2022 LCC Alpine Holiday to Durance Region in France Day 3 Monday: Gyronde to the campsite by Stuart Toulson

Roy and I decided to head up to this section for a quick blast down at the end of the day when the water would be higher.

We parked near the small village of Les Vigneaux just downstream from the garage on the entrance to the woods.  We quickly changed and carried the boats down to find a good point to get on. The level was high with the creamy-coloured water covering all but the biggest boulders.

A group of German paddlers just disappeared around the corner, so we gave them a few minutes whilst we finished setting up. We chose the lines we would take and look for the next eddy, there were not many.

We took turns leading and hopped from eddy to eddy as we worked our way through the complex maze of boulders.  On one section Roy was leading about 20 meters in front, when he caught a boulder that flipped him backwards, catching an edge, he capsized. After a few bounces over rocks and to the cheer of the onlooking Germans Roy managed to roll up. After a quick chat with the other kayakers, we headed downriver as the grade eased off.

We scouted the broken weir, shooting it about 1m from the river right rocks. We finally joined the river Durance, ran the campsite slalom course and arrived back at the campsite.