Prior to starting my season with Disney in Norway, I took a detour south to Italy and France for a little personal adventuring. David was freshly accepted into medical school at Wake Forest and ready for adventure as well so we made a plan to meet up in Milan, Italy with gear to kayak and climb and few set plans beyond that. After arriving in Milan, we picked up our rental car and installed the finest set of racks available...
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| David dragging his kayak out of the Milan Airport |
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| 2x4 Racks installed and ready to roll |
After a night at a nearby hotel, David and I hit the road enroute to Grenoble, France, the home of my good friend Antoine Dupius whom I met nine years earlier on a kayaking trip in Ecuador. He happened to be in town for a few days and offered us a place to sleep and people to go kayaking with. We figured that was a great way to start off our Alps adventure.
We literally pulled up to his apartment to find Antoine and a bunch of his friends loading up their kayaks to head out to the river. We had initially thought we'd miss them, but were stoked to find that our first day in France would include a run down the beautiful Bonne River.
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| Enroute to Grenoble! |
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| Bonne River Kayaking |
After getting off the river, Antoine had prepared a small gathering of friends at his apartment and it definitely lived up to every expectation I had for my first night in France. Delicious wine, cheese and bread were on the menu. We spent the evening sitting around the table enjoying time with friends, both new and old. I may not have understood every word, but I loved every minute of it.
At some point in the evening, Antoine got a call saying that the Verdon Gorge would be running over the next couple days. At the time, I had never even heard of the Verdon Gorge, but Antoine's description of the "Grand Canyon of Europe" had me salivating. Twenty something miles of Class 3-4 rapids in a deep gorge filled with caves and steep overhanging walls. It sounded like a kayaker's heaven and I had to go. It is somewhat in the middle of no where and we knew it was going to be out of our way by hours, but with the Antoine's description, David and I both knew it would be worth it.
The next morning we woke up and took care of some errands before hitting the road yet again to the town of Castellane, the put in for the Verdon Gorge and where Antoine's friend and Verdon Gorge local, Maxime Raux lived. The drive took around five hours, and knowing that we would not be boating that day, we took our time getting there, stopping in cute villages and enjoying the scenery along the way.
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| A scenic view of the road into Castellane |
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| Enjoying a french espresso and dessert |
We went to bed at Maxime's knowing we were staying in a pretty house in a nice spot, but when we woke up we found ourselves in this amazingly beautiful and historic home, with breakfast ready in the outdoor courtyard. It was dreamy.
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| A side view of the house |
After breakfast it was time to get on the river. We loaded up our boats and were off to the put in. David, Fabion (another friend of Antoine's joining us) and I were super excited for our first Verdon Gorge experience. Maxime explained that no matter how many times he does the river, he is always blown away. The river delivered in every way.
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| A view of the Verdon Gorge from above (Photo by Maxime Raux) |
The first few miles were a nice warm up before we began to head deep into the gorge. Be forewarned, no pictures will ever do this place justice. The pictures included are just a small glimpse into what is a truly spectacular place.
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| David dropping into the gorge |
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| David heading into the darkness |
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| Me heading into the first cave rapid (Photo by Maxime Raux) |
After paddling a little ways, Maxime told us to follow him up into a side creek that contained narrow passages and steep walls. The water was a beautiful dark green and super peaceful. We took our time exploring the area and appreciating its beauty; recognizing that without a kayak, it would be almost impossible to see this place.
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| The side creek |
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| David floats through a narrow passage |
After spending some time in the side creek, it was time to run more rapids. We quickly came upon the second cave rapid, this one significantly more difficult than the first. It was quite the sight to watch everyone drop into the darkness of the cave, disappear, and then emerge out the other side.
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| David enters into the second cave drop |
Besides the cave rapids, the other spot that is notorious on the Verdon Gorge is a place where the river literally goes underground through a pile of rocks. It's basically a big sieve that at lower water levels is completely runnable. Our trip had higher than normal water however, so it was not possible. We still took some time there checking out the spot and imaging what it would be like to paddle through it. No doubt one day I will return to this amazing place and hopefully get that experience.
After portaging around the sieve, we seal launched back in and continued on our way through many more fun rapids. The over 2,000ft high limestone walls continued to blow us away.
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| David and Maxime sitting on top of the sieve that is sometimes paddled |
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| David seal launches back into the river after our portage |
Eventually, we came to the last rapids on the river. Sad to see the experience coming to an end, we made sure to fully take in our surroundings with big smiles on our faces as we made our way through the final rapids.
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| David moving through one of the last rapids of the day |
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| Maxime celebrating another successful descent of the gorge |
The day is not over once the rapids end because the river then flows into a big lake that requires a few mile paddle out. Thankfully, even though the rapids ended, the scenery stayed pretty spectacular all the way out on the lake.
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| The beginning of the lake |
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| A view of the lake paddle from above (Photo by Maxime Raux) |
I cannot say it enough... The Verdon Gorge should be on every kayaker's bucket list! Thanks again to Maxime and Antoine for all their help in making this trip down the Verdon Gorge happen!
Stayed tuned for the next installation of "Adventures in France" when David and I head to Les Calanques to climb next to the Mediterranean Sea!
