PADDLER 33
STUNNING DRIVE
Because the river starts just over the other side of the mountains to the north of our village , we had a bit of a drive but a truly stunning one over the Arlberg Pass , into the next state of Vorarlberg and over the Flexenpass to the village of Zürs and Lech , we then followed the road that hugs the impressive Lech Gorges past Warth and then finally back into Tirol and following the River Lech to the village of Bach . Here , we turned south and drove the final part to the graveyard , and from now on , we would have to carry our kayaks five kilometres up the forest road to the put-in .
Our final kit checks were made , the kayaks heaved onto our backs , and we set off . My whole idea is very agricultural : bang it out as quickly as possible and get on with it and suffer ! With every step I made while walking up , I kept saying there was a reason I kayaked in the Himalayas . It was so much easier employing a local porter or sherpa to haul my kit , and I never once felt guilty as I knew the money I spent on their wages goes a long way for their family . I left the girls and kept going and going , saying to myself I could get a rest at the next corner ; I felt I was back in the British Army , knocking out some kilometres over the mountains of Wales !
The route we were taking up to the put-in of the Madaubach is part of the E5 trek that starts in Oberstdorf in Germany and finishes in Meran in Süd Tirol ( Italy ). It is one of the most popular treks in the German-speaking Alps , and in high season , you cannot find a bed or even space on the floor of a mountain hut , but as this was Spring , the passes were closed , and it was just day walkers making their way up the road . As I crossed over the wooden bridge , I got a stunning view of the Alperschonwasserfall .
The further you head up into the valley through the forest , the more you seem to go back in time ; in the 18th century , a small mountain hamlet with a population of 60 lived at the top of the Madau Valley . However , over the centuries , the hamlet lost its inhabitants until finally , in 2023 , only one person was registered as living there . His name is Klaus .
A little further upstream of the Alperschonwasserfall was a rocky outcrop by the side of the road where I could lean my kayak up against and finally take that couple of minutes break I had been promising myself the past ten corners ! The forest road had great cover , but it was still hot , and sweat was pouring down me . As I was taking more gulps of water , I saw a 4x4 jeep
in what we would call Hunters Green come up the road ; as it got closer , I saw that the young girl sitting next to the driver looked remarkably like Josefa .
By the time the vehicle stops , Josefa is waving , and with a big grin , I see her kayak in the back of the jeep . The driver was , in fact , Klaus . He was driving up to check to see if any wolves had taken sheep further up on the pastures when he saw Ute and Josefa walking along the track with the kayaks on their backs . He could not believe these two small girls were putting in so much effort to kayak through the gorge of his home river . So , with only space for one kayak , he put Josefa ’ s into the back of his jeep and promised Ute he would return to her .
PADDLER 33