It's been a long time since I posted anything here. Back in March, my wife, Alison was taken to hospital and our little world turned upside down. She's not back at work yet but making better progress now, so when Kev phoned last Friday as he made his way back from a particularly fruitless meeting in Aberdeen to say he needed to spend a night under the stars, I was very pleased when Ali said she could cope with looking after the boys by herself for a night.
We launched the boats from a new spot that holds some promise, but needs a few tweaks. especially for Kev in his Yak. We set off about 1900hrs and took a gentle pace downstream. Having a good yarn and enjoying the scenery. Much to our surprise, about fifty yards ahead of us I could see something break the surface of the river, could it be I thought? As it moved about more and played on the surface it became clear that yes, it was an Otter. The first I've ever seen in the wild. Chuffed to bits doesn't cover it. If it poured with rain from this moment onwards I'd have still had a great time.
We figured that we ought to gathering some firewood, or it might be a somewhat bleak evening under the tarp. With plenty of fuel available I started to fill Jus Chillin with some good dry wood, standard fair on these little trips really, especially after the river has been in flood.
We explore the back of a couple of islands near to where we'll camp to get the last few bits of fuel required and found a nice little sun trap.
Only a few hundred yard to our camping spot, a little trouble for Kev to exit his yak, inelegant, but not insurmountable.
The canoe out and on it's side with the tarp over the top to provide our simple shelter, this was home for the night. This image showing Kev still snoring in the morning.
Kev had managed some classic squaddie foraging before making his way to the launch point. A Pot Noodle, tin of tomato soup, tin of rice pudding and a tin of sausages and beans. Sadly, no tin opener. I'd not planned to eat that evening having eaten with the family before leaving, so I only had some snacks to go with a pint of cider and some bacon for breakfast. Still, we chilled and chatted by the fire, watching the stars and talking about the things we'd like to do, but are not that likely to achieve.
With Kev's kit on the left and mine on the right, you can see who's more geared to stealthy nights out and who's a member of the mountain rescue team. Kev managed to chew his way into the tin of beans and sausages to complement the bacon, which was cooked on the Dr Zarkov stove. Then a leisurely pack away and back to our better halves.
Our batteries recharged and in better frames of mind. Though I am looking forward to being able to do this with the family again. Soon I hope!
Al
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