In October 2022, I gave a couple of presentations during the evening program of “Dag van de Packrafter”, an event jointly organized by Outdoor Animation and Fagus Outdoor. The slide decks can be downloaded below in PDF format:
All is in Dutch, but pictures and maps largely speak for themselves.
Day 1: Amblève
If one likes snow hiking as well as packrafting, it can be a tough choice on days that offer good conditions for both, unless one tries to combine these activities in one single day trip… With the latter in mind, Tom and I settle for another tour of the Amblève river, composed of a hike from Cheneux to Stavelot across a plateau at around 500 m a.s.l. where we will hopefully find a decent snow cover, and a descent of the river Amblève from Stavelot back to Cheneux via Coo.
The weather is foggy, temperature is -5°C, and the time is 9:30 am when we leave the car behind at the take-out in Cheneux. We first follow a narrow trail along the river and then hike up to the villages of La Gleize and Roanne. After Roanne we enter the forest and snow thickens substantially while we continue to climb up the plateau. There is little wind, spruce trees are nicely decorated with snow and we hence quite enjoy the experience. At the end of the plateau, a relatively quick and steep descent towards Stavelot follows, while sun starts peeping though low clouds.
We arrive at the Stavelot put-in around 12:30 pm, enjoy our picnic at a WWII armored vehicle and start preparing for the river descent, while temperature rises to -1°C. The river descent is scenic and fun as always with several rapids, especially in the upper part.
In Coo, we portage around the 15 m waterfall, and then continue to Cheneux, where we arrive at 3:30 pm, after a tour of 28.5 km in all. This is definitely the quickest I have ever completed this Amblève tour, although it has to be admitted that the hiking route via La Gleize & Roanne is quite a bit shorter and less strenuous than the usual one via the water reservoirs at the other side of the valley. In the past I already recuperated 2 stray paddles from Amblève and this time I pick up an insulated cooler bag from a tree branch and leave it at the take-out. Hopefully someone will dispose of it properly.
(Stavelot: 14.5 m3/s)
Report > Belgium 2023: Ardennes
Day 2: Basse Lesse
While driving up to the Ardennes, Tom and I rethink plans when rain is forecast to persist for the better of the day in most river basins. Our original idea was to packraft the Our river in the very east of the country, but taking the forecast into account, we instead settle for the lower Lesse river, in the west of the Ardennes.
We put in well after 10 am and quickly paddle the stretch to Gendron. Right after Gendron, we make a short stop for pictures and then continue onwards. We pass the rocks of Aiguilles de Chaleux and paddle below the picturesque Walzin castle. The weir after the castle is easily jumped and somewhat further the slide at Pont à Lesse is also quickly taken care of.
We eventually arrive in Anseremme, take out, have a bite and pack up. As we hike towards the Freyr rocks after lunch, sun becomes more prominent. It’s a steep climb up the rocks, but we are rewarded with a couple of surprisingly impressive panoramas of the Meuse river valley and the castle of Freyr at the other side of the river. After the rocks, we hike over the plateau in a more or less straight line to Gendron.
Via a slippery and muddy descent through the woods, we arrive back at the river Lesse, cross the bridge to Gendron a while later, and eventually take the train back to Houyet. In the end, it was a good decision to choose the Lesse region for our tour today. We met no rain after putting in Houyet and enjoyed nice sunny spells in the afternoon with a temperature rising to 6°C. In all, we travelled close to 33 km by packraft and on foot.
(Gendron: 16 m3/s)
Report > Belgium 2023: Ardennes
Playful relaxed packrafting on the mountain lakes of Bohinj and Bled during a family trip to the Slovenian Alps in July 2022. During the same trip, we also did a descent by packraft of an easy section of the Soča river.
An intense solo daytrip of no less than 38 km, composed of a 17 km class II whitewater descent of the western fork of the Ourthe river (Ourthe Occidentale), 4 km of flatwater paddling on the Nisramont reservoir and a 17 km return hike across snowy plateaus. The day is murky and cold with a high steadily hovering around -2°C and a dusting of snow in the river valley.
After more than 10 days of river closure due to a water flow exceeding the allowed maximum, I am most likely the first to descend the river after its reopening. I fortunately do not encounter any obstacles and can make good progress thanks to a good current.
I manage to complete the entire trip in 7 hours and 45 minutes, which yields an average speed of almost 5 km/h. Quite impressive if I may say so, taking into account time lost due to transitioning from packrafting to hiking mode and short breaks to get something to eat and drink.
(Amberloup: 5.5 m3/s; Ortho: 17.5 m3/s)
Report > Belgium 2023: Ardennes
After abundant rains leading to local flooding in the valley of Poekebeek, the time has again come to embark on a descent of this watercourse from Ruiselede to Nevele. In 2020, we were likely the first ever to attempt this challenge by packraft, and since then it has become a yearly tradition.
Evert, Tom and I put in around 9:30 am on a day that is to start sunny and calm, but is forecast to turn blustery later on. Temperature is expected to hover around 6°C. All goes well during the first part of the trip with pleasant weather conditions and the usual small challenges in terms of low bridges and overhanging tree branches. While approaching the Poeke castle, short showers with gale force winds start to come in and at times make it quite hard to stay away from barb wire lining the river bed.
After the Poeke castle our trip continues under similar conditions: sometimes bright and sunny, and sometimes terribly windy with rain showers. However, light is intense and the scenery is lovely. We don’t bother making a stop for lunch, and around 2 pm already arrive at the take-out in Nevele. As usual, a bit of acrobacy is required here to get out of the water properly.
As a conclusion it can be said that under today’s conditions, this is not a trip for packrafting novices, as it presents a real physical and technical challenge. Manoevering between tree branches, logs and barb wire while being pushed aside by strong gusts of wind, is not a trivial thing.
Report > Belgium 2023: Flanders
One of the best packrafting + hiking day tours in the Belgian Ardennes consists of a descent of the river Amblève from Stavelot to Cheneux via Coo, combined with a return hike over the hills. This tour is 32 km in all and requires 650 m of climbing.
On a partially sunny December day, Masha and I set out on our Amblève tour. Temperature is around 8°C and there’s quite a good flow, not too far from the allowed maximum. We put in at 10 am and pass through many fun rapids until arrival in Coo, where we have to portage around a 15 m high waterfall. After Coo follows a stretch that is still quite scenic, however with less rapids. One kilometer or so before the take-out, we make a stop for lunch.
We take out at the Cheneux bridge at 1 pm, pack up and start hiking through forests and meadows. We climb a hill and descend its other side to Coo. After Coo follows another steep hill, after which there’s a gradual descent until Stavelot, where we arrive at 5:30 pm while evening falls.
Report > Belgium 2023: Ardennes
2022 has been another great packrafting year with a fine harvest of packrafting videos, shot in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Slovenia and Finland. Not every trip has resulted in a video though, so the overview below is only a subset of the trips I’ve made.
January
February
March
Several packrafting trips, but no videos.
April
May
June
Several packrafting trips, but no videos.
July
August
Several packrafting trips, but no videos.
September
October
November
No packrafting trips!
December
Report of two day tours, the first packrafting and hiking the Ourthe river valley between Nisramont and Maboge, and the second packrafting the same river from Barvaux to Hamoir.
Report > Belgium 2022: Ardennes
During the recent cold snap, I made not one but two gorgeous hikes through the snowy High Fens, totalling close to 60 km. A full picture report is below. Just too bad that perfect conditions like these are becoming increasingly rare.
Report > Belgium 2022: High Fens
The first winter snow has fallen in the very east of the country, and I embark on a snow hike in the frigid early morning hours with a temperature of -7°C. Weather-wise, expectations are not overly high, as fog is forecast for the entire day. The plan is to first hike along the border with Germany and then make my way along and through a large area of bogland.
Very much to my surprise, the fog lifts and conditions become gorgeously sunny. Although there is only up to 10 cm of snow, a true winter wonderland is unveiled.
At the end of a fabulous day and 27 km of hiking, I return to the car around sunset.
Filip H.A. Claeys 