French Alps 2018 paddling trip
Day 5 Upper Durance by Kirk Williams
We decided to return to an afternoon stalwart, the Upper Durance, with only a few of the team deciding to give it a miss for different reasons (done it, no boat & tired). We set off without our intrepid shuttle cyclist who was going to catch us up, so plenty of opportunity for taking our time and enjoying playing the many friendly water features along the way.
With the rain booster, the levels were higher than our previous run and this perhaps explained why Helen & Roy soon disappeared into the distance. We did manage to encourage the team to get closer together and work on making small mid-river eddies, surfing small waves and venturing into some small holes/pour overs. All good practice for the bigger stuff we will be encountering on other days. As we paddled past the smelly bridge towards the jaws of the barrage John reminded me of our daily rolling programme, so a murky water flip had to be executed (successfully) but when we looked for Helen she was already heading up the bank faster than we’ve ever seen her go to the bar. There’s always tomorrow.
