GUIDE TO THE ALLT MHEURAN

NAME OF RIVER: Allt Mheuran.

WATER LEVEL, ACCESS AND HAZARD UPDATES: Here.

WHERE IS IT?: In Glen Etive. Heading south on the A82 from Glencoe and Fort William, it's a minor right turning. It is the last river to enter the lower Etive before the Loch.

PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: You'll have to figure out how to walk/ paddle there from the OS map.

APPROX LENGTH: Several hundred metres.

TIME NEEDED: LOADS of time for Inspections and carrying! Two hours?

ACCESS HASSLES: No problems reported.

WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: High water would make this terminal. See below.

GRADING: Judge for yourself...

MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: All of it.

John Heaton (April 2004)...'Watch out for pesky deer ticks...cover your legs.'

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Anyone who has paddled the Allt a' Chaorainn tributary should have a look at another small river entering river left near the get-out. This involves a lengthy walk but is worth every minute of it. It starts with a straightforward 15 foot drop followed by a couple of twisty drops and ends in a ridiculous 30 foot waterslide which terminates in a 15-20 foot fall (Warning - leaning back on take off can result in a hard flat landing). In low water this can be paddled with or without paddles and minimal protection. However, with any water at all this becomes very serious, as does Allt a' Chaorainn.

Andy Simes adds...'I have run the lower half when the final slab leading to the last fall was completely covered. If you have just won the lottery, slept with Kim Basinger, successfully bought out Microsoft and are generally feeling very lucky then try it. The take-off for the last drop happens about 6 feet earlier than usual, something worth mentioning to any spectators to avoid hitting them, and the landing is violent to put it mildly. On the up-side you can live on the high you get for about 5 years (I have). At that level the plunge pool of the top drop turns into a cauldron which made the rest look easy'.

OTHER NOTES: When we first went to paddle the Mheuran, it was late afternoon following a days rain having just paddled the River Etive, rising at about an inch every ten minutes or so. When we arrived at Allt Mheuran it was majorly humping and looked to be a certain suicide mission. However, we paddled the section from the last fall down to the River Etive, which was fairly full on itself with numerous tree and pinning options. Add to this, the fact that it is barely wide enough to turn a boat and watch as the carnage ensues.

We then left the boats hidden on the riverbank and came back at first light the next morning to paddle it at optimum? levels and hence I suffered my first swim in 2 years. However, with that out of the way, the River Orchy on 4 later that day seemed a doddle, and hence a couple more swims ensued, although fortunately not for myself...

CONTRIBUTED BY: Kris Waring, also Andy Simes and John Heaton.