Summercamp 2023
Walking in a garden with angry Austrians
Day 1: Isel to Lienz
The first day of summer camp, at least for most of us, was spend paddling the Isel. For some of us our first experience on the rivers we paddle on Summercamp. Here Marlene will tell her story about her first Summercamp experience and first whitewater roll:
After having arrived the day before, all the Okawanians rose to tackle the first day of paddling – in my case my first day of a summercamp ever. I was simultaneously excited and a little bit nervous to what I was going to encounter. The Erft was nothing compared to the Isel which was rushing right next to our campsite. The plan was: paddle down to Lienz where the trailer was waiting. We split ourselves in groups of experienced people, all followed by a few newbies – or ducklings as we were told. Which made sense in hindsight since we really were a bit like ducklings, following the experienced people on the river. The starting point was right behind the campsite and the boats were easily carried there. I was in a group with Luke, and was following Elisa or Meike most of the time. A last check that I had everything and off we went.
I was met by a lot of water pressure (compared to all of my previous experience) as we went off, trying to get used to the feeling of being pushed around by water. I was also full with adrenaline for most of the time, compensating my lack of experience. It went relatively well. Even though I was quite scared, I managed to stay above the water but braces were my friends. In the beginning at least. At a more quieter place on the river it happened then.
My tilt was not correct and when eddying out of an easy eddy I flipped. Under water I was quite calm actually, focused even. „You know how to roll, just try it", I told myself. And it actually worked! I was so baffled but happy.
We went on, following the river downstream. We met another horizon and scouted what lied beyond. A big passage, I think i heard it was a III+ or a very easy IV and I thought, no, not today. At least not for me. And tried to find a way around the passage by foot.
I emerged in an old forest and met a fence. But where was the exit? I went along the fence and it more and more dawned on me that I must be inside the fence. I went towards a house and a garden where I saw two people just about to get in a pool. I went to them and apologized, trying to explain my situation. And that I only want to get out. „Where are you coming from? You’re not allowed to be in here“, the man snapped at me. „Get back the way you came", he said in a very angry Austrian dialect. After I explained myself a bit more, the woman finally let me out of their property and I was relieved. Everyone had fun at the passage and it was cool to watch. Continuing more downstream, we got closer to the city and I started to feel a bit more that we were already on the water for long. At the exit, I was scared, relieved and also happy. What a day, what a first experience.
- marlene
Rock your roll!!
Day 1: Isel to Lienz
We all know communication is the strong suit of many Okawanians… Who am I kidding? Of course, it is not, so here is the story about the first day of Summercamp again, however now from the perspective of Maartje:
On the first day of summer camp, we embarked on a journey down the Isel River from the campsite to Lienz. With high spirits and healthy excitement, I stepped into the boat. I had a delightful paddling group consisting of Jeroen, Rian, Thomas, and Jochem. Despite it being a calm first day on the water, I still found it quite thrilling. I needed some time to get used to the waves and eddies. It had been a while since I last navigated whitewater.
Feeling a bit tense, I followed my kind lead paddler. At times, the guys scouted the river, and Rian and I relaxed in the eddies. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining on our faces. We followed the river, encountering some rapids and small passages. At one point, a stream joined the Isel, and I thought of running it as I had been taught: just like exiting an eddy against the current at a 45-degree angle. What I had forgotten, though, was to edge properly. So, there I went... floep, underwater.
After a year of practicing my roll in the pool, I could now reap the rewards. My first attempt at rolling failed, but I surfaced on my second try! HOW DID I DO THAT?! SO AWESOME! I had just successfully executed my first whitewater roll! Fueled with adrenaline and confidence, we continued our journey.
Just before the end of this trip, there was a Class IV whitewater passage under the bridge. Our group got out to scout it. After determining our lines, I followed Jeroen down the rapid. It was quite nerve-wracking, with some towering waves. At the top of one wave, I struggled to keep my kayak upright. I rolled and felt the power of the water lifting me back up. Right in the heart of the Class IV rapids, I had done my second whitewater roll! How amazing was that!
With a proud feeling, I concluded this first day of summer camp. To top it off, I even received the "kei of the day" (rock of the day) as a reward.
- Maartje
The Drau is a river
Day 2: Drau
The second day of summercamp, a good time for the new(er) people to practice paddling eddies and swimming. Remko wrote a nice overview of everything that was practiced (and the rest that happened on summercamp):
The Drau is a river. The Drau is a river that Okawa kayaked on during summercamp. During the summercamp Okawa kayaked on a lot of rivers. The summercamp was in Austria. All the rivers Okawa kayaked on during summercamp were in Austria. Not all rivers could be kayaked on. Some rivers were too dangerous. The rivers that were too dangerous to kayak on were scouted. From some of the rivers that were scouted a scout TV episode was made. Scout TV were short videos that talked about the rivers that were scouted. Some people started to make Scout TV spin offs. Scout TV live was one of the Scout TV spin offs. Scout TV from home was another one of the Scout TV spin offs. Scout TV from home was made because some people went home early. Some people had to leave early but others stayed longer. The people that stayed longer had a summer camp after party. The people joining the summer camp after party paddled some extra rivers. Before the people joining the summer camp after party paddled some extra rivers they went to a klettersteig. During the klettersteig the people joining the summer camp after party saw a big waterfall. This waterfall that was spotted during the klettersteig had a big autoboof. During the klettersteig that the people from the summer camp after party were doing there was a storm forecasted. This storm hit the area hard. The storm caused a lot of trees to fall over near the tents of people that joined the summer camp after party. One of the trees fell on top of the cycle path next to the camping. This tree blocked the entire cycle path because it fell over. The people joining the summer camp after party had nothing to do. When people have nothing to do they sometimes start doing weird things.
Because the people joining the summer camp after party had nothing to do they started getting rid of the tree. Because the people joining the summer camp after party started getting rid of the tree the cycling path was cleared up. Once the tree was cleared up they could continue paddling rivers. Some people wanted to paddle more rivers in Austria but were unable to join the summer camp after party. The people who wanted to paddle more rivers organized a pre summer camp. The people that participated in the pre summer camp went to Austria before anyone else. Because the people from the pre summer camp were in Austria before anyone they had a lot of peace and quiet. The piece and quiet went away when the rest of the people participating in the summer camp arrived. When all the people that participated in the summer camp where in Austria a group photo was taken. This photo could only be made on one specific moment because at any other moment people would be missing. Every day a photo was taken of the people that won a stone. During the summer camp multiple stones were awarded each day to special people. There were three stones that were given to people each day. One of the stones was for the person who did the best action that day. The second stone was for the person who did the dumbest action that day. The last stone was awarded to the person who was the naughtiest that day.
A lot of stones were given to a lot of people. Sometimes people were happy to receive a stone. The Drau is a river. The Drau is a river that Okawa kayaked on during summercamp. Often people were less exited about winning a stone. Every day people got to vote for who they wanted to win a stone. The stones were found while kayaking on a river. A lot of rivers that were kayaked on during summer camp had a lot of stones in them. The rivers that had a lot of stones in them could sometimes be quite annoying. Some rivers had really shallow water. If the rivers with shallow water had a lot of stones in them they would often be annoying to kayak because you would ride on the stones. When kayaking on a river with shallow water and a lot of stones your boat will get damaged. When your boat gets damaged by shallow water and a lot of stones you could get some emotional damage. The emotional damage you can get when your boat gets damaged by rocks is the strongest when you have a new boat. Emotional damage is not the only damage you can get when kayaking on a river with a lot of rocks and shallow water. When kayaking on a river with a lot of rocks and shallow water you can get physical damage next to emotional damage. This physical damage is what can make kayaking on a river with shallow water and a lot of rocks annoying. During summer camp Okawa paddled on a lot of rivers with a shallow water and a lot of rocks. Okawa also paddled on a lot of rivers with less shallow water or with less rocks. The Drau is a river that Okawa paddled on during summer camp. The Drau is a river that I had to write a piece about for the Keerstroom. I forgot about the river Drau before I wrote a piece about the river Drau for the Keerstroom. Even though I forgot about the river Drau the Keerstroom committee wanted me to write a piece about the river Drau. The piece the Keerstroom committee wanted me to write about the river Drau had to be at least one thousand words long. This is the piece that the Keerstroom committee wanted me to write about the river Drau. I hope you enjoyed reading this piece that the Keerstroom committee wanted me to write about the river Drau. This piece about the river Drau is exactly one thousand and thirteen words long. One thousand and thirteen is more than one thousand. Because the piece about the river Drau is more than one thousand words long the Keerstroom committee will be happy with the piece.
- Remko
Yeah, not a lot of info about the Drau right? But if you have paid attention to the pictures, you could see that first we paddled an easy bit of river and then practiced paddling eddies on the slalom course. After two runs (and equally much walking) we finished with some safety involving throw ropes and some swimming.
Enjoying the view
Day 2: Lower Gail
While the newer people were paddling the Drau, the more experienced people were paddling the lower Gail. However, nothing spectacular happened on this river and they ended up entertaining themselves with carrying random blocks of woods and playing amongst themselves. To still give an impression of this river here are some pictures:
Paddling in front without lenses
Day 3: Lower Gail
The lower Gail was also deemed a good river for the new(er) people after the more experienced people tried it out yesterday. Rian even got to practice paddling in front on this river! Here are her experiences paddling in front without lenses:
After driving a beautiful mountain pass and even a bit off the road (see photos), we arrived at the river. It was a picturesque picture, beautiful mountains in the background, a babbling brook and some greenery. The stream itself was very calm, so the most important thing was to dodge stones so you wouldn't get stuck. Me and Meike were alternately forepaddlers, with Philipo, Ron, Albert, Meike and Remko (with a k) in my group. Meike paddled ahead in the beginning and soon we were switched. The route itself was quite long and about halfway I lost my lenses, which made the whole paddling ahead a bit more difficult, and at first I also thought it would be a better idea if Meike paddled ahead again. Finally I tried it anyway :).
Which led to some fun moments. The river split a number of times around an island. Left or Right, one of the two was deep enough to paddle. Without lenses in it was quite difficult for me to see which one was deep enough. And you guessed it, at one point I had chosen the wrong turn, Ron, Philipo and Meike wisely chose the other direction. Eventually, I was stuck on the stones and couldn't move, so I got out and got in a bit further. And Ron went the other way with the rest of the group. The next moment is again around such an island, I thought that the right would be the better option, but then I heard behind me from Ron that I had to choose left after all. And since I couldn't see much at the time, I relied on Ron. That was a very bad choice, again I was stuck on the stones. With Remko as a loyal follower. By the way, I saw Ron with Meike and Philipo paddling ahead on the other side of the island with a grin that was much too big on his face.
After this whole thing we had to go a little further and we continued to paddle because we heard the air rumbling.
- Rian
Beware of helpful slalom paddlers
Day 3: Isel to camping
At the same time the more experienced people paddled the Isel above the camping. Here Chiel’s impressions and the story about how he needed to be saved by a slalom paddler:
Even though a day of paddling can be great, it can still be a struggle to write something about it. Sometimes even for multiple reasons, the 11th of July is one of those days for me. The first reason is because I forgot I agreed to this and some of the details have slipped from my memory. The second reason I have tried to banish from my thoughts, but the 'knullige kei' won't allow me to forget it.
On the 11th of July we paddled a nice section of the Isel, a convenient section as well, because it ended at the camping place.
After a short trip to the put in, the water also didn't give us much time to wake and warm up and pretty much immediately picked up with a nice flow. With numerous trains of waves (‘golven treinen’ is a weird one to translate) and some nice drops, with or without holes, and some fun eddies it was a good time for everyone. In particular the start of the section, which was a bit steeper, was a blast, but the remainder was still very nice all the way up to the end which was formed by a bit of a nice play spot at the campsite.
However, for me personally a little bit past the halfway point disaster struck, not because I got hurt or anything, but because I flipped on an eddy line. This of course happens to all of us, but in my case I messed up my roll… twice… (or thrice depending on who you ask) and by the time I finally got myself together and did a proper roll Joppe managed to grab a hold of my boat and assist me with a hand of god.
It is a shame that I will have to carry for the rest of my days…
Overall 8/10 river, would recommend, very convenient, beware of helpful slalom paddlers.
- Chiel
Warning: Flood Wave
Day 4: Möll slalom course
Well, that was my first summer camp, but will definitely not be my last!!! All days are a bit muffled into one long super exciting day, so fortunately they had me writing about the Möll; apparently that river is a bit long, so here I can write about 4 very different fun times! Looking back, that river is really crazy, it has a giant variety of paddling experiences; you’ve got a slalom course which can be nice and calm, but within 5 minutes lose its Eddy’s and start flowing down with considerably more pressure. You’ve also got a “dobbering” river for some nice relaxing chit chatting, but then there is also a more exciting part for another day where Tom may warn certain people not to paddle in front ;), or perhaps even a part which, quoting Chiel, “is not fun if you end up in” as a conclusion to a long analysis of a small dangerous waterfall.
The first time on the Möll was the slalom course. Before entering there was a sign “Warning: Flood Wave”, hmmmm, that’s interesting. But according to our trainers for the day, it was nothing. So there we went, practicing our eddying in and eddying out, traversing, S-turns, and a bunch more, to get our skill level up! With trainer Tom, and of course an experienced fisher in the group, it was very relaxing and a great learning experience! Soon though, the “flood wave” came along; it was crazy, the water just rose about a meter within 5 minutes! So our eddy’s were kind of disappearing and that rapid at the end which would be better if we didn’t go down just kept seeming to get closer when we had to do our rolls, which unfortunately was quite frequently. Wow that was way less dramatic than how I explained it, but it was great to have such a change in the water; even more different kinds of practice! The end was the absolute highlight though; it was time to surf!!! And for some of us the first time ever to surf! One great big wave and a bunch of people taking turns eventually turned into a game of “king of the wave”! It was great to watch people like Tom, Mervyn, Jeroen, and Rick push each other out of the wave to eventually see them all fall out giving the beginners the title of “king of the wave”! It was great fun and unfortunate to see the time fly so fast… but it was a great learning experience and, most of all, super exciting! So, it was time to carry our boats up again; that one thing I really dread all the time on slalom courses! Thank god we’re getting better at using those Eddy’s; it saves us so much walking back up the course! But overall, it was an exciting, rewarding and valuable learning experience, to give use some skills for those harder rivers we would be paddling the coming week.
- Lynn
Getting lost on the Lieser
Day 4: Lieser
While the new(er) people were practicing on the Möll, the more experienced people paddled the Lieser. The person who said he would write a story about this day did not do this, so you are going to have to do with just some nice pictures. Although the picture of a club boat being stuck on a rock hurts my eyes. But if you want to know more about this day, ask Roderik ;). However, one tidbit is that the scout group at some point took the wrong turn and had to get out because they got themselves beached.
Lynn, do you want to paddle in front?
Day 5: Möll
After a night with a lot of rain there was a river change last minute. The whole group went paddling the same river, another part of the Möll. Here Lynn’s impressions about this river and how Chiel almost wanted a trial by fire:
The following day we got to paddle the Möll again, but this time, of course, something very different. After arriving at the put-in with a sign “Danger: 2 meter drop ahead” (wow this river has a lot of danger signs), we decided to drive to the waterfall. This time the sign was definitely a useful one! We began with a long look at that waterfall and discussion with Chiel about the gigantic rescue plan in case someone got stuck in the hole behind the dangerous man-made drop (yeah he really does seem to know everything about rivers and how to explain it to people who know nothing about them); this involved some towing up of humans from the bridge on top. But anyways, we got in after the waterfall, so no danger! Except…. Chiel asked if I wanted to paddle in front on this river; yeah sure, sound like fun I thought! But after Tom heard the plan he said that maybe it would be better if I didn’t paddle in front for the first part… it seems like that was a good plan, but either way, it was great fun!!! With lots of waves and a lot more water pressure than we were used to on rivers, it was a great challenge, but must of all just an exciting experience! Soon though, Chiel told me I could go in front again, but also told the rest of the group “If Lynn takes a bad line, I’ll signal you guys to go the other way and I’ll paddle after her to fix it”. I had no clue though, it was just a really exciting river with lots of new things! Taking a few Eddy’s along the way, but mostly just enjoying the river and of course the great view we arrived at the end way too quickly because that meant it was already time to get back out :(. Fortunately, the campsite is always great fun as well!!
- Lynn
A day of up and downs
Day 6: Isel to Lienz
As stated before, communication is a strong suit of a lot of Okawanians, so there is no retelling about the time when most new(er) Okawanians again went paddling the Isel to Lienz. A little birdy has however information over this day, some people got to practice going down rapids on their own. There are also some nice pictures taken of this day:
An accidental rescue on the Gail
Day 6: Upper Gail
While this was going on, the more experienced people got to paddle the upper Gail. Here Nyke’s story about an accidental rescue, the lifting experience of the Gail and more:
Two years ago, I was in the Lienz region with another kayaking group. We went paddling the Upper Gail, but as the waterlevels where high we did not paddle the entire section from Maria Luggau but entered at Klebas. Back then, I decided halfway down that I’d had enough excitement for the day. So I ended up hitchhiking my way back to the cars. Luckily for me, there where two friendly German paddlers going upstream who didn’t mind driving all the way down to the put-in where our car was parked. This year I would learn that hitchhiking is apparently part of the full Upper Gail experience, and that it isn’t always that easy. But we’ll get to that later…
First it was time for me to take revenge on the river. With the waterlevels being much lower I was confident it would be a success this time. We started at Xaveriberg, the put-out was set in Nostra, 11km’s to paddle. It was sunny and warm. A perfect day to spend in a forest gorge.
The first half of the section was really narrow with small eddies and lots of turns you could not see through. Ideal for practicing eddy hopping. Meike went up front in my group, supported by Tom she carefully guided us down the river. Knowing there would be at least 3 trees blocking the river at unexpected places, being careful was a wise decision. Tom took his role as a mentor very seriously, and we ended up reviewing quit a number of passages. Very educative, but also really slow. When we reached the first tree the scout-group helped us out of the water and we learned they had been waiting for us for over 1,5 hours already. They where glad the sun reached al the way into the canyon making the wait more comfortable. After this first tree the next two obstacles came quickly and shortly after the last tree we reached the halfway point. By then it was 15.40 already. We had to decide what to do; paddle further down or get out and hitchhike to the cars. Between this point and the planned exit there is no option to get out, so we had to be very certain of what we wanted. From here the river would widen a bit with lesser curves but also a bit steeper and there was still a possibility of trees blocking the river…
Elisa, Rick and Chiel decided to take their chances hitchhiking while the rest of us would paddle down. As they would probably be at the cars much earlier than us, I gave my spare car key to them so they could change clothes and pick up the boats before we got from the river.
The second part had to go a lot quicker if we wanted to get out before sunset. So Tom and Jeroen went up front and set the pace. It went very quickly and smooth with no tree blocking the river any more. Within 1,5 hours we reached Nostra, well before sunset and even in time for diner!
Did nothing noteworthy happen in the last part? Well, almost nothing, except for that time Meike rescued my from a tree without even knowing it…
There was a small but river wide drop formed by a tree under the water. I missed my boof and went deep. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but when my boat popped up I felt my boat going backwards into the drop. That was strange, the drop was not that big. When I tried to paddle forward I found out what was wrong. A paddle-thick branch of the tree lay on my deck pushing me backwards… Just when I was getting nervous about how to get away from it, I felt a big push from behind and slided along the branch. Who was my rescuer? Meike, she paddled behind me and could not avoid me anymore. Not knowing I was stuck in the tree she did not realize she had rescued me. A great save!
- Nyke
Grounding
General camp impressions
Summercamp was more than just paddling. Here some general camp impressions by Albert:
Little camp anecdote from me: One characteristic of this year’s summer camp was Lynn and I’s floating around without our phones causing both of us to have the catchphrase: “oh where am I paddling today?”. Multiple times we went to the lake or for walks without anything but a t-shirt and pants. One time Lynn and Remko managed to borrow a sup-board from one of the local children until they were attacked and soaking wet. After some time, it started raining, which resulted in Lynn and me both running back to the camp to warn about a rainstorm threatening to wet all of our drying clothes. It was nice though, living without a phone for a week or so. Grounding.
- Albert
Flipping in a wave train on the Isel
Day 7: Isel to camping
The last day before the first Okawanians already had to go home, so time to paddle a river altogether. This was the Isel to the camping, here Naud’s retelling of this day:
After the rain tonight, the rivers were full of water! So we all went of the Isel to the camping. Due to this rain, the more advanced kayakers could go from higher up, at St. Johan. The less advanced ones, like myself :), went in a bit lower. After a suprisingly short wait, we could join the advanced groups for the descent. Mind you, this was my first summer camp and I had never before paddled such a high volume river, so you can imagine I was a bit nervous. I told Jorn so and he assured me that I would be fine. He proceded to put action behind his words by leading us over the middle of a huge wave train, where several people flipped, me included. I liked being in the water so much, I wanted to stay in it, so the logical option was to take a swim. The rescue went rather smoothly, the only thing we lost was my trust in Jorns lines.
After having my heart returned from my throat, we went back on the river. This time Jorn would take less advanced lines. I stuck to the side of all the waves, which in hindsight was a shame :(, because they would have been really great. At the end of the trip I had regained my trust in Jorn and lost my fear for the waves again. I had to, due to the two holes we had to pass at the end, just before the camping. This time it actually went good. Some sick tricks were attempted and some succeeded. All by all, another great kayaking day!
- Naud
Those holes really don’t look that big
Hintere Isel
Sometimes after leading other Okawanians the whole day, the most experienced people want to go out and get some fun in for themselves. They did this a couple of time to the Hintere Isel. To get some impression about these trips, here are some pictures:
And see for yourself, those holes and waves really don’t look that bad right?
Scout TV Live
Day 8: Möll
Another day, another time paddling the river Möll. This time for the less experienced Okawanians. Here Lynn’s story about this day:
The last day on the Möll was, once again, a new experience! Today was a paddling day with the kandi board and Laureen! With a few rolls to cool off a bit, it was mostly just a day of bobbing around. Holding on to each other’s boats and just chit chatting down was the tactic we chose! It was great fun and relaxing with a Live version of “Scout TV” made on the way to let people know how dangerous the river was we were paddling. But after arriving at once again some large warning signs “DANGER: Get out after 500 m, 400 m, …”, just warn us to get out before the lake (wow, this river really does have danger signs for everything), we soon got out with lots of time left in the day. So, we decided to drive back to the slalom course for a bit more fun! Regardless of the countless unnecessary rolls, because I was actually way too tired, it was lots of fun to practice some more surfing and some other skills we’d been learning throughout the week! This time, getting out was a little less disappointing considering the amount of rolls was gradually increasing, but that little extra practicing was still plenty of fun!
So, there was a short description of some fun experiences on the Möll, a river with great variety, at least for us beginners ;).
- Lynn
Having some fun above a weir
Day 8: Lieser
While the less experienced Okawanians were paddling the Möll, the other Okawanians got to paddle the Lieser. Here Thomas’ retelling of this day and why it is important to pick your playspots carefully:
What do you do when all water levels start to get low again and you want to paddle something new. Exactly you go to a river which part of the group has already paddled but I had not.
To start we drove to the put-in for the Lieser which is under a highway bridge. Only I did not brake enough before I got off the road, so my car got a bit scratched… Luckily nothing visible 😊
Then after we all quickly changed, we got on the river in 2 groups of 4 people. To start the river seemed quite low for what it was, but it was still enjoyable. Slowly more water got in the river, but the rocks I was hitting had nothing to do with the water level, but with my inability to predict how long my new kayak is. You’d think that such a (comparatively) small kayak would now give that kind of problem, but when you still have to get used to another 30 cm of length suddenly you notice quite a bit of rocks you normally would have avoided.
The river itself was mainly a playing river a surf here a surf there and a lot of rock evasions. I think all of us got stuck at least once.
So we all paddled for a while until we got to the lunching spot. A great beach next to the slow river there, at which we could all cool down by swimming a bit and being “rescued”.
After we all had our lunches it was time to paddle further downstream. After a while the river starts to get pretty wide and is just a wide Erft for a bit, which is good since we actually paddle two sections.
After this slow part we got to the 2nd sections which is noticeably faster steeper and fun. This section alone is highly recommendable. At a certain point we got to a small ravine which you could scout from the sides. So, we all paddled to the sides only I decided that the small weir which was just above the ravine was a nice place to have some “fun”. Thus, I got to write this piece… In my defence I did not swim and there was no danger involved. However, I noticed that the water at this point was noticeable warmer, by a small lake stream which joined the river here.
The ravine entrance had a lot of different lines which you could try to make, so we all tried to one up each other by trying difficult lines. Only for almost all of us to fail the lines and having to do an alternative option. Some nice videos by Hugo were made here.
Then the last part was just paddling to the take-out after which we quickly changed and got going to the camping again.
All in all it was a great day on a great river and we had lots of fun!
- Thomas
Rick, what happened to your paddle?
Day 9: Deferregenbach
The last day of Summercamp everyone padded the Deferregenbach. However, not everyone could paddle every section, the new(er) people paddled the start together with the most experienced Okawanians. Then the new(er) people got out, leaving the most experienced Okawanians to paddle the hardest part of this river. The rest of this group then joined for the last part of the river. For this day there is no story, but it should be obvious who should have written this story, the person with a broken paddle… So, if want to hear more about this day ask a certain airplane! The paddling this day was nice, but not very eventful. Rian and Elisa hiked out after a few hundred meter and Ron rolled on the hardest part. Enjoy the pictures!
