We went back to Dartmoor not long after for some redemption and had one of the best days kayaking ever !
4 . Upper Dart – communication is key
Another year later , we are enjoying a very wet day in Dartmoor . Having had a great time on the loop in the morning , we head to the get-in for the Upper . It is higher than I anticipated , and I am very hesitant about getting on .
Eventually , I reason that it is high , but my skill set should be enough to match it . I may find it pushy , but competent friends surrounded me , so it wasn ’ t a bad place to push myself .
All ’ s well that ends well ! Photo : Jack Grace
THE MAD MILE We get on , and it is full-on from the go . I have run the Dart before but never as high as this . When we started the mad mile , I enjoyed myself but also found it intense . I go over and fail a roll . Not to worry – try again . I come up , relieved , only to fall sideways straight into a massive hole . No breath and , taken by surprise , my rolls fail . I swim and undergo one of the more unpleasant swims of my life . Afterwards , I describe it as ‘ being a pinball in a pinball machine ’.
My friends get me to the side , and two others chase my boat down . I get out and immediately try to follow them down the bank to help with the boat . Only it isn ’ t easy . The bank is steep , muddy and full of obstacles . Eventually ( and a long way down the river ), I catch them up , and amazingly my boat and paddles are in an eddy ! I catch my breath , thank them , and we wait for the others . But they don ’ t come .
I walk back to find the others and let them know I am okay . To find out my boyfriend had left his boat on the other side of the river and walked down to walk out with me – as he assumed my boat would be unrecoverable ! He now has no way to get back to his boat .
WALKING OUT OF DARTMOOR To cut a long story short from this point . We then had a huge argument ( two very stubborn people ), which resulted in us both walking out of Dartmoor to the get-out , me carrying a boat on my back . We went back to retrieve his boat later on . I was exhausted and furious . It is one of the worst days of boating I have ever had . Not because of the actual boating but because of the carnage after my swim !
My lesson learned ? Communicate ! If I had stayed for a few minutes to communicate with the others about what to do after my swim , it might not have gone so spectacularly badly ! Luckily we made up soon after , but the ‘ Dartmoor break up ’ remains my friend ’ s favourite entry in my paddling log book !
ThePADDLER
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