ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- The plan was to do the section of the Sermenza from above Boccioleto to Balmuccia. We got on the river a bit late due to car troubles and I think its fair to say we under estimated the technicality /difficulty of the upper section.
Stories of monstrous white water and man eating holes were quickly dismissed in the easy read and run grade 3 section after the put in.
Unfortuntely the water level was low and this made quite a few of the larger rapids a no go for us, with siphons being revealed around every bend. A good chuck of the upper section became a hard difficult portage, around massive rocks, cliffs, lizards and even a few snakes.
After several hours we had only covered about 2km of 8. We and our bank support were getting worried at the bottom of the steep commiting valley.
By this point I think we were paddling some sections only because the portage was more dangerous than the river. One portage in partiuclar had the group seperated and it was a bit of a relief when we all got back on the water after the disused ruined mill.
We were all getting a bit tired we let our guard down, resulting in a nasty swim in a recirculating stopper. Fortunately safety was nearby and it seems 9Rs are happy to shoot rapids without paddlers. After a quick pat down we were again making our slow careful way down the Sermenza.
Eventually the upper section relented and we made good progress down to the gorge. I almost got pinned in the lead in rapid, but had enough fire in the biceps to force a horrible line down into the gorge itself.
There was a very tangible sense of relief when the gorge ended and opened out to reveal the final bridge and Balmuccia village. It was by then 8:30pm and definitely time for lunch...
We had an amazing paddle and we loved it. But next time we will be getting on the water early and taking lunch with us. Ha
