A day by kayak 1

August 3rd

Itinerary: Eglisau (Rheinsfelden) power plant – Laufenburg

Distance: 41.9 km, all by kayak but 2 portages of about 200 m (Reckingen and Leibstadt power plants)
Time: 5 hours (plus 1 hour 10 minutes for stops)
Vertical distance: 30 m downhill

After a night in the small historic town of Kaiserstuhl, Sally and I drive a few kilometres upstream to the power plant in Rheinsfelden. Getting down to the river was a little tricky, over a very stony ramp, but in the end we are able to put the one-seater kayak in the water and I can set off. 4 km further down the river, Sally is waiting on the road bridge at Kaiserstuhl to take photos. Sally also met me at both portages with a snack and a drink, and again at the end of the day’s trip.

Cloudy at the beginning, the day, the weather became progressively sunnier. River descent without incident, the current varied between 2-3 km/h and a maximum of 12 km/h (measured with the GPS). Many small eddies where the water wells up to the surface, not dangerous, but making it more difficult to keep a straight course.  At one point a notice board surprised me by announcing some rapids (which were not to be seen on the satellite photos) – well, there were some higher waves but all went well. For a few kilometres there was an unpleasant headwind, especially before Leibstadt. Otherwise it was a beautiful day that I really enjoyed.

At the Reckingen portage, there were 2 carts for transporting small boats, where we had to put a coin in a slot to release it, just like for supermarket trolleys. Very useful!

Photos:

1.  Setting off at Rheinsfelden
2.  Bridge at Kaiserstuhl and Burg Rotwasserstelz (on German side)
3.  Old WW2 bunker (on Swiss side, one of many)
4.  Arriving at Laufenburg