Returned from the Verdon Gorge

… alive and safe!

It has been a long time that I had enjoyed a longer trip so much. I’ve been packrafting the Verdon river from close to its headwaters in the Alps till deep in the gorge and encountered a lot of whitewater stuff up to class IV for kayaks. The hiking part was at least as enjoyable. A few snapshots of me while taking a swift class III rapid on the swollen Verdon:

You probably want to know how this rollercoaster ended? Sorry, you should wait the trip report. I’ll start writing very soon. 🙂

Note: No helmet, no proper PFD, no wet/drysuit and solo in PR4+ whitewater. I know this is not safe and I’m not proud of it. If you copy, you’re crazy too! You can be sure, this will have been the first and only time for me. 😉

Leaving for the Verdon Gorge

No time left for an extensive gear list, just a short note that I’m leaving for an 11-day trip hiking and packrafting in and around the Verdon Gorge in the French Alpes de Hautes Provence. Those of you interested in my gear list can try to analyze the photo below.

I’ve been composing my own dehydrated meals for dinner during the last days. They are based on potato powder, rice and millet. I’ve changed my tour bread recipe a little bit. For the first time I’ve tried to make the bread with liquid stevia instead of sugar and I notice that this is giving a considerable difference. The bread is now much softer and crumbles easier.

I’ve thrown a thick layer of insulated clothing in the packlist. Temperatures will be struggling to reach 10°c during the first days and since I will be descending the Verdon river in my open Yak, I risk to get wet and cold much faster. The planned trip includes more hiking than packrafting and so I prefer my lighter open Yak however.

I feel like a child now, starting with something that seems like new again. It has been a while now since I’ve been making a more serious trip.

See you in May!