.F it was closed for repair, and the second one had
been torn down, so obviously the world was against us doing any form of
activity, and I can’t lie; I wasn’t that concerned, I could have put my feet up
all day and let my troubles float away.
So we had lunch and headed to Briançon Old Town just as
everything was closing. I can’t get used to this 3 hour lunch that the French
seem to have, I like the sound of it, but I can’t see it being the most
productive of working practices. But anyway, we found a pub open and got a
drink to the pass the time for the shops to open, where we split up to have a look
around. Walking down the main ‘strip’ every touristy shop you pass, a really
annoying high pitched wolf whistle comes from the toy marmots. I hated them,
who wants to buy someone a present that makes a crappy noise every time something
happens in front of it.
Anyway, I’m not going to go on about a relatively
uninteresting day.
Day 8
We were greeted by rain this morning, and this was not a
nice start to the last day. Travelling up to the Gyr to have a look and see if
it was going, everyone was looking fairly down and out. Being marginally tired
from a long weeks top class boating and rain didn’t seem to mix. The Gyr was
also super low, and as we were there, we went up to the Onde. This was looking
more promising, seeming to be at an equally high level as before. Today Rif was
going to jump on, and was eager, whilst Phil and I were less so. Waiting to see
whether the weather would improve I jumped into a Sudoku. However on completion
the weather was still looking grey, but then again my superior Sudoku solving
skills didn’t give nature much time! So Rif, Phil and I kitted up and jumped
on. The level seemed to be slightly more technical this time round, but still
producing nice read and run fun, but very few eddies. We shot down it again,
making a similar time to the van and the weather at the end was looking much
better. This was a very pleasant little run, with a firm and brisk hand shake
at the bottom to sign off the boating we had done. The Gyr didn’t seem to get
any water all day, and we had a beer each in Vallious before heading back to
the Gite to get things ready for the drive home. A meal out in the evening saw
the end of the holiday, and although the food was good, the table service was
very much below par.
The evening ended like most: cards, beers and banter.
Day 9
The drive back through France was easy, the weather was
perfect – sunny enough to look beautiful, and cool enough to make the van
comfortable, we were in Calais before we really knew it. A hop on the Tunnel,
and we were back in beautiful England where the roads were just as kind to us.
This was a tremendous trip, and the levels were as expected, very very tastey! The group was a good laugh and the boating was amazing, I always enjoy the French Alps, and the latest edition of the French Alps Guide Book is brilliant.
I hope the last few posts have been interesting reads for
people, and that maybe a few smiles arose. I will endeavour to put some footage
together, albeit just head-cam so unlikely to be the best, and will get the
video of me in the drink up also.
Cheers for reading, and to all those heading to France soon I
wish good luck and have fun!
Today we went to the Ubaye to have a look at what the levels
were like over there. The weather was cracking, first day off pure sun.
Looking at the race course the levels were looking high, and
just out of interest we went to look at Fresquière, which was off its tits! So
we went to hit up the race course and it was properly going. It was brilliant
fun! Fast and bouncy, we had some good little sections with Phil and I taking
the lead on different parts, nothing hard with the knowledge of read and run that makes river seam dreamy. Morgs wasn’t feeling overly comfortable, but we
all got down and had a good laugh. However this was a reasonably pushy level, where the stoppers
and pour overs had to be treated with respect, as I found out having dropped
into one, and needing to battle in order to avoid being pulled back into it.
Ubaye racecourse head-cam shot
The plan was then to try and find the Bachalard to have a little go on it after
lunch. Arriving at the get off, we had our sandwiches, and then drove to the
top. The 'get in' is down this little path against the bridge which is kind of savage, but worth it to do
the run. Sliding down the bank on my ass, like a dog with worms sliding on the carpet, I reach the river side and what a sight, clear water and beautifully clean rock. The first half of the river reminded me of Corsica, little boof
strokes needed and lots of edge changes. I recommend anyone to give this a go,
as it is a tremendous run, however the guidebook suggests that it only runs one month a year, so we could have just been lucky because we came out in the early season. The scenery is also one to be taken in as you're heading down, and easy to do so, because the river has nothing too demanding on it.
Bacharlard head-cam shot
The day ended with us having a beer in Ubaye village and
heading over yo Guillestre for more drinks and some food. With a couple beers in our system, conversation ranged from
the UK's education system to the government and its structuret. Apparently after a few drinks, a group of
five men can solve all of the world’s problems. Unluckily though, the thoughts
were forgotten by the following morning. Just to clear things up, as we are all manly men, the conversation did also included birds, boobs and killing bears, three subjects I can safely say we are all expert in.
Day 6
Today started cold as anything, and this was a slight
downer. But our plan was to head to the Durance Gorge hoping levels had fallen. The gauge was showing 9, yet this still looked higher than a gangster rapper on his day off, and the nerves were running wild. Morgan, Phil and I
kitted up and headed on down. The holes were meaty and the lines were hard to
see from the boat, but luckily Phil and I took an even amount of leading, as being switched on for the amount of time needed to run the whole thing would have
been too much. Both Phil and I were feeling the nerves, and as the portage was
getting closer it was getting more and more nerve racking. So you can picture it, imagine racking your nerves in the most rickety rack ever, causing more
nerves to show themselves and filling the rickety rack fuller, making it stress
and strain under the weight, causing an exponential growth of nerves during the nerve racking experience, that is how nerve racking it was! Now the portage get out has seemed to have changed from what I remember, as there used to be a tree over the river. I took
a few snaps to give you guys a look at the get out to aid you finding it. My
advice is that when you see a rock slide on river right, get out and look,
because it is most likely the start of the portage.
View upstream from eddy
Downstream from eddy
view of eddy (you can see the rock slide on the bank)
View of opposite wall
Hopefully these photos will be helpful for those wishing to do the Durance gorge, and need a small reminder of what the start of the portage may look like.
The portage was hellish as ever, making each footstep
challenging. Getting back on after a little bit of a rest, the river didn’t let
up, the holes were still strong and to hit the lines still required strong strokes. Nearing the slot Phil and I had our eyes peeled. Luckily the big river
right eddy was still there and relatively obvious, so a quick walk around saw
us at the right hand bend into the hole and shoot. Morgan wasn’t feeling it
and walked around. I ran it first, feeling nervous but psyched, finding the line relatively easily, with Morgan
on a throwline round the corner. Then Phil ran it, and again got through without
much effort. Going down to the chicane the river let up a little, and on
arrival, Phil was leading and chose to go over the drop/rock slide river left, which made me immensely
happy as I followed with glee. Then we were out, smiles all around, feeling
good about the run, and glad to be out safe and in tact. A committing gorge to be in, but worth the nerves and the effort all the same.
A good break and lunch followed, getting our breath back. Rif and I went to do a blast of Briançon Gorge. It was a little lower than before, but a fun
read and run all the same. The evening then consisted of a BBQ and a few
drinks, cards and lier dice.
So today was the first day of boating and excitement was
running through the crew. A lethargic morning after a nice evenings sleep, led
to us reaching the get on for the Onde. Noticing that it was at the highest
level any of us have seen, there was minimal questioning to just jumping on,
but hey ho you can’t allow logic to get in the way of a good time boating. So
Phil, Morgan and I got into our kit as fast as a prostitute having been paid,
and virtually as soon as we were on, we seemed to be at the bottom, smashing
the section out in less than 8 minutes. Not much of a warm up, but we all
seemed to be a little bit flaky. So down to the pub it was for a cheeky drink
to steady the nerves before heading to the Lower Guisane to get the remaining
few cobwebs out of our systems. This was again at a very interesting level, yet
this seemed to cause a lot of the rapids to wash out, just making the run very
continuous and some of the usual easy sections a bit more tasty. Luckily at the
get off we were met by a wonderful sight, another group of English cars. Now
this wasn’t a wonderful sight because there were English people about, I have
no time for them, but on inspecting the cars we saw this…
This is the sort of sight I would like at the end of every
river, but unfortunately having been in Cardiff Uni Kayakers it never seemed to
materialise… Welsh magazines are not quite the same!
As Rif was after a warm up, we headed to the sunshine run to
get him back on the river after a 2 year gap, and headed on down. The river was
high, so flowing fast to mine and Morgan’s relief and we were down to the
Rabioux in not terribly long. The second wave in the Rab wave train was surfable,
but surging at the same time, allowing somewhat of a good surf. Finishing the
run lead to another short trip to the pub for one more drink and a discussion
of the future, i.e. to have lasagne or bolognaise for supper.
Day 4
Today started like no other, Morgan waking me up saying that
he’s seen a shadow of a person in the room. Now I’m usually one to enjoy a
horror movie, but when you’re in a new place, and on bottom bunk, so obviously
first of the two to have a shiv plunged in his side a few times before the
crazed maniac moves to the top bunk, it didn’t allow me to fall back into my
deep slumber too easily. Then when waking up, it was cold, and we feared the
worst, rain! We headed to the local Ed, and to my fortune there was France’s
number one beverage;
The beautiful Lait Chocolaté
With a smile on my
face and some chocolaty goodness in my heart, we had a plan to go look and
Durance Gorge, and on arrival the gauge was showing around 11/12 and the get on
looked as such…
Durance Gorge gauge
Durance Gorge get in
And a decision was to go look at Briançon gorge and come
back later. Arriving at the Gorge get it, as we’ve seen this holiday before, it
was high and consensus was to have a look at the final weir before getting on.
Briancon Gorge slide
The run was cracking, good clean fun and running time less
that 16 minutes, bouncy waves and stoppers gave us smiling faces. This was a brilliant level for it. With Rif
getting on at the bottom for a quick blast of the Upper Durance, we paddled it fast and got to the get off and the Durance gorge gauge was still up there, so contingency was to do the
tunnel down of the middle Guil. Again this was looking big and we got on, this
is where it went a little hairy.
Now I haven’t swam for a while, and a stopper bigger than I
like to remember tipped me over. A few attempts to roll got me thinking this
isn’t going to happen, but I thought I’ll give it one more go and with all my
might… Nothing happened, time to pull the deck. As I said before it has been a
while since I have been swimming, and it was in no way pleasant. I felt as
though a Russian prostitute was standing over me, giving me the water-boarding treatment,
having had 10 days non-stop custom and not showered (or douched as the French
would say) since!
In the water
Now out of my boat, I grabbed my paddle and boat and thought
I don’t want to let them go, they’re too precious. But after about 50m of being
sunk by stoppers the boat had to go, and I got myself to the bank with my
paddle. A quick scramble up the bank and onto the road, John luckily picked me
up and down to the bottom it was. No boat in the reservoir and no boat seen
come past, it was a waiting game. But then Morgan, closely followed by Phil,
rocked up without seeing it during their run. So I trekked up the road to have a look, with no
luck. Once the boys were changed they came to find me, and with a quick update,
they drove to the top to have a look, and about 15mins later Phil was back down
to say they had seen it. ‘Thank God’ was my initial thought, but then he told
me it was well and truly pinned, and I didn’t like that. On seeing it the
boat from the road, it didn’t look good, a shear drop down and the river surrounding it. Kitting back
up, we walked downstream, onto the bank at river level and it looked better, a
cheeky walk up the side of the river could get us to the boat. Rif got to the
rock that the boat was pinned to and a line on the boat. Then he said that the
tree pinning the boat could be dislodged without too much trouble, and we got
prepared, with not too much work it was free, and was in an eddy. She didn’t
look battered at all, only missing the drain bung, and I gave a sigh of relief.
(not to worry the is some footage that I will try and put up at some point.)
Phil and Morgan took the cycle home, whilst Rif, John and I
got in the van to get back to the gite. Then it was another fun evening of
food, beers and cards.
Hope that tickled the minds of a few of you, and will update
on the next few days as soon as I can.
