Rain fell all eve and night in Lancaster and pretty much most of the Lakes. So we (Ant, Craig, Lil Tom, Jonny, Pilky and Rob) decided to head over to Sedbergh. A few of us had never paddled the upper Rawthey (me included) so we went there first, at the get out the Rawthey was flowing well. So I was a bit disappointed with the level at the top. I would say it was at the low end of medium and to be honest it was a bit of a drag. To give perspective of the level, at loop falls not all the rocks were covered. (unfortunately we didnt take any pics). I imagine with more water it would speed up the flatter bits and make the rapids more meaty.
After the Rawthey we headed up the other valley to the upper Clough (the water at the get out had to be coming from somewhere). As we approached we saw the good medium levels (the boof on the first drop was just on). With several fence portages and the portage around Lemmings fall as none of us fancied taking on the rather large hole that had formed at the bottom, this again was turning into a bit of a drag. However, the last 1km made up for it. With several ledges and 2 smaller drops (which saw some back looping action) we all got to the bottom with smiles on our faces.
Ant first drop on the upper Clough
Jonny
To finish the day off we quickly ran the shuttle to the lower section (avoiding the 4km of flat) and jumped on. We were faced with quality medium (high) levels. The lines were all nice a clean and the gorge was nice and pushy.
A little vid of the drop out of the gorge:
So to compare the levels we found to the gauges. Well the gauge is on the Rawthey below the confluence of the Clough and the Dee and from my observations there was definately more water being contributed by the Clough. I guess this will always cause a problem as I have been up there many times to find one of the 2 running but the other one not.
Gauge reading
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