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The Gorges du Tarn - La Malene to Pas de Souci

The Gorges du Tarn - La Malene to Pas de Souci

27K3,045
Contributing Member
27K3,045

    Jun 28, 2017#1

    So, we came to our third day in the Gorge, after great paddles from Montbrun and St Enimie.


    Starting from the beach at La Malene, just below the bridge, today would be the most relaxing of the trip, and the shortest. It would also pass through the very deepest and most spectacular part of the gorge.


    First, a shot of La Malene from a short walk up the hill opposite.






    Again, there's a good car park, and a track down to the beach from it for loading and unloading. Soon we were afloat.






    Its hard to keep finding new superlatives to describe how good it is to canoe down this river, in this massive trench through the high plateau of the Causses. There were fewer riffles today, but still enough to break up the dreadful drudgery of paddling gently along below the immense rock sculptures under blue skies.


















    This section is the only one used by "Les Bateliers des Gorges du Tarn"; the boatmen who take tourists down in flat bottom boats, using poles in the shallow bits and an engine for the rest. We only saw a couple today. Whilst I'd rather canoe, if for any reason I couldn't, this would still be an excellent way to see the gorge properly.









    I rather think the canoe is better though!









    The rock architecture is enormous, its hard to get a grasp on the scale of the place.











    It was a day for regular stops, and for taking our time.









    We were now approaching the real heart of the whole gorge,


















    At the narrowest point, Les Détroits, the walls close right in, rising for hundreds of feet straight from the river. Here I lingered long, drifting slowly through. Words can't possibly do it justice, and photos only give a two dimensional sense of this stupendous place.










































    I'd dropped some distance behind the group, getting neck ache from gazing upwards, and having been waiting for moments where the light was right as a rare cloud had come across the sun. They were hardly rushing, though, so I caught them up quickly enough.















    As we were passing our campsite, we'd decided it would be the perfect place for lunch, so we stopped for a good break in the shade.







    (time for a brief break before we carry on)

      Onwards to the Pas de Souci

      Jun 28, 2017#2

      After a slightly longer than average lunch break, we put back in for the last few kilometres down to the Pas de Souci, where the river is filled with an enormous ancient rock fall and is entirely impassable. The scenery had not exactly deteriorated...



























      The river narrowed slightly, with a few simple obstacles.









      The bungee platform wasn't in use today, so no screams punctuated the peace of the day.






      Debbie spotted something in the water. A little prodding with a pole by Andy, and Steve suddenly had a new hat. Most fetching.









      This added a slightly surreal touch to the fantastical scenery.












      High up on the cliffs of the Cirque des Baumes , Griffon Vultures circled, waiting to see if any of us strayed and expired in the heat, perhaps.















      Having passed the point where Les Bateliers take their boats out, we were now in the final run down towards the Pas de Souci. The Gorge changes direction from westward to southwards, and starts to run downhill a little more noticeable. Having been here before, I knew the get out is easy to spot, but you wouldn't want to miss it as the Pas de Souci is no place for canoeists and escape near the rock and syphon-filled rapids would be much harder work. I moved to the front and identified the get out.









      That was the end of the paddle, but now we needed to get our canoes up to the road. Numerous hire companies get out here, each with their own private field, but it was no problem to use one of them and a mini-bus driver who turned up was happy for us to do so. Possibly because Lyn and Debs were flirting with him...


      I ran the drivers up to the start point and we came back, drove down the steep track into the field, and loaded up. Before we headed home, we nipped along the road to the Pas de Souci itself, where you can pay 50c to climb the biggest rock and look at the boulder-filled river below.



















      For people doing the Gorges as a continuous trip, this part is a 1-2km road portage, and a bit of a pain. For us, though, it was a place to end this part of our trip, and eat ice cream.
      SMopencanoePaddler,blogger,camper,pyromaniac:

      Blog: Wilderness is a State of Mind

      Paddle Points - where to paddle

      16K95
      Member
      16K95

        Jun 28, 2017#3

        More spectacular scenery there, Mal.

        The Pas de Souci looked good too, Pass of Worry?

        Here comes the future and you can't run from it
        If you've got a blacklist I want to be on it


        Crow Trip Log

        1,120393
        Member
        1,120393

          Jun 28, 2017#4

          Simply stunning!

          27K3,045
          Contributing Member
          27K3,045

            Jun 28, 2017#5

            Crow wrote:More spectacular scenery there, Mal.

            The Pas de Souci looked good too, Pass of Worry?

            The direct translation is actually "No Worries", but suspect the local dialect makes your guess closer. There are quite a few "Pad de" and none of them mean the negative thing, eg. Pas de L'Arc is a thumping great rock arch, not a lack of an arch.

            There have been a few deaths at Pas de Souci from paddlers attempting to paddle it or getting too close in higher water. Its full of syphons, and simply not passable.
            SMopencanoePaddler,blogger,camper,pyromaniac:

            Blog: Wilderness is a State of Mind

            Paddle Points - where to paddle

            16K95
            Member
            16K95

              Jun 28, 2017#6

              Mal Grey wrote:The direct translation is actually "No Worries", but suspect the local dialect makes your guess closer. There are quite a few "Pad de" and none of them mean the negative thing, eg. Pas de L'Arc is a thumping great rock arch, not a lack of an arch.

              There have been a few deaths at Pas de Souci from paddlers attempting to paddle it or getting too close in higher water. Its full of syphons, and simply not passable.
              I know that pas de... colloquially means not ...

              But I don't think these place names have anything to do with that. More likely it comes from the noun - pas = step? As in faux pas.

              Syphons. That's a new one on me. Presumably places where you'd get sucked through tunnels. Scary!

              Here comes the future and you can't run from it
              If you've got a blacklist I want to be on it


              Crow Trip Log