Modify plans and Try Again.

So................I'm back on land and will be starting from Linz Austria on the Danube. Plan to leave Saturday Morning. I went 45 miles in one and a half days on the Inn river to kufstein. The Inn river has low water damaging my boat. No damage fatal to the boat but wear and tear I am not willing to accept needing it for the rest of my trip. A seam slightly coming undone and abraison from dragging on rocks both while in the river along with dragging it up the river banks portaging around rapids and dams. Although damaging to my ethics and thoughts of starting in Innsbruck, I think this is the right choose and will spend a couple days here with friends repairing and modifing.



Yes Yes I will start, I really will and I want to. The start was good, a little slow but good. Dani and I drove to the put in and starting putting the boat and everything together. I always wonder how I manage to get all sorts of stuff half way across the world. Dani had a wonderful laugh when I was struggling to put the boat together. Funny really but I insured her I knew what i was doing, I don't think she believed me! I did get off and onto the river after a couple of hours of fooling around. We toasted the boat with a nice Austrian white wine, A little for Ireen, some for Katie, Dani and myself.



My best discription of the river is it is like the lower Wenatchee river with a couple more rapids and lots of bridges. Bridges were the biggest worries. There are old pilings with metal and concrete which both cause rapids and objects to hit with my boat in the low water. A couple bigger rapids, one I did go around but the others I just held on. Then there is the dam portages. Again low water is an issue. I had gone on google earth weeks ago looking for the best possible way to portage, noting right and left to every dam I saw. Even though google earth is amazing not everything is seen. Out and in the river proved hard both dragging my boat up and and down the rocks. Somtimes not able to find a launch for over a mile of hauling my boat behind me though town getting odd looks from locals haha. Now starting in Linz though I am down to only 10 dams from the 30 total by just cutting off 200 miles



So who didn't tell me it is still winter? The weather was horrible. Not the first day but the secound. poking my head out of my bivi sack yesterday I knew that the day had started and would end too. Large snowflakes and wind. I packed up quickly as possible. Not even getting a bite to eat I was thankful for my friend who gave me a couple Cliff Bars! Not too cold but more so hoping the weather would let up for fear of getting soaked. I ended up getting a little wet but not too wet for the conditions considering it was one of the worst days of weather I have seen in a long time.



Overall it is really nice on the Inn, kind of a wild place in the middle of civilalization. Trails along side most of the time. Small towns dot the river banks. Mostly older people out walking or younger running. Everyone stops and stares, some say hi, but mostly stares. I have thoughts of going back if I have time and conection the part I am missing to linz when the river is higher. Doubt it though really I am sure I will have had enough by then.



Yep, back on dry land and dry. I just had a look at the Danube and it looks a lot like the Columbia river but a little bigger I think and it is moving fast! Portages will be few and the banks are low. Sailing should be good too as it is a larger body of water. I feel like I have taken the simple way out not giving the Inn much of a try. I am confident in my decision on taking care of my boat. The Danube should be friendly to my boat. The next couple days should be nice visting friends in Linz as I have spent a fare amount of time here in the past.