Chasing water yet again – what’s with this winter?!

So, in the hope of getting some form of paddle I headed to the Blackwater with Matt and Caz. Cold was the word of the day, oh, along with scrape!

We scraped down the river and ran most of the drops, but it didn’t really feel like a proper paddle; never wanting to be short-changed, we then headed up Strathconon and paddled the Meig Gorge.

Like the Blackwater, it was low and a scrape. Lines, well they were either tight or not really there – it really needs a Thursday compensation flow to be worthwile - but it was worth it for the simple reason that it was boating!

Following Jim Fleming and his Planet Paddler crew’s trip to Kenya in 2011, another great Paw Paw Production kayaking film has hit the net…

Some top action, quality footage, awesome drops and maga brown flood water…just make sure that you don’t pick up a tropical disease à la Mr Fleming if you decide to head over to Africa to check it all out for yourself!

Kayaking in Kenya, Africa. from james fleming on Vimeo.

Great day out today, with Matt and Caz. Unseasonably warm, sunny and even a wee bit of water about…

Headed up to a boney Upper Black Water for a quick blast down. Some nice drops as normal, but really rocky on the middle section. So, having decided that we’d done more punting than paddling, we headed to the Meig Gorge.

No real compensation flow coming from the Meig Dam up Strath Conon, and Loch Meig was about 99% ice, but the gorge was running – just!

A wee bit scrapy and some of the run-ins were actually a good bit harder than normal given normal lines were blocked by rocks, but still an excellent paddle.

Wish I’d brought my elbow pads, Cazz made us work hard at the constriction (boat and person rescue) and I took a STUPID swim on the final feature of the gorge, but well worth it nonetheless…and lovely, as ever, to shoot down Tea Cup Falls!!