An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 32 | 32 | by APTCE DANIEL O'BRIEN PHOTOS CPL DARREN CLARKE AND APTCE DANIEL O'BRIEN F our members of the DF Kayak Club took part in an amazing three weeks kayaking in Nepal from 29th March to 19th April, where they paddled over 400km with a drop of over 2,300m. The trip was part of a Level 4 river leadership training course. Late in 2013 some members of the DF Kayak Club became interested in organising a trip to Nepal, and after months of preparation and organising, a group of four headed to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. We arrived with our gear via three different routes over 24 hours, picked up our rented boats, and travelled from Kath- mandu towards Pokhara hitting the Trisuili river en route: a nice warm up river with a few sticky holes. The next day we headed to the Kali Gandaki for three days, where we tagged along with a raft trip that was heading that direction, solely for food and transportation. Here we tackled some nice grade 3-4 water, and with temperatures pushing upwards of 30º the cold glacial melt water was welcome. We returned to Pokhara and headed 40mins up the road to run the Upper Seti twice in one day, a fun little river with great potential in slightly higher water. We pushed back east the next day to the Marsyandgi River for a further three days, running the top half twice and bottom half once, an amazing non-stop, three-hour, white-water ride. We then headed back to Pokhara followed by a rest day to pack for the Karnali, probably the most famous, largest and remotest river in Nepal. We were told by local kayakers it would take a minimum of six days to cover its 180km. The locals also warned us of tiger footprints in the sand and monkeys stealing our food! Taking a 19-hour bus ride from Pokhara to Surkhet, followed by another six-hour bus ride to Dungheswar, we hit the river about 3pm and paddled for three hours before camping up. The next day comprised an 80km stretch through a remote canyon with no villages or road access apart from the odd rope bridge. Locals that we encountered in handmade dugout canoes were amazed to see people with white skin. Solid grade 4 and 5 water ensued, with large breaking wave trains, side sweeping waves, sticky holes and siphons, and the sheer volume of water was unlike anything we had ever paddled. Start- ing at 8am we pushed hard to cover another 80km stretch of fast- moving, flat water, with some serious wave trains and rapids. We hit Chisipani at 4pm and the sight of a massive concrete suspension bridge was a relief. Here we caught a bus packed with people, tying our boats and ourselves to the roof for the night and arriving back in Pokhara early the next morning. After a day's rest we decided to head back to Kathmandu and go out to the Bhote Khosi River, a nice, tight, gorge-type river that is more like an Irish river, and ran it twice over two days with bungee jumps and a canyon swing in-between, then back to Kathmandu. On our last day we had decided to hire a jeep ($25pp) and take a seven-hour journey back to the Upper Marsyandgi, easily the best river we have ever run, although it has a dam halfway down, which is why it is split into two sections. A second dam is currently under construction on the upper sec- tion. With two slip-ups (swims) on the last day we got back in the jeep and headed back to Kathmandu before catching our separate flights and heading home. Overall, it was a trip of a lifetime and well worth a venture for anyone willing to do it. There are some horror stories but don't mind them; just keep your diet mainly vegetarian and use plenty of hand sanitizer gel. A short film of our trip can be found at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bNcCAquRy To find out more about the DF Kayak Club contact Comdt Ian burke on ext 2994 or email ian.burke@defenceforces.ie Put-in on the Trisuili River: (l-r) Aptce Daniel O'Brien, Cpl Darren Clarke, Pte Raymond Ryan and Comdt Ian Burke. Full kit to be worn and carried in boat for Karnali trip. Photo by Daniel O'Brien Comdt Ian Burke and Cpl Darren Clarke trying out a local's kayak made from a plastic pipe! Scouting Big Brother Rapid on Kali-Gandaki: Ray Ryan and Daniel O'Brien. Photo by Darren Clarke

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