Expeditions

Description

5 Day Canoe & Wild Camping Expedition:

An adventure break with a difference, we aim to provide an authentic expedition experience – not a fully catered and pampered holiday.

Expect this expedition to be a challenging, yet satisfying experience. We will guide you through the expedition, coaching you along the way so that you learn how to pack your canoe for travel, how to transport your boat and equipment on land (portage), how to paddle in different conditions and, how to wild camp whilst ‘Leaving no trace’ (amongst a whole host of expedition skills). By the end of the expedition, we aim for you to have achieved a personal victory, sense of accomplishment and a level of autonomy to be proud of.

Paddling tandem, we will start at Fort William and finish at the end of Loch Ness. This five-day Expedition will cover 85Km of Scotland’s beautiful landscape. Travelling tandem in open canoes you and will fully immerse yourselves into the adventure ahead – paddling during the day and wild camping at night!

Throughout the 5 days you will develop your expedition and wilderness travel skills supported by our qualified and highly experienced coach(s). Expedition travel requires lots of varied skills, and we’ll introduce you to as many as we can along the journey. We will teach you how to get the best out of your canoe, explore navigation & trip planning strategies, what to do with mishaps (on & off the water), how to set up camp (using the ‘Leave No Trace’ policy), how to use and set up tarps – in fact we’ll teach you as much as you can take in over the week.

For added adventure and increased learning opportunities we will always plan a day on the river Oich (Please note the river section of this trip is dependent on a number of factors and will be used at the discretion of your coach).

Each evening, once on dry land at our scenic camp locations, we will come together to prepare and devour our well-earned meals around the campfire (Campfires are subject to location and environmental considerations). The evenings provide a great opportunity to further develop our expedition skills, discuss the day, plan for the following day and make the most of the social side of canoe expeditions.

To generate the most authentic experience, this is a self-catering expedition. Planning and meal prep is a VERY IMPORTANT aspect of expedition paddling, so we encourage you to immerse yourself in the experience from the start, don’t worry though, guidance will be give. You will therefore need your own food & drink along with bowls, plates and cutlery for the week. Cooking stove and gas can be supplied.

We will start our journey with at least 2 Litres of clean drinking water per person and you will be able to refill most days from reliable water sources. It is also possible to collect and use water from the lochs & streams, another great learning opportunity, that your coach will provide guidance on this during the expedition.

What’s Included:

• 5 days canoeing across magnificent, famous Scottish lochs and waterways.
• A qualified and experienced Coach/Leader for the entire Journey
• 5 days use of canoes and paddling equipment (where needed)
• All safety equipment needed throughout the expedition
• 4 nights Wild Camping in stunning loch-side locations
• Transport by minibus taxi to the start point at Fort William from Dores
• Full and comprehensive kit list
• Meal planning advice
• Stove & gas (where needed)
• Tent, Sleeping Bag & Roll mat (where needed)

(Your tent needs to be able to cope with rain and wet ground conditions (3-4 season ideally) and your sleeping bag and mat needs to be able to keep you warm in cool and cold weather)

• Full joining instructions & kit list

What’s Not Included?

• Transport to & from the expedition meeting location
• Personal Clothing: waterproof outer layers & warm layers to paddle in, full set of spare canoeing clothes, change of clothes for each camp,
• waterproof shoes/boots with good grip, spare dry pair of shoes for camp.
• Personal plate/bowl/cutlery/mug/water flask (1 litre minimum)
• Cooking equipment & gas
• Food & Drink
• Mobile Phone & Battry Bank (optional)
• Waterproof Camera (optional)
• Spending money
• Alcohol (optional)
• A good book to relax with in the evening (optional)

 Pre-Requisites:

• NO prior experience required
• Ages 18 years + (Unless booking a private trip)
• Reasonable water confidence (non-swimmers welcome)
• Reasonable level of fitness (please ask if you’re unsure)

Additional Information:

Whilst it is an extremely rare occurrence,  please be aware that this expedition is subject to safe weather conditions and the overall safety of the group. Where conditions become unsafe or there is a medical emergency it may be necessary to alter our itinerary or route, or in worst case scenarios the expedition may have to be abandoned. Further information regarding expedition changes/abandonment & insurances against such instances can be found in our booking terms and conditions.