French Alps 2019 paddling trip
Day 6a The Upper Ubaye by Ron Wood
On Friday we had an early start, setting off at 8 am to take the very scenic route to the Ubaye valley, stopping en-route for some geological sightseeing. There was a rather disgruntled fisherman at the get in, but he soon headed home when he realised that it was past 10am and time for the kayakers to take to the river.
The morning saw us take a pleasant bimble along the Upper Ubaye to warm up for the afternoon. It was a bit on the low side, grade 3-, with some waves where the group attempted some surfing high fives but it looked more like they were doing a poor rendition of the chicken dance.
Too many boulders over many seasons resulted in a split in Martins boat. This was in the same place as for all Pyranha kayaks, under the seat. A quick repair at lunchtime with Denso tape was good enough so that he could carry on for the racecourse run in the afternoon (ish).