Our friend Míra Oros was on his home river Bílina with packraft Ultima Cargo. It was his first encounter with packraft and he couldn't resist to write a short story...
Sunday adventures for fifty crowns
Some time ago, I heard from Honza Vlášek (my colleague Milan Jelínek called him the world champion in inventing "pussy", sorry for the dictionary, but it fits). He said that besides scooters he recently invented another fun - packrafts. Ultralight inflatable boats that fit comfortably in a backpack and can be used for everything. And if I don't want to try this kind of fun.
Paddler that I am, as far as making up the stuff written above I am also heading for the title, so I enthusiastically agreed.
Honza lent me a Cargo model from Ultima Packrafts. It's a single-seater touring kayak, pleasantly spacious, even equipped with a so-called Velcro splashguard, which prevents water from collecting in the waves. The design even allows you to carry a bike or scooter on the boat, which I definitely need to try.
The boat, folding paddle, accessories, and my personal and change of clothes fit comfortably in my old climbing pack. Originally I was going to head to the river by car, but when I put my pack on my back, romance took over and I made a dash for the train, which was twenty minutes away. My destination was the Bílina River, which I got from Ústí behind a beech tree and yet I hadn't yet taken a ride on it.
I caught the train, paid 45,90 CZK for the ticket to Ohníč (really! I'm not kidding!), had a snack on the train and after half an hour I was getting off at the start of my water journey. It was about 200 meters walk to the water. Unpacking, inflating the boat and preparing it for sailing took me no more than a quarter of an hour. It was helped by a larger mechanical pump, which I took this time just in case, for longer trips I would probably choose a smaller pump, or try to use the folding bag supplied with the boat for inflation.
And off I went. A 12 km long stretch to Rtyně nad Bílinou was waiting for me.
What can I tell you, it was beautiful. The Bílina flows quite nicely, the narrow riverbed, which is up to ten metres wide in this section, meanders nicely between meadows, hills and villages. The impression is slightly spoiled by the fact that the river flows through big towns, which is proved by the trees and bushes decorated with plastic bags and various rubbish after the recent floods, even here and there a tyre can be found, I even met one parked almara. Yet there is life in the river. Peacefully floating duck pairs are occasionally disturbed by the splash of a fish, herds of wild horses and bison graze on the banks, I even met three nicely plump nutria, your presence on the river will surprise the garden dogs guarding the gardens or the lady performing a little chore behind the fence (undocumented).
The inflatable kayak behaves very well on the water. It is clear that the construction with a flat bottom made of strong flexible plastic against punctures makes it a little difficult to keep a perfect straight course if the wind blows, the boat tends to turn easily due to its light weight. But you soon get to grips with the kayak paddle and find that the boat is very easy to manoeuvre. The seating position is very comfortable thanks to the inflatable bib and backrest. You can paddle in a sitting or semi-reclining position, or you can let yourself drift in the river current while enjoying the view or snoozing.Rocks or logs submerged just below the surface can be comfortably pushed through thanks to the really solid bottom of the boat. Getting in and out is very easy, even a less agile person like me can easily roll out of the boat after reaching the shore.
I covered the twelve kilometres in less than three hours, and I certainly did not overwork myself by paddling. Ten minutes after landing in Rtynia nad Bílinou, I was heading to the local pub U Potůčku with my backpack for a beer and drowning. And since my train to Ústí was an hour away, I ended my beautiful Sunday trip with a walk to the next station. I caught the train, the conductor did not show up, so the transport costs did not really exceed the fifty crowns mentioned in the introduction. I arrived home in daylight, but with the feeling that I was returning from a few days' holiday.
And a word in conclusion? I'm looking out the window right now, it's raining outside and it's really nasty. It seems almost unbelievable to me that it's only three days ago that I literally had a great adventure around the corner. I've snatched that bit of the day for myself, yet I have no qualms about it being at anyone else's expense. I can't wait to try out the combination of packraft and scooter, and to ride other Ultima Packraft models.
Díky Honzo!
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