Well you have read about the club trip to Pyranhafest in Wales last year, well this time we headed off to Dartmoor so the guys at Pyranha decided to get creative with the name of this festival hence Dartfest. Now who would have though of that!!!
Well the nice guys at the River Dart Country Park allowed us to carry over all the money that we had paid them for the Gene17 weekend in December (that no one in the South East had been able to attend due to the vast snow that we were so well prepared for) so we decided to head off to Dartmoor for the Dartfest to run a decent intermediates trip.
The trip started on Friday with the advance party of four paddlers hitting the Upper Dart for a quick blast down. Stuart was happily leading the group down when Remi shot past the eddy he was sitting in. Stuart set off in pursuit and followed Remi over one drop before Remy plunged over the next drop, took the wrong line and started to perform some unintentional cartwheels.
A swim was the result but Remy was quickly reunited with his kit. Euthanasia was run then the guys had a look at Pandora’s Box. The levels were quite low and only Stuart was willing to take the line skirting around the rocks above the slot drop and sieve to slide down the chicken route in a stylish high brace.
The rapid after Pandora’s is always run on river left to avoid the boulder garden. Ivan and Chas recounted to Remy how they had both swum previously on this rapid when they had taken the wrong line. It was then a quick blast down the rest of the Upper Dart to Newbridge.
Kit was dropped off and then we headed into Ashburton for breakfast/lunch/dinner depending on how much you had eaten previously in the day. It was here that some sweep stakes were made over who would swim the next day.
At CAP O’clock (This is a fine line between late and last orders) the rest of the party turned up and supped a few cheeky bevies before the thought of paddling the next day drove most sane people off to bed.
There was talk of some people heading off to paddle the Upper Dart early in the morning the next day but this plan ended up being shot down in flames due to everyone being knackered after an insomniac struggled to get out of their top bunk all night.
Breakfast was consumed then the CAP troops leapt into action to get everyone on the Dart Loop before 11am. Could this possible be a CAP record. I’m still waiting to hear back from Norris McWhirter.
The Dart Loop was descended and those sweep stakes came into effect as people struggled to Eskimo rescue people that they hadn’t thought would swim.
Everyone got stuck in and had a good day developing their skills. Remy went over while trying to surf the wave out of a recirculating eddy called the Spin Dryer. As he hadn’t bet on himself to swim, he held his breath for at least 20 seconds until he slammed into the cliff and could claw himself back upright.
The rest of the Dart Loop was descended then it was off to RDCP to join the party. Dinner was swiftly consumed by the ravenous vultures before CAP took up strategic positions at the bar where they could watch the evening festivities unfold.
Sunday morning saw the more experienced members head off to run the Upper Dart along with some of the more progressive intermediate paddlers. There is no better way to learn than to throw them in at the deep end and clear up the pieces at the end.
There were some swims but everyone performed well. Young Ed proved that he had borrowed Remy’s lungs as he held his breath for an age at the bottom of Euthanasia before Stuart could rescue him.
Pandora’s was portaged by everyone except Darren who took the same route Stuart had taken two days before. Then it was the rapid after Pandora’s.
Remember we spoke about it earlier. Well obviously Ivan didn’t as he promptly launched himself into the heart of the boulder garden and pinned himself a treat. It took him about 5 minutes to extricate himself from that one.
The rest of the Upper Dart was run without event and then everyone met up with the CAP troops that only felt up to doing the Dart Loop.
This was to be the second day on the Dart Loop, for most of the intermediate paddlers. Whereas the previous day they had been led down, stopping and inspecting each section of the river, today was their chance to step up to the mark and paddle the river as it is meant to be paddled. They blasted down the Loop, confidence building, minute by minute, drop by drop.
At the get out, Mike and Keith met a really motivated smiling bunch of paddlers, who; to quote, the English Whitewater Guide book,
“had completed the Dart Loop and felt eight foot tall”.
Sunday night found us at the quaint Rugglestone Inn , sat high up on Dartmoor and surrounded by it’s own stream and heavy swirling fog.
A fantastic meal was enjoyed by all consisting of lots of homemade pies and local lamb. All enjoyed in our own private dining room complete with roaring log fire.
Monday, our last day on Dartmoor and after another hearty breakfast, virtually everybody was up and raring to go. Darren took the intermediates and enjoyed a lovely paddle on The Walkham and Tavy Rivers.
The Walkham is a twisty and narrow River that weaves it’s way through scenic, gnarled ancient woodlands. Lots of wavetrains and boulder gardens to slalom through and then the first challenge, an evil looking slot.
The slot was duly inspected and Darren gave advice as to how to run it. Without needing any more encouragement, Martin, Alistair, Wayne and Keith were back in their boats and showed the slot that they meant business. A brilliant job was done by all and once again lots of smiles from ear to ear.
Leaving the Walkham behind we paddled down the Tavy to a Grade 3 drop, ominously overlooked by a foreboding cliff top house. The line involves paddling past the large boulders, swinging sharp right, avoid being swept sideways into the cliff face and then down over the drop into the swirling frothing mess below.
Poetry (or paddling) in motion, beautifully done by all, even our Club Chairman, in his bright Yellow banana suit, survived to tell the tale.
Finally we approached the weir above Denham Bridge. Everyone was warned of the large towback and that it was important to paddle, like a bat out of hell.
Well Darren, Martin and Keith did exactly that. Poor Alistair, just failed to escape the clutching hands of the water monster as it grabbed and sucked him back into the maelstrom.
Darren came storming in and a three way wrestling match ensued between Al, Darren and the water monster. Eventually Al was sucked from his boat and just managed to swim clear as the monster’s jaws closed on him with hideous fangs.
Darren continued to wrestle the beast and after much rolling and heaving he eventually managed to extract the Kayak from the pit of it’s stomach.
As we paddled the last mile or so down to the get out the sun came out and cast a beautiful silvery glow across the water.
Meanwhile, Gary and Ivan took some of our members on their first ever descent of the River Erme, described by Chas as one of the hardest rivers that he’s ever paddled.
For Mark, Jay, Tom and Ed, this was to be a huge leap up, demanding every ounce of determination, courage and paddling ability.The Erme is a Grade 4 (5) narrow twisting bedrock creek dropping steeply down the side of the densely wooded hillside.
As the guidebook says, “every kind of rapid is here, crammed into a remarkably intense and varied trip”.
They flew down the hillside and on numerous occasions came to the edge of a drop to just find the world vertically dropping way beneath them as their eyeballs popped out of their heads.
Pinballing down over steep drops, dodging large boulders and even tackling a nasty very sticky slot en route. Only one swim was notched up and they all reached the end feeling totally exhilarated and having reached a new peak in their paddling careers.
Everyone was buzzing about the weekend and saying what a fantastic trip it had been. Now we need to start planning the next one, which has to be even better !