Packrafting

On a beautiful summer day, we leave the hustle and bustle of Annecy behind, venturing off to the rendezvous point located on a country road alongside the Fier River to meet up with our guide Tristan.

At nine in the morning the group gathers together and the friendly banter begins right away. With the ice broken, we gear up: donning our wetsuits, helmets, life jackets, and the backpacks with our inflatable canoes.

After walking for ten or so minutes along a meandering trail through the trees, we reach the water entry point at a mind-blowing spot along the river. If feels as if we step into another world.

We have a hard time wrapping our heads around the fact that civilization is only a few short minutes away: transported from the noisy excitement of the city we find ourselves fully immersed in the cool calm of the river’s peaceful environment.

To inflate our canoes we use small electric pumps, topping them off with a hand pump.

Fifteen minutes later we are ready the upcoming adventure.

Everyone marvels at the beautiful river landscape, the gorge’s steep sides, the waterfalls under which we have fun cooling off, the crystal clear blue green waters, and the stone beaches here and there along the shoreline.

After a short safety briefing, the expedition begins in an almost deafening silence broken only by quiet sound of water lapping against our boats.

We continued paddling slowly, fully immersed in this beautiful verdant natural setting, when all of a sudden the sound of the water begins to roar, indicating our first rapids of the day. Our adrenaline spikes.

For the “lucky” few who capsize, they quickly turnover and hop back into their canoes with smiles on their faces as the adventure continues, alternating between sections of calm glassy water, the perfect opportunity for meditative contemplation to take advantage of the present, with more athletically-oriented tests of our mettle: rapids, swimming with the current, and even jumping off an above-average sized boulder. Every step of the way, our guide maintains a watchful eye to keep us safe.

All good things must come to an end and after three hours spent exploring the river, we arrive at our destination. After deflating and packing our canoes, we head back to civilization up a series of stairs and along a trail that leads back to our starting point.

This full-immersion experience in nature reminds us to just what extent we all need to disconnect from the daily grind to rejuvenate. Thankfully we noted other excursions that Blue Secret organizes, including several multi-day adventures.

This micro-adventure shows that you do not need to travel to the other side of the planet to embark on an unforgettable experience. This is the Blue Secret promise.