A DAY ON THE OGWEN 25/11/12

After I found the 6am wake up the hardest bit of the day, we all headed for sheds and were in and out racked up, paddles on in about 20 minutes and we were on the dark roads to wales.

We stopped at the little chef just outside Bethesda as Stu needed his ‘morning poo’ and we needed food and tea. We arrived at the get on at 8am and eagerly ran to the bottom of ogwen bank falls to see the levels which were a nice medium. 

The first rapid of a day gun barrel was huge! Tolly had a very somewhat lucky high brace after he was pushed right out of the hole into a rock. James also had a bumpy but clean run and everyone else styled it with the exception of Liam who rolled before he even got to the meaty section. 

Me and Spud then joined everyone else at the bottom of gun barrel and off we headed down the river. As we were paddling down the river it got noticeably harder as we were heading towards fisherman’s gorge. We got split into buddies, me and Stu, Spud and Liam, Tolly and James, ben and Greg and our new friend Nicky was running solo. The first drop into S-bend was a shock to the system but everyone cleared it, with admittedly a few interesting lines, Nicky had a roll then we began the gorge.

Stu was leading and I was following, the adrenaline surging because all you could see was a continuous boulder garden down the river. Making a few breath catching eddies we conveniently stopped in time to see James’ boat floating towards us and a surprised James sitting on a rock in the middle of the river. I got out with my throw line to prevent anymore carnage and Stu chased the boat down the river, taking a hard left line into a stopper and had a cheeky roll while no one was looking. Tolly then went to help the boat rescue and Ben, Nicky, Liam and spud went down to the eddy by them. I followed Greg down and ended up hitting a rock, capsizing into a hole and rolling up afterwards.  Several minutes later pulling James boat across the river. He was back in and we paddled on down where the fun continued! After a few cheeky braces and skilfully avoiding the bad lines Stu had taken we eddied out, to see an anxious spud and Liam zoom past. A few minutes went by and none of the others appeared, causing Stu concern so he went to investigate and discovered James had taken another swim  but was quickly back in his boat and we carried on. We then reached the get out but we decided to carry on another 3km where the grade 4 slowly eased into a nice grade 3 although the drops were becoming quickly rocky. We then all got out at 11.55am and soaked up some sun while we waited for the shuttle! A very successful first run of the ogwen for me and spud! We then racked up and popped to Bethesda for some lunch, Nicky then left us to continue his paddling elsewhere. 

We then headed back to ogwen bank falls again, where some of the guys were even keener to run it. But common sense prevailed and they got on below it to run a slightly lower gun barrel.

Me and spud called it a day, as we felt we were pushing our luck to nail grade 4 for another 3 hours. So we resumed photo duty above gun barrel (she took photos, I watched). Where we witness Greg stop dead in the hole, spin round then roll up afterwards. Stu, Tolly, James, and Ben all nailed there lines and liam took a perfect line, making an accidental eddy, then underestimated his ferry glide and nearly ended up in the metal spikes in the drop below. Me and spud then got changed, I had a nap and we waited for them to come back. At 3.30 they returned to hear the river had dropped off, which had made the lines a bit more technical. The majority of them got spanked in the hole Stu and I rolled in earlier and Greg after capsizing in the hole had several roll attempts and eventually swam looking pretty unhappy with himself. Then later on Stu looked round in horror to see James boat capsized with James still in it bumping its way down the rapid. He finally took a nasty rocky swim and ended up with a cut lip. But as a true kayaker he got back on and soon they were at the exit.

We completed the day watching Greg and James do their booty beers. An amazing introduction to the ogwen thanks for taking us Stu and Liam!

Mid-week Kent!

Commence the world’s longest journey to the Lake District. One hour passed to two, passed to four before eventually Earnshaw, Liam, Grog and I, arrived at the river, only two hours late having attempted to avoid traffic, and stopping to pick up Liam's boat that'd be rescued by a friendly NW Kayaker. At the Kent, we met up with another NWK, Stu Mac.

A quick scout of Force Falls delayed the get on slightly longer but before long, we were at the get on, eddying out above the first drop, and then continueing down en masse. The trip was exceptionally chilled, and despite the recurring nightmare of my last attempt of the Kent coming to mind, the casual mood of the day calmed me down quick enough. We bombed down the first few drops, while I celebrated getting down the first 100m without swimming.. Unlike the three times previously.

The Kent proved no issue to everyone on the river. Despite me portaging the weir halfways down, even it didn’t prove difficulty to those not in a playboat. In no time at all we had bombed past L-Shape weir and hit Force Falls, one following the next like lemmings. Everyone styled it. Except me of course with a roll at the bottom, because the story would have been dull otherwise.

Stu on Force Falls

We shuttled back to the top, and despite having to run the shuttle twice as Stu Mac had left his helmet in the car, we were back on repeating the entire river again in no time. Unfortunately, S-bend wasn’t quite as successful for me who made it through the first wave before sitting out the rest of the rapid, chilling upside down, waiting for the water to calm before rolling up. A couple others nearly got sticking surfing mid-rapid, and Stu M got caught halfways up, showing off his playboating in a Jefe with a nice pirouette to finish it off before everyone regroup, laughing at the carnage.

Force Falls again was taken by storm and no issue, other than another cheeky 1 point accumulation by myself. Finally found out the line I’d been trying to make both times was in fact, incorrect. Boooo.

After a unfriendlier bash on the head, I’d decided I’d had enough of Force Falls and retired to photo-b**ch. The others ran up the road to get on above L-Shape were they remained for a good half hour, rerunning it into the double figures before returning to Force Falls were Stu demonstrated his three-time attempt of a roll. One last run finished the day, Stu M and myself having swam over to the middle island at the Falls to get some better shots as the others came down. 

Subbing on the Falls

A dull day in terms of the point accumulation, but still a better way to spend a Wednesday than the rest of you!

The Tree Infested Gwyrfai

A Day on the Gwyrfai from Chris Kayley on Vimeo.

Well the day started off promising, with an early wakeup call and a good chance of rain.  Thankfully no-one was late and we packed up relatively quickly.  As it was the only space left I had to ride in Dom’s car, which some of us would soon later regret.  We set off at top speed, at first falling behind due to hitting every red light out of Liverpool.  But as soon as Dom saw that variable speed limit his foot hit the floor tearing down the motorway to catch up with Liam and Stu.  After catching them up and falling into the convoy Dom decided to lead the pack for a few minutes by racing past an enthusiastic Stu and a very worried Liam.

Anyway, a couple of hours down the line we decide to take a stop to check river levels and choose the river we wanted to run.  Unfortunately the forecast by this point had changed from lots of rain in Wales to practically none; I mean come on this is Wales!  After much debate of which would be best either going back up to the Dee (which Tolly did not like all!) or go the Gwyrfai, there was also talk of possibly going on a model steam train which Greg got really excited about.

After much debate we decided to go the Gwyrfai, and about 40 mins we arrived at the get on which consisted pretty much of a bog on one side and woodland on the other.  So we decided on jumping over the wall right next to the river (we were told to be inconspicuous about it but tbh 12 people with multi-colored kayaks on the side of a busy road, could you be anymore but).  So after waiting for Stu and Dom to get back from dropping off the cars and Liam and Tolly making their way round the bridge’s stanchion, split into two groups, we were off.

Now at first it was quite a nice river, a little low, but still nice.  Until we hit our first tree (this was the first of many!).  Instead of portaging we tried to see if we could fit under and we did, so one by one we leant back and pushed ourselves through. Straight after was a rapid not a big one mind, but i thought it would be a good time to test out my brand new dry suit, and found out that it probably wasn’t the best idea as it was very shallow!

After we made our way through these obstacles we were over taken by the other group which we then didn’t see until they were climbing out of their boats for the first portage.  Along the way we encountered alot of very stubborn rocks poking out of the water and a few trees here and there but none we had to go under.  The first portage that we encountered left Tolly’s feet quite cold as rather than everyone getting out of their boats he was a top lad and dragged everyone over (not exactly far to go just  a meter).  So cheer himself up he started singing and then didn’t stop for the rest of the river. 



Dom styling the wier

Many more rocky encounters later we came to the second tree across the river but this one however was not passable, so go out of our boats and walked around and most of us got back on without any trouble, I say most of us as Fiona slid in and hit the bottom of the river with one end still on the bank.  It took a few attempts but she was finally free and we set off once more not realising at this point there were many more rocks and trees to face.  Unfortunately I can’t recall in which order things happened as there was defined sections, so I’ll give a small summary to finish of the river. 

There was one more tree that at first we thought we had to go around but Liam decided to brave it and squeezed through so we all followed suit.  However, there was one person that got stuck twice getting back into their boat and took about 10 mins before he emerged under the tree, I will not mention any names (Graham).  There was a couple of more portages that required de-treeing, luckily Stu and Liam had brought their saws and made short work of mother nature.  Many more rocks and low lying trees brought us to the big drop of the day, which was quite traumatic for some, Fiona, as she got stuck feet first in a hole with her back end high out of the water (I did not witness this unfortunately, but according to others Liam was torn between putting down his GoPro and helping Fiona).  

After the drop we all made safely to the get off and tried to get changed inconspicuously in the local supermarket car park.

We decided to go to the nearest seaside town, Caernarfon, and get some chips.  This however was not so simple as we lost Stu and Liam and drove past them but one the bridge above them.  So we turned around and drove all around the town and underneath to find them eventually we gave up and parked in the nearest car park and met up with them at the chippy, to be greeted by the local Welshman saying he got banned from going on the river we had just been on.

After we had filled our bellies with fish, chips and sausages we headed back to Liverpool for hot showers and warm beds.

Gareth

Trio Boating aka Ménage à trois

After a little bit of research on the forecast we decided that the lakes was on, by on we meant full on. So we decided to go paddling, meeting at sheds at the traditional 7:30am. Myself (Liam), Earnie and Greg set off.

We drove to the Troutbeck, it was too low despite there being a heavy rainfall the night before.

We then drove to Grizedale Beck, after some inspection, we got our kit on and met an interesting local. One crutch one walking stick, he was a character. After saying that he hasn’t seen many, in fact any paddlers on this section we were stoked!

First section was low and slotty, we all styled it spectacularly. I came out backwards. And there were some loud sounds from paddles and boats meeting rock.

We then got to the first main fall.

"Extreme Gradient. Overhanging trees, fallen trees” said the guide.

Wasn’t an underestimate, Greg styled the first main drop, then on the slot not so much but got away unscathed.

I however got pinned on the first drop, after raping my boat I became free, did the first slide and had a breather, went for the second slot and spectacularly got it wrong falling head first down it. I then ended up facing back upstream with the water rushing over my head. Less than ideal, I jumped into Greg’s arms, a little man love later, we set about unpinning Shirley the Shiva. 5 different trees it took to get the best angle, we managed to get it off. 5 to 1 mechanical advantage with three burly guys pulling on it.

Anyway then Earnie and Greg paddled down some smaller but just as steep slides to the get out, but decided against getting out and then we all got lost for a few hours.

Then at 3pm we decided to drive back to the Troutbeck for a short blast down. Fearing it may still be a bit low and disappointing we got there and it was in the trees, over the trees and around them, bigger than any of us had run it before.

IT WAS AWESOME, was like being flushed down a toilet for about 5-6km, and it was meaty.

We all hopped each other, and after watching Earnie get thrown from the very right to the left and back again I braced and it was epic. At this point it was getting dark and this was hard to see. I ended up getting a cheeky eddy, breaking back in I caught some serious speed and ended up ramming Greg’s boat with Shirley and kindly knocking him through the large hole (what a guy!)  I stopped for some playtime. I didn’t want to play, and got played with for quite some time, after an unintentional loop and a roll I was popped out in a big way, and hit my head several times whilst underwater, on my back deck I pushed myself out of my boat and then swam. Shirley the filthy tree hugger is still in the Troutbeck attached to a tree.

I had to go run the shuttle as it was now pitch black, good job I had my trusty scooter to make the shuttle quicker, and somewhat scarier than the river itself. 

The pieces were found. Two boats racked on the car, and a quick call to the police meant we were on our way home.

Hence, why I need to go paddling in the lakes again this week to retrieve my boat.

All in all a great day out, if a little expensive for me.

Now for the double bootie beer.

Liam

A day on the Lune

So I have heard writing a river blog is a good cure for a hangover, well here goes!

After a swift change in starting time from 8am to 9:15am …. I quickly became grateful for the extra hour in bed!  A rush to get ready and a warm-up jog later I find out Tolly and Hannah are nowhere to be found. It would appear Tolly was dead to the world whilst Hannah had slept through her alarm. After loading the boats and getting Ailsa on board we finally make our way to the river.  

We arrived at the Lune which appeared to be a popular river for the day. Forgetting to stop for the toilet, Ailsa and I made our way across a field to find ourselves almost knee deep in mud. (This was my reason to take a dip)

With one of the cars parked up at the other end and a crash course in river signals from Greg we were all set.  Avoiding one of the many dead sheep we encountered on the trip we finally got onto the water. Being a fresher friendly trip the river started off nice and easy although a little shallow, there was some bum shuffling going on!

Practicing eddying in, eddying out and ferrygliding took up the first part of the river. We then moved onto the slightly harder parts. (According to me anyway :) )Now I’m not sure if a heavy night caused my memory loss or hitting my head on a rock/paddle …. I don’t really remember how many rapids we did.

The first rapid was demonstrated fantastically by Hannah who was the only one to take correct line. I then managed to style out a rotating boat move and make it down upright! (Mad skills). Later in the river I decided to take a swim, just too clean up a little! Next victim we thought was Gerald until we saw Ailsa pop up! This was of course to demonstrate the correct technique of how to swim and get out of the boat to set up the next safety.

At this point no one knows how far down the river we are or when we would be done. The final victim of the day was Gerald who luckily washed straight into the eddy. We then had a while of steady-ish water before we had to get out of our boats and walk them around a rapid that was too hard. This defiantly made us feel the cold a tad more!

After a good solid 3 hours? (Maybe) we made it to the first bridge. The car was at the second. With little light left, an unknown distance and a drop in temperature. We made a collective decision for Hannah, Gerald, Ailsa and I to get out and wait in the survival shelter. Whilst Dom, Ant, Greg and James ran the rest of the river.

The group shelter appeared to be a shock to Gerald who was under the impression that there was going to be a wooden hut with hot chocolate waiting for us! (IF ONLY) After a nice 20 minutes or so in the group shelter cars arrived and we headed home via the Service station, in what would be the warmest car known to mankind!

All in all I think a fantastic day was had by all! Thank you for organising the fresher friendly trip even if there were only 3 not so experienced paddlers. Don’t miss the next one!

Tania

P.S … It’s all LIES the hangover is still here!

Fun times in the Lakes

Alarm clock going off before 7am, and I wondered why on earth I had agreed to go paddling. I don’t even get up that early for uni! Even once I’d dragged myself out of bed and into my thermals…I was still wondering how kayaking was going to be if it really was as cold as it looked outside the kitchen window…

It was a group of equally as weary-eyed paddlers (and one still drunk…) who arrived at sheds for an early start to rack up and head to the lakes for a day’s intermediate paddling. We all made it to the Kent in one piece (despite some questionable shaking coming from Ruth’s car…) and by the time we arrived, the sun had come out and the temperature had finally risen (slightly) above freezing. Rachel tells us that last time she paddled the Kent they had to break the ice to get on, so I suppose we should think ourselves lucky!

And so we all seal launched and off we went, with Ruth’s car keys inside Lloyd’s drysuit for the shuttle- an arrangement which caused some difficulty at the Get-Off… when Lloyd was stood with his drysuit around his ankles and still the key was nowhere in sight! A nice bimbly top section gave everyone the chance to practise ferry gliding and warm up ready for the first rapid of the river- a nice rapid which provided a nice challenge for some of the lesser-experienced paddlers, and a chance for one more experienced paddler to practise his roll as he led me down the rapid! The next few rapids were enjoyable, and didn’t claim too many casualties, bar a few rolls (including one in a nice flat eddy…). The final rapid of the section was force falls- a good, fun rapid and a great end to the river. No swims and just the one T-Rescue. A successful river for everyone with no one too damp! An excellent thing for me, being the only person without a dry suit or dry trousers!

A quick break for lunch and we made the short journey to the get on for the Leven. This journey turned out to be slightly longer for those in Ben’s car, as he was so desperate to go home, that he took a short diversion back down the motorway for one junction… Once the rest of us had unracked, got changed AND run the shuttle, they finally arrived and we could get on with our second river of the day! A small weir with a play wave was a good start to the river, and gave a few people a chance to practise their surfing. The river was a nice mix of bimbly flatish sections, and rapids. Again, few victims were claimed, but I did take my 3rd and 4th rolls of the day! The sun began to set and we started to relive some of the cold feelings of 8am… but luckily we were approaching the get off! A fun slide led to the final section and the last rapid of the river- Backbarrow Falls. A rapid which Lloyd introduced as ‘A 50:50 chance you’ll come out the right way up’- a fairly accurate description, given our success rate, of 5 clear runs, 5 rolls, and one unfortunate swim when paddles got accidently thrown away whilst capsizing, making rolling back up somewhat difficult! Tired, but contented we got off the river, and I continued to keep everyone in good spirits, providing amusement whilst the shuttle was run by completely pinning myself underneath a nice blue GT on dry land…

For me, it was an excellent day, and I’m sure the others will agree. Thanks to Schn for organising the trip, Lloyd for (unofficially) leading us down the river, and Ruth, Ben and Penny for driving us all there. (Ruth I hope your car is surviving!)

Fiona