Four go Mad on the Ysgir.

Four nutters......, sorry, intrepid kayakers, Hywel, John C, Emlyn and Rob, with more gear than sense, ran the Ysgir on Sunday 22 November.

After insepcting the Tarell, which was running very high at the bridge to the industrial estate just outside Brecon, it was decided to do the Ysgir on the basis that it might be a slightly easier run, given water levels. Yeah right.

The put-in is at Pont-Faen, with Hywel opting for the busier start on the Ysgir Fach which led almost immediately into a meaty stopper just above the bridge. The other 3 opted for a lower get-in on the Ysgir Fawr, just 50 meters below.

The river was very high (1.7 on the gauge at the get-out) and running fast. Trees and branches were the main hazard in the channel, together with Hywel's dodgy eyesight, and he was supposed to be leading! At the first obstruction Hywel went river left under the arch of a branch but boofed on another just below the surface; after that little surprise the others went river right and limboe'd under the branches. Eddies were proving something of a challenge - well at least to Emlyn and Rob. The next incident was Emlyn getting pinned against a tree in an eddy which he only just made. Judicious use of throw lines managed to extract him from that without too much bother.

A few Km later two drops in rapid succession were scouted, the first quite small but followed almost immediately by a gnarly river-wide drop with a really meaty stopper at the bottom. Hywel ran first and had a wobbly drop just left of centre but managed to recover. Rob ran next a bit more to the right but was stopped almost dead in the stopper with his boat almost vertical. A few frantic strokes saw him manage to get out. After seeing those two narrow escapes John and Emlyn decided to portage.

Eddies continued to be the trip's nemesis, and with Hywel and John safely in two eddies on opposite sides to the river, Rob watched Emlym miss the eddy river right and capsize as he hit a tree, shortly followed by Rob who was also taken down to the green room, missing the same eddy because he was too busy watching Emlyn. An extended swim followed for both, with Hywel and John helpless, given the flow. Eventually, both managed to self-rescue with both boats and paddles - quite miraculous given the conditions. We re-grouped in an eddy river left with Hywel considering walking the remainder but John, in his best Scottish brogue, saying we didn't have far to go and it would be OK. The other two were too traumatised to speak.

We scouted the next series of drops in a tree-lined gorge and decided to portage - a wise move in all the circumstances. We continued for a few K with lots of wave trains and very wobbly entries
into eddies, particularly from Rob. It didn't seem long before a shout from Hywel told us we were upon the weir at the get-out at Pont ar Ysgir. It looked lethal with a big towback and had risen to 1.9 during the trip - so we got out above and finished the trip with a change in the pouring rain.

But all became well with a drink in the pub at Libanus.