Paddling the Elbe - preparations

Preparing for the Internationale Elbe Fahrt - an official Paddling-Tour on the Elbe from its entry-point into Germany to Hamburg. We will only participate in the week because vacation time is sparse.

We will spend the nights at paddling-clubs, pitching our tents on their lawns. It is a common Thing to allow fellow Paddlers to spend a night or two on the premises of a Club for small Money.

Although we've done Paddle-Tours before, this Event is going to be different because there will be 100 Paddlers on every day.

Our creekers & riverrunners (the 'bathtub' and WTF?!-boat) will stay at home, instead this will be a call for our trusted allround kayaks, the Pyranha Fusion S / L. Same for my paddle. The whitewater-paddle I have is too short, so I borrowed one from a friend while I'm drooling over a Werner Shuna 220cm.

We will have to pack

sleeping-gear - bought a cheap, lightweight sleeping-bag (1-season) and am curious whether I will be warm enough for me. It'll be July for crying out loud. It should suffice.

tent and footprint. I had to replace my old, trusted JanSport Tent after more than 20 years because the waterproof-lining was beginning to dissolve (yuck)

boat cart. not sure, whether we'll need it. there should be no prtaes at Elbe, but we'll see.

minimal cooking-gear - mainly for coffee and some instant-noodles just in case: Gas-stove, 1 pot, 2 dishes and silverware (um, well, plasticware), folding Cups, folding Java-drip.

This Weekend we bought the Food:

• bread in tins,
• cold-cut in tins. we bought the smallest Units, so they will be emptied when opened and will not cause a greasy mess in the packs.
• Instant noodles. good for lunch-breaks. Instant coffee-creamer  - ah, the joys of instant Foods These days. They even offer instant-water, I believe ;)

I hope that there will be a place nearby for dinner each evening, otherwise we can always fall back on the instant noodles. Assuming that there will be rolls to be ordered for breakfast, but if not, we have our bread in a tin.

PSD(personal solar protection):
loads of sunscreen, UV-proof rash-guards (longarm), dark glasses and a huge straw-hat.

PFD (personal Floating device) - check. It's a must. As is a throwbag (remember, there were People drowing on the Ems a few weeks ago).

PHD (personal Hygiene devices)

We decided to forgo the folding stools for sake of packing-space. A patch of foam-mat will do for sitting. Besides: it's not like we're leaving civilization!

It's going to be a no-neoprene trip :) after all the hours spent on whitewater, this is going to be a nice odor-free Event, or so I hope.

Imporvement: thought of rinsing-Agent and toilet-paper! Luxury :)

I'll have to find a way to Juice-up the Hero-cam during the trip. Honestly I'm reluctant to leave it plugged-in in some bathroom overnight as some People do with their mobile devices.