The Paddler Autumn/Fall issue 2017

ThePADDLER 94
Carrying the big food bag, he’d slipped on a relatively simple
bit of path, and turned his ankle. Badly. It was unclear if
he’d be able to continue
Femundsmarka National Park, and after a short
portage out of the big lake, we found ourselves
at the start of what we expected to be the most
challenging part of the trip.
The Roa River links Rogen and Femunden, the
two huge lakes that dominate the region.
Dropping only a 100 metres or so, it’s a string of
small lakes and short river sections in its first
part, followed by a couple of bigger lakes. The
last part is all river, and we knew this would
include some impassable rapids, for it has the
largest proportion of the overall drop within a
few short kilometres.
Our first rapid was marked by one of the
trademark wooden suspension footbridges of
Scandinavia, and formed a grade 2 rapid of
about 50 metres in length. We ran it in turn, Paul
going solo as Dris gave safety cover below, it
being our first proper rapid of the trip. This was
followed by a wonderful series of lakes linked by
similar short modest rapids.
We were really enjoying ourselves now, reading
and running the rapids, or whoever was leading
hopping out for a quick inspection as required. This
was one of the highlights of the trip for me, proper
expedition travelling, not knowing what was
coming next, but finding amenable grade water, all
the time surrounded by this most amazing
landscape of trees, moss and lichen-clad rocks.
The next rapid was longer, the drop on the map
greater, and it was time for a proper inspection.
Walking, with difficulty, along the banks, it was
clear it was a step up in difficulty, and too much
for us to run in laden open canoes. A continuous
grade 3 at least, with more than a few rocks to
dodge. Time for a portage. By now we were