WFCC Dart Trip, 8th to 10th February 2019
WFCC
Dart Trip, 8th to 10th February 2019
Paddlers: Rob,
Bill, Ali, Jamie, Trevor, Chucky, Keith, Laura, Hannah, Richard, Michael,
Dylan, Matt, Brian, Billy, Tom, Tom, Loz, John, Maxine, Ryan M, Ryan T, Ronan,
Steve, Jen.
Shuttle
bunny: Roy
The
long-anticipated Dart Trip was finally here and so was Storm Erik, filling the
rivers and all of us with the gleeful prospect of some excellent paddling. The
early birds were gathered at Newbridge by high noon on Friday and a well
covered slab confirmed that a big and bouncy blast on the Loop was in order.
Drysuits
were quickly donned as the wind and rain swirled and after a quick shuttle we
headed off as one (lucky?) group of 13. Those of us who had previously only experienced
low Dart Loop levels had a swift wake-up call. Big, bouncy wave trains made for some
truly fun paddling and the smiles and whoops said it all. We quickly arrived at
the Webburn, usually a trickle of a tributary with a nice little surf wave at
the confluence. Today it was a gushing river in its own right and just begging
to be paddled. So boats were shouldered and smiles got wider as a couple of
runs down a few hundred metres of splendidly Alpine-like grade 2/3 ensued!
Onwards
round the Dart Loop and Lovers Leap was safely navigated. Triple Step proved more of
a challenge, with the usual drops replaced by a charging wave train ending in a
mahoosive boat-eating hole. Most of the group successfully broke out into the
eddy river right of the hole. Jamie succumbed to a swim and having flipped and
rolled on my first run I made the mistake of walking back up and got well and
truly mullered at my second attempt. Note to self... quit while you’re ahead! Trevor
provided some excellent entertainment as, having paddled the rapid perfectly and
exited his boat to put on safety, he then took a head-first dive back into the
river on the end of the line he had thrown for Jamie!!
There was
more fun to be had at Spin Drier.... those brave enough to try the high cross
from the swirling eddy on river right were suitably swooshed and swept and more
smiles ensued!
The rest
of the paddle passed without incident and we exited at Holne Weir. Distinguished
paddler of the day was Richard who, on his first Dart trip, totally styled the
whole river, and on a higher level than any of us could remember having
previously run it. Well done Richard!
Beer
o’clock beckoned and we headed for The Plume of Feathers in Princetown, where
none other than our former Alps buddies Elliott and Jonathan were found lurking!
It was great to catch up with them both over a restoring beer, even though
Elliott has now joined Jon on the dark side and is only to be found in an open
boat these days.
We
finally rocked up at our salubrious, draught-free, 5* bunkhouse, aka PowderMills, to find the log burner already roaring. Michael and his merry band were
in situ having also arrived early and taken advantage of the high levels with a
run on the West Dart, a grade 3/4 river that is generally only paddled in spate
and had been much enjoyed by all.
With kit
drying and bunks sorted, rumbling stomachs signalled time for food and we
headed out for a lovely meal at our second pub of the day, the Forest Inn at
Hexworthy, where Keith and Laura made it through the wind, rain and Friday
night traffic just in time to join us. Those with more stamina than me rounded
the evening off with more beer and chat back at the bunkhouse.
As the
storm passed overnight, the river levels eased to a nice medium-low and we woke
to the promise of a great day’s paddling with something for everyone. Hannah
and Roy appeared (somewhat bleary-eyed after their 4.30 am start) and, fuelled
up on porridge and full English breakfast courtesy of Rob, Brian and various
kitchen helpers, we grouped up according to grade preference, with two groups
opting for the Upper Dart and one for the Loop.
We
gathered at Dartmeet, where boats were swapped with minimal faff and Keith,
Jamie, Laura, Trevor, Richard, Hannah and Matt headed off to run the Loop.
Michael and co were waiting for the remaining members of their group who were
travelling down that morning, whilst Bill, Brian, Billy, Dylan, Chucky, Tom,
Tom, Rob and yours truly split into two smaller groups and prepared for the
off.
This was
only the second time I’d run the Upper Dart but, despite a large dose of
nervous apprehension, I knew I was in the best possible hands with Bill, Brian,
Billy and a very happy Dylan anticipating his maiden run. Our group set off
first leaving Chucky, Tom, Tom and Rob to follow. After a few gentle rapids,
the river was just beginning to build when I clattered into a rock and found myself
pinned. I pushed myself off but the boat angle was too great to control and
after a failed roll attempt and a second pin I was out of my boat and minus my
paddle. It was a short swim and my boat was quickly retrieved, but the paddle
was nowhere to be seen....
Now this
was clearly not a good omen and with head games whispering it felt like walking
off the river might well be the most sensible option. Common sense, however,
has never been my strong point! Dylan produced a pair of splits and with the
support and encouragement of the group I dug deep and gave the next couple of
rapids a go.
Perhaps sometimes
it takes an early jolt to really hone the senses and get focussed. Suffice to
say I stayed upright and began to gain confidence with every rapid. It’s a
stunningly beautiful river with a paddling quality that’s hard to describe and
I had the perfect people around me.... Bill leading, Billy and Dylan behind me (clearly
having the time of their lives) and of course super-smiley Brian bringing up
the rear!
Lucky Tor
came and went and we were into the scary horizon lines and crazy rapids of the
Mad Mile. The Slabs were safely navigated and boulders and holes avoided.
Michael and his merry band swept past at some point, keen to make time for a
second run. Then suddenly Euthanasia was upon us. Having portaged on the last
occasion, I was determined to give it a go and thankfully the hard left line
proved straight forward and forgiving.
All of our
group took the same sneak line except for Billy, who promptly showed everyone how
it was done by nailing the main slot. This awesome young man is already shaping
up to be an absolute paddling legend!
Not to be outdone, Bill and Dylan went
back for a second run but it’s fair to say this did not go entirely to plan... Having
opted to ‘show Dylan the line’, Bill dropped in high, got pushed right and
performed a pretty impressive rock splat whilst skilfully employing his
‘nothing just happened’ face. Dyl sensibly took a somewhat cleaner line and
zipped into the eddy with his trademark cheeky smile!
Onwards
through more scary horizon lines until we reached Pandora’s, where we had the
benefit of witnessing young Tom’s sideways backwards and roll manoeuvre through
the slot. We also watched some other paddlers who made it look a whole lot
easier so I opted for their ‘shit or bust’ line; ie, left of the island and straight
down the middle. Rather incredibly I managed to nail both the approach and the
line through the slot. Unfortunately, I was so amazed I stopped paddling, fell
over and swam at the bottom... hey ho...
The next,
particularly awkward rapid provided more entertainment as Bill missed his line
and I blithely followed him round an awkward boulder, over a bunch of rocks and
straight into the hole at the bottom. I’m not sure how, but I somehow emerged
the other side still upright and laughing slightly hysterically out loud.
Meanwhile,
Chucky, Tom, Tom and Rob were supporting another group, one of whom had walked
off the river with a dislocated shoulder leaving them to bring down his boat. The
boat was proving a bit of a handful but eventually made it down the same rapid
on a not dissimilar line to my own!
The last
of the Grade 4 was over, but even though the rapids are less steep and the
features less powerful from this point, they still keep coming. And when you’re
as totally knackered as I was by this time, the eventual sight of Newbridge is
a very wondrous one indeed. I may never find the physical and mental strength
to run the Upper Dart again... but that’s absolutely fine... because today I
did it all, and with the absolute best of paddle buddies. Thank you all so much!!!!
We
adjourned to our favourite post-paddle pub, the Tavistock, for a pint of Jail
Ale, a restoring glass of red wine (or two), a basket of cheesy chips and a
catch-up with the Loop paddlers, all of whom had had an equally excellent, if
slightly less bouncy run than we’d experienced the previous day. We eventually
tore ourselves away from the log fire and cosy atmosphere and made our way back
to the bunkhouse where super-chef Rob produced an awesome supper for 26 without
even appearing to break sweat; shepherd’s pie four ways (spicy, mild,
vegetarian and vegan) followed by two flavours of crumble and custard, all
perfectly cooked and completely delicious. Rob, we utterly salute you!
An early
night beckoned and lashing rain on the windows signalled the prospect of rising
rivers once more, but fortunately, the rain had subsided sufficiently by morning
to stabilise levels. Truly the gods were smiling upon us!
A few
opted for early doors and journeyed home, but the majority were enticed by the
prospect of yet another day’s excellent paddling. Some decided on a further run
of the West Dart whilst the rest of us opted for the more grade-friendly Walkham;
a very pretty, mainly 2/3 river, quite narrow in places and with some lovely
drops and features in the early stages. After an aptly-named closed weir
(Horrabridge) requiring portage and an awkward seal launch, the river flattened
out a little but livened up again through a bouncy gorge section, where Hannah
demonstrated her excellent rolling skills!
We eddied
out to inspect the main feature, a tricky little slot with a boily run-out that
required some assertive forward paddling. I had an extreme blonde moment on the
approach, losing my edge in a small diagonal wave and needing to put in a roll,
but thankfully cleaned the drop and the run-out. Hannah opted to portage and
Jamie was caught out by the boils but the remaining paddlers all produced
stylish lines with smiles to match. Particularly worthy of note once again was
Richard, looking cool, crisp and completely comfortable. Great paddling!
A short
distance later we came to the confluence with the Tavy and a change of river
character; bouncy and wide with one notable river-left rapid that led to my
final swim of the weekend. Paddler, paddles and boat were all none the worse
and soon reunited. Bill also scooped up a random floating dry bag that turned
out to contain phone and car keys in addition to its owner’s lunch. Further
note to self... always ensure your valuables dry bag is firmly secured in the
boat.
Onwards
through more bouncy wave trains to a weir which required inspection. There was
a reasonably straightforward, hard left line but the consequences of getting it
wrong weren’t great and everyone opted to portage except for Bill, who ran the
chute perfectly with a well-timed boof onto the pile.
A nice
surf wave provided some entertainment lower down but with cold and tiredness
starting to set in, it was time to move on to the get-out. We were greeted by
Roy (ace shuttle bunny) and Trevor (non-paddler on the day), dry clothes were
donned, boats loaded and the weekend was perfectly rounded off with Billy’s
mum’s excellent chocolate muffins! We
even managed to reunite an extremely grateful fellow paddler with his lost dry
bag... but not before we’d scoffed his butties!!
It was
time to leave, with the long journey home providing good opportunity for
reflection on a superb weekend of brilliant river levels, fantastic paddling,
fabulous food and the best of company.
Huge
thanks first and foremost to Rob, whose organisation and sheer hard work made such
a perfectly-formed weekend possible. Thanks too, of course, to the river
leaders and stronger paddlers who constantly inspire, encourage and support the
rest of us. Massive congratulations to Hannah and Richard on an awesomely
executed first Dart trip, and to Dylan on styling his maiden run down the
Upper. My personal thanks also to Dyl for the use of his splits, without which
my weekend would have ended very prematurely indeed!
See you
all on the river again very soon!!!
Ali
