PADDLER 88
PADDLER 88
LOCH BA
As we paddled into the expanse of Loch Ba, the remoteness of Rannoch entrances. You soon lose the sound of traffic on the road. Views around are barren mountains, heathland and the odd few deer and stags on the horizon. For me, wild and remote is what I love about expeditions. Wild was also a good way to describe the weather, with the wind becoming a
strong crosswind gusting through the mountain pass and pushing us across the loch away from our small gap where the Abhainn Ba started. Tactics were implemented, and a quick box tow setup allowed us to sail swiftly across Loch Ba.
This trip is challenging because it requires mastering all the environmental factors of wind directions, water levels, and temperatures. In the first section of moving water, there was a game of dodgems with boulders and avoiding rocks just under the surface. The occasional‘ get out of the boat and shoe’ method was used. Eddy hopping to scout the lines, avoiding the rocks with a bit of read and run, was our technique to meander shallow waters to then be rewarded with a few rapids that took us down into Loch Laidon.
The winds provided a rapid sail for us on Loch Laidon with views back towards the iconic Buachaille Etive Mor and across vast nothingness, but to me, without sounding cliche, the nothingness was everything. As we reached the east end of Loch Laidon, the Garbh Ghaoir was the next section of moving water – at this point, we were hoping there would be enough water to paddle the whole section as the previous rock dodging was not appealing enough to be repeated.
In luck! There was enough water to paddle most of the Garbh Ghaoir. Getting out to scout and choose lines was needed, especially the last rapid into Loch Eigheach, steep with a few drops due to the levels. Ideally, there would have been more snow melt as there was an increase in temperatures in the lead-up to the trip, but this was not present due to the lack of snow. A cheeky line of the boats and a small portage down one rocky drop had us paddling into the loch in white water!
LOW WATER LEVELS
Having rapidly sailed the open water sections, we were making decent time and decided to push on and aim to camp on Loch Rannoch. A quick paddle, wind assisted being the common theme for us, we made it to the weir at Loch Eigheach, where we portaged and dropped down to the River Gaur. Sadly, the water levels were not there for us to paddle the Gaur. I am gutted, but having read up on the river, I think running it would have been great. However, the portage was an easy tarmac trolley, and we launched lower down on the river. Paddling into the evening, we pitched up on the south shore of Loch Rannoch on a stony inlet; not the most picturesque, but it worked! After a 32km paddle and an early start, dinner was cooked the next morning, and we headed into the tents.
Day two kicked off relatively relaxed. We had hoped again for some wind to push us down Loch Rannoch, although it wasn’ t as gusty as the previous day a good sail was still had. As we came to the end of Loch Rannoch, there was a small portage from the loch that went onto the river to get past the dam. It was a brief return to civilisation with a few people walking dogs and the odd look as we walked the canoes down to the next section onto the River Tummel and back to moving water. Next is a 3km paddle of read and run river, with storm damage still evident in the area.
Several trees and big stumps in and across the river had us picking lines and trying some tactics to get down safely. In higher water, this section would be a lot trickier to navigate. This section was shadowed with Schiehallion in the foreground – The Hill of the Faeries. A fun fact about Schiehallion is that it was used to help determine the earth’ s mean density in an experiment in the 18th century. Its iconic shape is noticeable from all sides of the Glens. The river entered Dunalastair Reservoir, where we had a floating lunch break before a chilled paddle went through to reach the dam.