Mountains and Boating - An exploratory adventure on a hidden river

A long time ago, whilst hiking in the mountains of Snowdonia, I came across a small man made channel of water that traversed the hillside. These 'leets' as they are know help to feed some of the mountain reservoirs in the area. At the time, it occurred to me that they could provide the prospect of an exciting boat trip, but the water looked too shallow and the width too narrow to accommodate a canoe. Back in the mountains last week after much heavy rain, I noticed that the water level was now deep enough and flowing quite fast. It was just a question of what craft would be appropriate? An inflatable dinghy was clearly the answer! A mini adventure plan began to form. Following a chance encounter with some other willing adventures in Llanberis yesterday, a team was soon assembled ready for a mission into the unknown!

But first we had the Tour of Britain to watch! We met up in a good layby near Capel to watch the action. It was a good choice with a decent view of the approaching bikers.

After motorbike, support cars and many many police motorbikes, the rider shot past at a terrific pace. Considering they had just ridden up the Llanberis Pass (after a quick lap of Anglesey), they looked remarkably fresh!

After all the excitement of the bike race, we checked our provision, equipment and supplies and set off on our expedition into the mountains on a quest for adventure! 

To start with, we had to hike up into the heart of the mountains, where we would gain access to the water.

Once located, we then had the task of inflating the boats. I had a pump with us, but unbelievably, Phil managed the task unaided! Once the flotilla was ready, we set off on the voyage. Phil in the 'Pro 100', Clare and I manning the helm of the 'Sittac Special 200' and Dan and Kate in the voluminous 'Outboard 300'.

The initial launch area, unfortunately proved a little shallow, but thankfully, this section was short lived and we soon found ourselves in navigable waters. After one of the team accidentally going overboard on the launch, we were off! With a light tale wind and a decent rate of flow, there literally was 'no going back!'

And so followed several kilometers of pleasant boating - or should I say floating...

The scenery was lovely and the channel constantly changed from concrete, to jungle, to undergrowth, to narrow slots, under bridges and around corners as we traversed the mountainside.

After one particularly shallow 'rapid', the sound of escaping air could suddenly be heard and we were both left with a 'sinking feeling'. We'd been holed! Quick thinking as ever, Clare produced the pump and we found that we could pump air in faster that it could escape and saved us from being breached!

Dan and Kate, about a kilometer from the end had less luck though when a seal burst! It all happened too fast and I don't think there was anything they could do except abandon ship! While they had to continue on foot, we towed the deflated remains behind us. That was until we started taking on water as well! A rapidly deflating gunnel meant that we were forced to hike the final few hundred meters to the egress, leaving Phil and the unstoppable 'Pro 100' to complete the first descent, while we hiked alongside offering words of encouragement.

We got Phil, and the saggy remains of our respective craft out of the water, just before the rapids and waterfalls that flow into the reservoir, then hiked triumphantly, back down to the valley, where we'd left a car to get us back to the start. Great day! Great team! Great adventures to be had on our doorstep... for those who are daft enough....