Just got back from a short but great trip on the River Wye – The Landy coped perfectly well when carrying the 16ft Canadian “open canoe”. The canoe was strapped to the Rollbar and then to the rear hoop and then front and rear with ropes to the towbar and front tubular bumper: Rock solid and it’s a very aerodynamic shape so in fact made the Defender Hicap somewhat more stable in a straighline! It sat directly over the army issue desert tarp cover I use on the back hoops – I use this instead of the standard canvas or PVC hoods – I prefer this as it’s open to the elements but still provides enough cover even in heavy rain. It’s also easy to remove in seconds with a system of loops and ties using paracord – the real stuff taken from an army parachute which is incredibly strong, not the fake ‘paracord’ you can buy – important as this needs to take some strain at 50-60mph!
The hicap pickup flat bed obviously had more than enough room for any gear and paddles, life vests and my australian ’swag’ bedroll (whose native home is in the back if a pickup (or “Ute” as the aussies call them…) of course.
…
Minimal gear this time - swag and 2 bags ready on the tailgate.
Arrived at the put-in point at Kerne Bridge.
"Hawkeye" Rich - describing all the the wildlife he's seeing up front
"Campfire Kev" steering in the back.
Gathering firewood at dusk
Morning at the Camp, Symonds Yat Canyon
Using the half-burnt logs from the previous nights fire to get it going again - a spark from a firesteel and a bit of blowing till it glows, then drop on some dry grass and it's away...
Getting the fire going again... Rain in the air...
"do you think it'll last?" "it's just a shower, let's wait it out..."
Really Big Rain kicked in about 9am... we waited for the Kelly to boil from under the shelter...
Hot Coffee... out of the rain... no problem...
Still Raining... more coffee on...
The Shelter rigged to the canoe, propped with a paddle, simple and effective: only needed a single peg into the bank to stay up as the canoe provides the support.
The Crusader mug in use....
"hmmm, this rain is lasting for a while, lets have some breakfast..."
Porridge cooking in the Crusader mug... straight on the fire.
We were a bit short of water so collected water running off teh shelter to top up - a litre gathered within about 10 minutes.
We'll move when the rain stops....
It didn't stop so we got back on the river....
Stopped under an old iron pontoon bridge, 'WWII style' and got the Kelly fired up again, wet-through, we needed more hot tea....
Getting the Kelly Going....
approaching the get-out point at Symonds Yat West
Thoroughly soaked, but completely invigorated.
Loaded up, the end of a great trip on the Wye.
Back over the Severn Bridge towards Bristol, the rain finally did stop!
kevin, August 26th 2009 |
Tags: Canoe Trips, Landrover Camping, River Wye, Wye Valley
Posted in Trip Reports
