Belgium 2021-11-01 - Ardennes - Packraft Vierre
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 11.43 nm
- Elevation gain
- 778 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 778 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,285 ft
- TrailRank
- 21
- Min elevation
- 1,036 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 5 hours 59 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1455
- Uploaded
- November 2, 2021
- Recorded
- November 2021
near Martilly, Wallonia (Belgique)
Viewed 132 times, downloaded 3 times
Itinerary description
After two pretty lousy days with rain and wind, dry conditions and a bit of sun are to return on All Saint’s Day. Evert, Tom and I therefore drive up to the little village of Martilly in the Belgian Ardennes to descend the river Vierre by packraft.
We put in at 10 am and first paddle through an open landscape along the village of Martilly. After a tight bend of almost 180°, we enter the woods and arrive at an obstruction caused by a number of fallen trees. Luckily, there is a narrow but quite feasible passage to the right. The remainder of the stretch through the woods is uneventful, but nonetheless very scenic thanks to autumn foliage being at its peak.
We arrive at the village of Straimont and pass under 2 large bridges before again returning to nature. After a number of meanders, we arrive at a small, low bridge. Evert and I manage to pass under, but Tom has to carry around it.
We again enter a densely wooded and beautifully colored zone and have a little fun at a short whitewater section at an old dam. In the meantime, it has become quite sunny and we have a break for lunch. Similarly to last week on Semois, temperature is around +10°C today.
After lunch, we continue paddling and eventually arrive at an obstruction with fallen trees that is impassable. Evert pulls out a small saw and attempts to cut a log, but almost immediately the blade of the saw breaks off. He makes another attempt using my river knife, but this doesn’t work either as the knife lacks sharpness. Using combined forces, we then try to pull the log, however also to no avail. In the end, we simply give in and carry around the obstruction.
During the rest of the descent we play around a bit with a football that got stuck at an obstruction. It’s good fun and also a good way to test one’s paddling skills.
Eventually, after having paddled a good 13 km, we arrive in Suxy, take out and pack up. The return hike is straightforward and as scenic as the rest of today’s trip. At 4 pm, we arrive back in Martilly. Total distance covered today is 21.5 km.
(Straimont: 6 m3/s)
We put in at 10 am and first paddle through an open landscape along the village of Martilly. After a tight bend of almost 180°, we enter the woods and arrive at an obstruction caused by a number of fallen trees. Luckily, there is a narrow but quite feasible passage to the right. The remainder of the stretch through the woods is uneventful, but nonetheless very scenic thanks to autumn foliage being at its peak.
We arrive at the village of Straimont and pass under 2 large bridges before again returning to nature. After a number of meanders, we arrive at a small, low bridge. Evert and I manage to pass under, but Tom has to carry around it.
We again enter a densely wooded and beautifully colored zone and have a little fun at a short whitewater section at an old dam. In the meantime, it has become quite sunny and we have a break for lunch. Similarly to last week on Semois, temperature is around +10°C today.
After lunch, we continue paddling and eventually arrive at an obstruction with fallen trees that is impassable. Evert pulls out a small saw and attempts to cut a log, but almost immediately the blade of the saw breaks off. He makes another attempt using my river knife, but this doesn’t work either as the knife lacks sharpness. Using combined forces, we then try to pull the log, however also to no avail. In the end, we simply give in and carry around the obstruction.
During the rest of the descent we play around a bit with a football that got stuck at an obstruction. It’s good fun and also a good way to test one’s paddling skills.
Eventually, after having paddled a good 13 km, we arrive in Suxy, take out and pack up. The return hike is straightforward and as scenic as the rest of today’s trip. At 4 pm, we arrive back in Martilly. Total distance covered today is 21.5 km.
(Straimont: 6 m3/s)
You can add a comment or review this trail
Comments