With only few days left of the Russian leg of the expedition, we decided that we would try and fit in one more river; The Chulcha. This 8km run needs a 100% walk in and starts at the base of one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Altai. The plan was to walk in that day with the boats and then walk back down again to camp. In the morning we could then quickly walk back up and paddle down the same day. This may sound like a lot of unnecessary walking but it meant that we would be able to paddle the river with empty boats which was proving a rarity on the trip so far.

We arrived at the confluence of the Chulcha and the Chylshman mid-afternoon and proceeded to paddle across and carry our boats upstream. The carry up was tough but it gave us a good chance to look at the river on the way up and we were enjoying the exercise in yet another spectacular Altai valley.

As the evening followed we dumped the boats and headed back down to the confluence where the truck and our tents were waiting. On arrival at the confluence it was almost completely dark; this made the swim back across the Chulyshman rather more daunting. We all made safely to the other side and got our heads down, excited about the coming day.

We woke up early the next day, kitted up and yet again swam across the Chulyshman (a little easier this time!). We hiked to the boats where Dave and Graham decided to be purists and walk up even further to the highest boatable point. The rest of us were feeling rather lazy and lowered down to the river from where we stashed our boats. This lead to some unforeseen delay which meant that we only got on the river at 3:30 pm!!

With all the hard work behind us we finally could get on and enjoy kayaking the river which did not disappoint. 8 km of grade 4/5 pool drop in a spectacular setting kept us entertained all the way back to the confluence. An excellent river to finish the Russian Altai on.

For more Chulcha photos, click here.