Recent Posts
- Sowerby Bridge slalom 8 june results
- Allt a Chaorrain - Video
- BCU to UKCC switch over
- Upper Tees - In Spate
- Bird watching with Ian Young
- Canoe polo - Hull sept 07
- Sleningford Slalom september 07
- Liffey Descent 2007
- Skooks
- The Doon (Glan Ness section) 05-08-07 another club...
archives
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- November 2006
- December 2006
- January 2007
- February 2007
- March 2007
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- January 2008
- April 2008
- June 2008
- January 2009
Aire Waves
Leeds Canoe Club Blog. We paddle... lots!
Airewaves used to be Leeds Canoe Club's magazine letting people know what the club was upto. Its quite hard work pulling together a publication letting people know what the club is doing and publishing dates in advance is always hard as things tend to change. Step forth the blog.. Push button publishing for the masses. So here is the idea a few people in the club take it in turns to write up trips and talk about things in the club.
Friday, June 20, 2008Grand Canyon, May 08
Having done numerous kayaking trips in the UK and Europe, and mainly in low volume creeks, it was about time to broaden our horizons and see what other parts of the world have to offer. So in May, me & Gill, joined the WaterByNature trip on the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon to find out what big volume paddling is all about..
We paddled 226 miles over 14 days, and hiked through many of the side canyons to explore the tributaries, waterfalls and absolutely amazing scenery.
A typical day was to get up when the sun came up, have a big American breakfast, paddle about 10 miles, stop for a 2 hour hike, have lunch, paddle another 10 miles, put up camp eat the fantastic fresh food cooked by the guides, have a few beers, margaritas, wine in the evening and crash out under the stars on a beach by the river when the sun has gone down.
There is a lot of flat water, but there are also a lot of rapids ranging from grade II to grade IV+. If you didn't fancy a rapid you could always portage or climb onto one of the gear rafts (similarly if you didn't fancy the flat water!). Some days you could float for hours without rapids, other days you were getting big, and I mean really BIG, volume wave trains every half a mile. 20ft waves, rafting eating holes, big boils, whirlpools, and rafts were the main hazards on the water. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, red ants and the sun, where the hazards off the water
Travelling with our own boats couldn’t have been easier. No problems on the BMI flight from Manchester to Las Vegas, or on the shuttle bus from las vegas airport to the hire car centre, and our hire a car was big enough to fit 2 creek boats in the back!
© Leeds Canoe Club 2009