Upper Tummel and the road to the end of the world!

So this wasn't a Paul Walker organized trip but its going up as a blog any way.

Once upon a Friday Ben, Christine, Stuart (Ben's mate), Sean and I wanted to go paddling. So we set off from opposite sides of Scotland and tried... with difficulty to meet somewhere in the middle.

After a few hours of high tec roof bar instillation and a hundred phone calls later we met at the upper Tummel. When I say upper i really really mean it. you just keep going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going.

Was a really good river with lots of wee rapids on to slide off and then a big 4+ in the middle.
Stuart and Sean ran it with style and i sat in the pool at the bottom pretending to be responsible.

Would be a great fresher river if it wasn't sooooo far away as we could scare them all shitless making them watch the safety run the waterfall.



The rest of the river was fun wee things like the start, ending in a big long slide which was triple the speed I expected it to be!

Awsome day out. Got pretty expensive on petrol though.... not helped by taking the accidental scenic route on the way home...

Amy

BCU Student Safety Course

The BCU Student Safety Course is designed to give good paddlers, the skills and the confidence to allow them to lead a river trip appropriate to their level. For myself, Euan and Hibby, this meant training to lead beginner and intermediate trips (for people who are not pushing their bounds) on rivers up to grade 3/4.

The organisation of the safety course went amazingly, with Euan confirming his booking the week before, and Hibby securing his place on the second day of the course! Hibby also managed (while being in charge of sorting accommodation) to get the days wrong, believing that the course ran Friday to Sunday as opposed to Thursday to Saturday – since he hails from Strathclyde University we view this as standard behaviour.

After a 4:30 get up, and surprisingly little faff, we drove past Fort William to the car park in Roybridge, arriving almost precisely on time…as anyone who kayaks is aware, this is an astonishing achievement, especially considering our record for this trip. However, organised faff had us driving 50 miles back the way we came to Kinlochleven. Here we spent the rest of the day explaining why we had bought the specific items of kit we had, and learned some rescue techniques, before getting thrown (in one unlucky persons case, literally) into some lovely cold water and putting these new techniques to practical use.

That evening, as everyone else made way to their lovely warm bunk houses and hostels, the three of us drove the minibus to the car park at Spean Bridge, and prepared to sleep in the minibus. The owner of the Commando Bar made us park in their car park as it was private property allowing us to drink…and then he invited us to a lock in! Legend!!

Many pints (of Carling, Cobra and allsorts) later, we three stumbled out to the minibus to our beds. With all discomfort washed away by the alcohol in our systems, we passed out relatively quickly: though not before Euan shoved me out the minibus to lie sprawled on the ground, or before Hibby could make a drunken phone call to Emily.

9:00. Thankfully, I avoided a hangover: Euan and Hibby were less fortunate. A short, fast and windy drive to the Arkaig saw Hibby suffering more and more from the drinking the night before, to the point where it seemed more like genuine illness rather than a hangover.

At the Arkaig, we were split, with Euan in one group, Hibby and myself in the other. None of us played a major part in leading this trip though. At ‘the Main Event’ (the solitary grade 4 rapid on a grade 2 river), Euan ran it fairly successfully, though had a roll near the top; I stayed upright, but ended up running the rapid on the opposite side from where I intended; and while Hibby decided he liked the trees…he changed his mind when they ensnared him and caused him to have a swim.

Me at the 'Main Event' on the Arkaig

A quick calculation showed we still had time for another river, so we set course to the Upper Roy. An exceptionally long and windy road saw Hibby stop the bus and get out again: by this point I was starting to believe his tales of genuine illness. We kept the same group, and this time I had a chance to lead…though to my disappointment none of the harder sections. This could have been a no-swim river for everyone, but Hibby decided that after walking round the grade 4, he’d swim underneath it anyway!

After this, we returned to Spean Bridge and the Commando Bar, and though there was no lock in, it was just as awesome as the first night. This time it was the curries that were worthy of attention…they were AMAZING!!!

The final day of the course saw us heading further north to the Pattack. Awkward access precluded a second river, but this one was worth every metre. While Euan had led the Roy the previous day, Hibby and I got to lead this. Finally we were required to use the new skills that the weekend was for. The grade 4’s once again proved interesting. The first one, a small drop with the potential for a huge hole, was styled by everyone. Even Hibby dodged a swim. However, the second grade 4 (a long gorge) caught a few people out. David (from Napier Uni) suffered for using a playboat, managing three rolls after back-loops, before the fourth finally caused him to swim. This gave some unexpected chase-boating practise…before Hibby decided to miss some strokes and swim too.

David on the Pattack, right before his backloops

Hibby on the Pattack, astonished that he's not swum...yet.

Me on both the Grade 4's on the Pattack

Before going, I admit I was somewhat sceptical about the benefits of the course, and only my desire to get on some more rivers kept me going. It was definitely worth it!! All three of us (and everyone else on the course for that matter) left having learned something new, and gained plenty of river and safety confidence.

So for any intermediate paddlers out there: GET ON THIS COURSE!!

Happy paddling,

Paul

The Etive Strikes Back

On a beautiful and dry morning, five paddlers set out for Glen Etive, as the only river likely to run. En route up the west coast, river after river was running lower than we'd ever seen them, so it seemed as though another Paul Walker low Etive was on the cards.

However, upon arrival at the Etive, we discovered that although low, it was not as dog low as anticipated.

Triple falls went slightly better than expected, with no swims, bur yet Euan once again mucking up the third of triple (at the time saying it was his most hated rapid).

Me on Triple

Moving on, Letterbox provided no real obstacle, but before we reached Crack of Doom, Euan lived up to the reputation that Paddy's boats have aquired over the years, and got pinned in a seemingly impossible position.

Euan's awesome pin

Neither of the Cracks' provided any hassle....aside from Sean backlooping, which is apparently par for the course when in a Stretch, and Emma waiting for one more T-rescue.

Me at the Crack of Doom

Ski-jump, with its daunting horizon line actually caused no problems at all...yet the Great Waterslide, arguably the most fun of all the rapids on the Etive was met with hilarity as Sean lost his paddles down it, and while in persuit, I ended up traversing it backwards. Thankfully, due to a slight change from the norm, Euan had the splits in his boat, so Sean got to use them and (with a fairly red face) collected his paddles at the bottom. Not satisfied with the lack of coordination already displayed, Euan once again decided to abuse Paddy's former boat....this time plowing it head first into the cliff face!!

Euan battering his boat at the Great Water Slide

Finally, after what seemed like an endless trip, we arrived at Right Angle. Sean immediately jumped out to inspect, and while I talked Emma through the way to handle the 24 foot drop, Euan gave it a go....and boofed it. Suffice it to say, he swam, climbed up to the top of the fall, and lay there for a while.

Trying to look cheery

I dropped down to collect his stuff, and in an uncharacteristic display, not only failed a high brace, but didn't pop my deck while upside down and rolled! Score!! After convincing words from myself and Sean, Emma gave the drop a go. Two roll attempts followed, but a second bow rescue staved off a swim. Sean followed so that he had completed the river too.

Sean's run of Right Angle

Climbing back up to check on our wounded comrade, we found him walking about, if not altogether painlessly. After a quick discussion, we decided to head back, and advised Euan to check into a hospital....he reluctantly agreed at the time. By the time we returned to Glasgow, he was somewhat more willing.

Unfortunately, the hospital discovered that Euan had suffered some spinal compression and fractured one of his vertiba, this will prevent him kayaking for some time, put him off the river Etive for the time being, and definately added to the injury list caused by this beautiful river...

On the bright side, Emma and Peter are both advocates of the Etive after their no-swim trip.

Peter and Emma at the end of the day

Till next time,

Paul

Down the Doon

Yesterday a small group of us (Euan, Nick, Rupert and myself) took a departure from the normal north westerly or easterly river trips and went south of Glasgow into Ayrshire to paddle the River Doon (aka the Ness Glen). This river runs out of the Loch Doon dam through the Ness Glen gorge, straight over a small weir followed by a quick succession of rapid sections for about a mile.

The weather on that day was pretty overcast, but it was reasonably warm (although a bit breezy when standing by the Loch getting changed) and decent paddling weather. On heading down from the road to the river we were told by a nice old couple that the river looked "sporting", which we didn't really know what to make of, but hoped it boded well. After getting in above the weir we decided to give it a miss as there was some nasty looking metal underneath it (which from reading this has apparently taken the end off at least one boat), and started up proper just below it. It didn't take long to reach the first major rapid which we all navigated safely and were quickly onto the next. The next section saw my first swim of the day when I got pinned on a rock (which became a bit of a recurring theme for me) and the water coming over the back of my boat sent me under - I blame this on the low footbridge that I hit with my paddle just beforehand and made me lose control, but the other swims weren't so easy to pass the buck. The river was pretty shallow and narrow all the way down the gorge, so it was easy to make my way out, but my boat and paddle were a bit harder to reach and Euan bravely went in to fetch the paddle. At the next, slightly larger, rapid (I may be getting the ordering mixed up) we got out to have a look for the best route first. Then Rupert showed us the route not to take, before Nick showed a far nicer line and we followed over without any incident. Following that I had a couple more swims and pins (I had to be helped out of one pin by an old man walking by who gave me a shove with his walking stick), one of which was particularly gimpy when I just hit a log and went over, but everyone else made it down fine. This section of the river was great fun as there was always something to do and the rapids were challenging, but not too intimidating. There were a lot of low bridges, branches and obstacles to look out for, although that added a bit of character to the river.

The worst bit of the day was the next half hour (probably far longer than, but I kind of lost track of time) paddling almost flat water to the get out. I'd recommend for future trips to the Doon to get out at the bottom on the Ness Glen section and potentially just walk back to the top along the footpath, that is unless you really enjoy dull paddles, scraping your boat along shallow sections and weaving in and out of overhanging trees and bushes.

Overall it was a great trip and it's definitely a river I recommend again. Swim count: 3 (all me).

p.s. sorry there are no photos.

Twin Tays!

After a surprisingly small amount of faff at the shed, we were good to go. Euan, Charlie, Emma, Caity and myself set off to the Tay. However, we decided to try a new section (to me anyway), from Taymouth to Aberfeldy.

The get-on was mainly faff free and generally uneventful (aside from Euan giving the gatehouse staff an un-holy view). So we were off.

Getting on at the loch, and paddling under a bridge, we decided to practice some eddying....unaware that even the slightest breeze turned this arch into a horrific wind tunnel!

Realising our mistake we moved on, and approached the Chinese Bridge Rapid (the only one on this section). A wholly uneventful run of this led us to decide to run it again, and then head to a more interesting section.

At this point, we discovered we had made a fatal error....

This left me to run (quite literally) the shuttle from Grantully to the SCA get in, leaving time for Euan and Charlie to make what they believe is the first descent of one of the Tay tribs (hereby known as the Allt Cheuan).

Getting onto the river (once I had died of exhaustion a couple of times and realised that kayaking isn't really exercise), we carried on down the Tay, and did some more training.

As the Boat Breaker approached, we pulled over to the side so that Caity and Emma could get off and celebrate a trip with no swims.

This left Euan, Charlie and myself to run the slalom course and play at the bottom.

All in all, a highly successful trip:

No swims, 1 bow rescue and 1 renewed river roll.

However....one last bombshell struck:

Euan's left shoe was still at Taymouth. Gutted!

A Tale of Two T's

An 8:30 start is never good: even less so when no-one on the trip shows up, and you don't have a phone to contact them!

Slightly discouraged, I collected the minibus and headed to the shed, and started to sort out the kayaks for the trip. After I'd hoisted all the boats onto the roof, Euan arrived, very upset that I'd abandoned him at the gate (sorry Euan). At about 9:30, we finally got through to Daisy, who thought the trip was off as I hadn't responded to her text (never ever lose your phone if you're organising a trip is the moral I walked away with). However, we three musketeers finally gathered together and set forth for the Tummel!

Upon arrival, we found that the dam was only releasing compensation flow, making the river low but runnable. Soon however, we discovered that this river was not just low: it was Paul Walker low!! By the time we reached Sawmill, much of the riverbed had been repainted orange and two shades of blue.

At the Sawmill, we had our one and only pin of the day, as I found myself precariously perched on a rock halfway down. The only up side to this was, with me blocking the bad route, Daisy and Euan had no choice but to take the clean route straight down the middle. Five minutes of faff later, and I pulled myself off with Euan's paddle - to everyone's great disappointment (including myself), there were no photo's of this truely spectacular pin.

S-bends and the Linn were extremely uneventful. Everyone manages S-bends perfectly. At the Linn, I got the autoboof, Daisy missed out and submarined, and Euan made his own boof.

One short paddle swapping trip to the get-out, and we were off to Tully!

At Tully, we ran the rapid once, and then proceeded to play in the holes at the bottom, before heading for a chippy in the sun at Aberfeldy.

A montage of the best photos of Tully

The whole day could be summed up in one word: FANTASTIC!!