Programm
Monday 20/27:
08.30 hrs -Depart Kristiansand for Byglandsfjord (Setesdal motel).
11.30 hrs – Arrive Byglandsfjord. Unload canoes and equipment
12.00 – 13.00; Basic paddling techniques, safety brief.
13.00 – 13.30; Load canoes
13.30 – 17.00; Canoe south, practicing techniques and river navigation.
17.00 – 18.00; Make camp (suitable river island) – improvised bivouac, latrine and cooking/group shelter.
18.00 – Prepare evening meal, free activities, fishing etc.
Tuesday 21/28:
09.30 – 16.00 Break camp and load canoes.
Paddle to Syrtveit dam. Portage canoes and equipment to Troll Aktiv. Make camp in Lavvo.
18.00 – Rafting
Wed. 22/29:
09.00 – Collect mountain bikes and depart for Kilefjord (20km)
11.00 – Collect climbing and bivvy equipment and make camp at Kilefjord. Improvised bivouac, latrine and group shelter.
12.00 – Climbing and top roping. Organising a crag for climbing activities.
20.00 – Prepare evening meal. Free activities
Thursday. 23/30:
09.00 – Break camp. Store all equipment by roadside and depart for cycle to UiA (70km) NB: remember to take money and house keys.
Notes:
1. Divide into 6 groups (inkl. Len) of canoe pairs, each group to have a novice and a more experienced paddler.
2. Canoe pairs may cook together or in larger groups.
3. Pack your equipment in two main loads; one for the canoe trip and one for the climbing and cycle trip. The equipment for the cycle/climb will be dropped off at Troll Aktiv. (To be loaded onto the Hiace at 1800 hrs the evening before departure, together with, PDF and paddles).
4. Carry a small, light daypack with your lunch and extra clothes on the cycle trip
5. You will need a sharp knife, minimum 5 meters of 4-5mm cord, a tarpaulin (3×4 for 2 pers). One, very large, tarpaulin for group shelter. Map case and compasss.
6. Remember to check times off local bus route, collective travel may be cheaper.
NB: Take sufficient clothing to be able to change dry each evening. The evening tempratures may drop below 0 degrees.
Your shoes will become wet when paddling, take a reserve pair.
When paddling wear woollen underwear and waterproof jacket and trousers.
We may adjust the program on Thursday if the weather forecast is very adverse (rain) and do the climbing session on Odderøya in the sun J
Day 1:
We started at Byglandsfjord with beautiful sunshine. The fjord was really calm and we practise the basic strokes.
The bow stroke: The paddle is drawn in a line parallel to the keel. We turn the paddle 90° and lift it out of the water
The draw strole: We use the stroke to change the direction or to rotate it. We draw the paddle and set it “far” away from the boat. To turn the canoe faster both paddlers do it on the opposite side.
The sweep stroke: We use it to turn the canoe away/towards from the paddlers side. We place the paddle as far as possible in the front and pull the blade in a semicircle on the way back.
After two hours the weather changed it got stormy and started to rain then to hail and at the end even to snow. Some of us struggled especially on the wide parts of the Fjord. We arrived at a beach and build our shelters for the night. We were quite wet and it got quite cold after a while, luckily the weather changed in the evening.
Day 2
We started in sunshine and canoed to the Syrtveit dam. On the way we practised some of the strokes in a little wilder water and learned how we paddle into Eddys (Eddy – area of usually calm water behind or downstream of an obstruction in the main current, where water flows counter to that of the main current)[1]. Every canoe-group had to lead the group to one island to practise our orientation skills.
In the afternoon we arrived at Trollaktiv were I took the possibility to go rafting.
Day 3:
After a comfortable night in a cabin at Trollaktiv we started to bike to a crag where we set up our shelters a climbed for the rest of the day and practise abseiling.
Day 4:
On the last day we dropped our luggage at the road and biked with our Daypack back to Kristiansand. The 50 km were mostly gravel and sandy roads not to bad, so that we didn´t get problems with our city-bikes. We arrived at Kristiansand around 15.00.
Learning outcome:
I had some experience in canoeing and biking so my personal learning outcome was not too big. But I learned the different names and the technical description and of the different strokes. That enlarged my teaching ability. At the Island and the crag it was really nice to build our own shelters so I could use my theoretical knowledge about shelters.
I personal enjoyed the climbing at the Kilefjord more than in Oderroyer. The group was smaller so the climbing was more instances. I noticed that our learning outcome is better in a smaller group.