Belgium 2022-03-06 - Ardennes - Packraft Amblève

It has been sunny for over a week now, and water levels at smaller rivers in the Belgian Ardennes have dropped significantly. Tom and I therefore decide to paddle the river Amblève, which is a somewhat larger river that still has a decent enough flow.

Temperature is -2°C and there is a cold wind blowing when we put in just after 10 am at the bridge in the center of Stavelot. Less than 100 m further, we already meet a small rapid and on the first part of today’s trajectory, there are many more to follow. Also fun are large boulders in the river bed at certain locations. Looking for eddies behind these rocks is good paddling exercise.

We carry around the Coo waterfall and continue paddling to the final take-out at Pont de Cheneux, where we arrive around noon. We have lunch and pack our rafts, the latter of which takes considerably more time than usual as our fingers have turned numb due to the wind chill.

The return hike immediately goes up steeply, and it therefore does not take long to get the blood circulation going again. We pass the village of Monceau and climb to the top of a hill with a large water reservoir. Unfortunately, serious construction works are taking place here to increase the capacity of the reservoir by 7.5%. These works are scheduled to last until 2026, so this area is best avoided in the years to come.

The descent to Coo is scenic and at the waterfall we take a break before to continue the steep and long hike up to the top of the hill at the other side of the valley. After enjoying the view from a lookout tower, we take on the last part of the hike, which slowly descends to the town of Stavelot.

In Stavelot, we pay a short visit to the market square and the abbey, and see a flock of cranes pass overhead. Around 5:20 pm we arrive back at the car, after having paddled 17 km and hiked 15.4 km, including 670 m of climbing.

(Stavelot: 12.8 m3/s)