It began drizzling at Eagles Nest around daybreak. Not only did this make packing up a little annoying, but it meant that those who were not in tents or under tarps had to quickly find things to pull over themselves and their sleeping bags if they wanted to sleep in!
After breakfast we had to deal with the complicated and difficult job of moving gear and repacking boats. From the Eagles Nest we had to negotiate the awkward and risky descent, following the almost vertical path. We had to simultaneously hold onto the safety rope and carry our gear while working our way back to the river. David had opted to camp with his tent on his upturned raft on the other side of the river using his boat as a base for his tent and had an easier job to pack up his camp.

View of boats and David’s camp from the Eagles Nest
Literally right across the river from our camp was the start of the mandatory portage around the rapid known as the Cauldron. No sooner than we had finished packing our gear into the boats we had to unload them again. This first stage of the portage could only be done two boats at a time because there was only a tiny landing available. There was also a strong current that flowed into the Cauldron which had the potential to drag any waiting boats into the rapid.
After all the gear was unpacked and had been carried along the first stretch of the portage and all the boats were stacked in two neat piles on top of a huge flat boulder, we assessed the remainder of the rapid and the portage. At that point we began to formulate the beginnings of a plan to tackle the remainder of the portage which appeared to be almost impossible to negotiate, even on foot.
We had to be very cautious because this portage required passing gear from boulder to boulder through the middle of the rapid rather than on the bank around the rapid. Furthermore the boulders were wet, slippery and at steep angles. In addition to all this, we knew that a few years ago a rafter had died at this spot when he slipped into the river while portaging this rapid. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had been attempting exactly what we were about to try. It was clearly a time to play it safe and to take extreme care. Continue reading →