DAY 1
I'm trying to make sense of the jumble of circles, curved arrows and numbers on the paper in front of me. The sketch is a cross between a New York underground map and an intelligence test for the gifted. So this is what our overnight tactic should look like? For four days of paddling on the Ruhr, Jochen had delivered a logistical master's thesis: how we could paddle downstream from Hagen to Duisburg and - with tactical support from land - his caravan would somehow always be ahead of us to the next overnight stop by means of two cars and an additional driver. Just like in the story of "The Hare and the Hedgehog", nobody understood the plan until the very end. But it worked.
If we had known beforehand how many really cool, fully prepared overnight stops we would pass on the tour, we would certainly have organised this part of the planning differently. Speaking of downstream - the Ruhr is interrupted by four large reservoirs and countless weirs from the Hengsteysee to the Rhine, and the current speed is virtually non-existent along the entire route. Every metre you paddle here, you have really paddled. We have divided the route into four stages, each a maximum of 25 kilometres, which can easily be paddled over a long day.
Hengsteysee to Witten
In Hagen, the "gateway to the Sauerland", we find a car park right on the northern edge of Lake Hengstey and an entry point at the abandoned DLRG station (photo at the top). "Great, then who's going to save us?" we mock. But we would end up needing help. As we paddle in at a leisurely pace, we discuss whether we can take photos without a leash - we only have two with us. But there are three of us, the temperatures are high summer - it's actually all safe. When someone interjects that we could be seen as "irresponsible", we burst out laughing after a short break and have our code word for the rest of the tour and there is simply no more discussion about the leash. The ruins of Hohensyburg Castle from the 12th century loom high above us as we enter the lake.
The first stage of the Hengsteysee is quite a long one, but luckily we discover the "Köppchenwerk" on the right after a while, a gigantic pumped storage power station where excess electricity has been used since the 1980s to pump water into the basin high up on the mountain and then generate electricity again when needed. The downpipes reach 45 metres below the surface of the lake, where the turbine in a shaft below us gobbles up the energy-generating water. At the end of the lake, not only the "Freiherr v. Stein" is already resting from summer operations, we also enjoy two quick cappuccinos in the "Proto im Schiffwinkel" restaurant right in front of the weir while a stiff autumn breeze whirls colourful leaves through the beer garden.
A sign for us to keep paddling, because the lack of water current plus the headwind really cost us time. Even though Christoph, our SUP newcomer, has quickly abandoned his defiant attitude of "I paddle sitting down" before the trip, our average speed as pleasure paddlers is less than four kilometres per hour. We carry the boards through a small tunnel in the weir and now follow the Ruhr. From Witten onwards, it's water sports country, with the clubhouses on the banks lined up like marker posts on the motorway. We have plenty of time to philosophise about why some have "rowing society" emblazoned on the halls in faded lettering and others have "canoeing club". At Lake Harkort, the Ruhr takes a sharp bend, the wind unfortunately also turns and comes right on the nose. We fight our way through quite a lot of algae, ducks and geese watch us. As if the owners know when paddlers get hungry, the "Boje" at the end of the lake beckons. Unfortunately, our sun-dazzled eyes have overlooked the fact that the bargain price of "jacket potato with prawns" was only for the potato - the prawns cost "on top". We then treat ourselves to a wheat beer - we're slowly getting into a good summer holiday mood.
Up to Witten, we paddle through lush green and autumnal nature - as in the entire first section - with the exception of the passages at Herdecke, Wetter and Bommern. We take the following 200 metre-long transfer section in our stride, followed by passages with a noticeable current. A short fin is a must here, then it's really fun, the river runs swiftly through the lush Ruhrauen. Unfortunately, the Steger beer garden on the left is closed in October. "A must", says Local Jochen, "with cheap beer, potato salad, meatballs and bockwurst". Instead, we sit on the weir in Witten (right) with water and bread. The last four kilometres - along the "cradle of Ruhr coal mining" with the former Nachtigall colliery - to the KC Witten take a while, where we get off at dusk.
DAY 2
Witten to Bochum-Dahlhausen
On the second day, the highlights are Lake Kemnader and a supposedly somewhat faster section behind Hattingen. We start again at the Witten Canoe Club, the lake is quickly reached. A journey back in time for me. What used to look like a dredging hole with an insolvent tree nursery around it welcomes us in bright autumn colours and lush vegetation. We spot large numbers of herons, geese and even cormorants. It's hard to imagine that the artificially dammed lake was only filled with water in 1980. However, everything is thriving here underwater too, with fields of algae in a class of their own awaiting us, which combined with the headwind makes for tough progress.
After about two thirds of the length of the lake, we stop off at the "Westufer Surf School" on the "Kemnader Seeterasse", where there is a lot of hustle and bustle. The "Gibraltar Colliery", which is also located here, was a gold mine for a century and a half of coal mining and then left a heavy legacy as the home of the NSDAP. Today, one of the buildings has been given a welcome new lease of life as a boathouse for the Ruhr University Bochum - where there is also plenty of paddling. The water quality has also changed. While only half of the participants in windsurfing regattas in the 90s were still able to start on the second day, the Ruhr is now an important source of drinking water - the proliferating water plague a sign of good quality. We let the boards slide "solo" through the boat chute with its frightening steel armouring. Afterwards, there is finally some current, we feel compensated for the drudgery against wind and algae and enjoy the view of "Burg Blankenstein", the nature, the silence and the tranquillity in the middle of the Ruhr area.
We chalk up the last two kilometres from the Kosterbrücke bridge to Hattingen as "you have to go through" - straight ahead and somewhat monotonous along a cycle path, past the former Henrichshütte. When I was a child, the blast furnace tapping point had the most beautiful, glowing red sunset as far as Bochum-Wattenscheid. Then the technology was sold to China, from where we now buy cheap steel - or at least something like that. As a reward for all the hard work, we stop off at the "Landhaus Grumm" before reaching the Hattingen weir with its boat slide. "Wheat beer - good, apple pie - well". Invigorated and overconfident, we try out the newly discovered slide, first sitting down, then standing up. If we fall, the board is washed far down the Ruhr. At Isenburg, we enjoy a wild ride on a small "rapids", followed by a few kilometres with a few rusty railway bridges, graffiti, a herd of cattle and a fairly long, natural stretch to Dahlhausen. The railway museum there has a national reputation, and about a kilometre before we reach our overnight accommodation at the "Wasserfreunde Ruhrmühle" campsite near the Linden-Dahlhausen canoe club. In the Spanish bodega "La Posta", "Ralle" and "Barbie" serve tapas and other delicacies, but are convincing in flavour and quantity - although our greedy energy stores are no longer picky.
DAY 3
Dahlhausen to Baldeneysee
The third day starts in an urban environment, with the Ruhr running fairly straight and without surprises. Only the Horster Weir brings variety back into our paddling routine, and on the way to Steele we admire the "Tiffany art" on the electricity pylon, which seems to glow like a lamp at the right angle. In Steele, we fortify ourselves in the "Bootshaus Ruhreck" café and restaurant for the following transfer section at the Spillenburg weir. With its high sheet pile walls after the weir and the steel railway bridge, it doesn't exactly evoke romantic feelings, but the old industrial route is emblematic of the structural change in the Ruhr region. The route, which was once used to transport industrial goods in heavy wagons day in, day out for the economic boom, is now used by light leisure bikes on the 240 kilometre Ruhr Valley cycle path.
Then we head back into the "wilderness". Countless waterfowl, including many herons, are not disturbed by us as we head from Steele towards Essen-Holthausen. And finally it appears - the first real winding tower. What could be more emblematic of this region than the steel scaffolding that for decades has brought generations of miners down into the depths and back up again - and millions upon millions of tonnes of coal.
"In front the paddler, behind him the symbol of the pot - Pottpaddler" - the photo simply has to fit. "Plopp". "It didn't go bang now"! Yes, it did. It was supposed to be a two-degree different perspective, with the paddle handle hitting the camera and it just sinking into the Ruhr. My thoughts turn over: "Did I save the photos from yesterday?" "No." What are the chances of getting hold of the camera? "No idea". Anyway, I jump in, dive down, two, three, then maybe four metres. I see nothing. We discuss countless options - I've written off the camera, now it's all about the memory card. Jochen's brother is a diver and a member of the canoe club. He doesn't have time, but he knows someone. Volker always knows someone. Sven, for example. A diving buddy and rescue diver. He doesn't have a car and also "no air on the tank", but he can also dive apnoea and knows someone with a car. "And he's also a rescue diver with the fire brigade and they always have air". Less than an hour later, Sven dives into the Ruhr with his diving partner "Hoschi" and comes back up after a minute with the camera. "You help each other among water sports enthusiasts" is the succinct comment. Real "mates", after all. Thank you!
The camera is finished, the memory card is alive! We have to keep going, at a fast pace. The stretch to Baldeneysee is beautiful, especially now in the mild light just before dusk. The Ruhr becomes very wide here in a wide bend to the right, before it merges into Lake Baldeney in a wide left-hand bend, and we have got into the rhythm of this "Okavango Delta of the Ruhr": Paddle twice, slap your leg once. It's not just the vegetation and water birds that look unrealistically tropical here, the swarms of mosquitoes are also more reminiscent of a tropical swamp than an industrial landscape. And we learn that Lake Baldeney is damn long. Our destination, the Knaus Campingpark, is about a kilometre behind the lake. It should be possible to rent sleeping barrels there in 2019, and the caravan is waiting for us. So we have to go through with it now, paddle close to the shore, close together and unfortunately only reach the weir in the dark. After some initial hesitation - "Is this really the way?" - we head off through the tunnel, then, until Werden, the road partially lights our way and we happily reach our destination after all. Now we want to treat ourselves. The recommendation of the "12 Apostel" restaurant, just a five-minute walk from the square, was a hit and we linger there, with portions for people with shoe size 47 and over, much longer than planned, until the camera frustration is forgotten.
DAY 4
Baldeneysee to Duisburg
Completing the last stage is only for the entry in your personal logbook. Pleasure paddlers get off in Mühlheim. The Ruhr runs through green countryside from Baldeneysee to Kettwig, an old village that exudes charm. Afterwards, you can observe the renaturalisation measures in the Kettwiger Ruhrauen. Take a break in front of the gigantic A52 bridge in the "Flusshaus Wasserbahnhof", then cycle past mighty villas near Menden, then turn right into the city. Paddling through a huge fountain in the middle of the city would perhaps be the crowning glory of the tour. But we rush on through industrial surroundings, our pick-up time is fixed. Pressed by menacing, unclimbable sheet pile walls, with inhospitable heavy industrial halls above, we call an angler for advice as we pass. "If you want something from me, you'll have to come here!" we hear. Elsewhere, we would have preferred to paddle on, but in a region where the greeting "Well, are you still alive?" is meant in a friendly way, we simply take it literally and ask from up close. It quickly becomes clear. This is the end. Over. Gone. We heave our luggage and boards a few metres vertically up the steel reinforcement via a narrow, rusty iron ladder. This is perhaps how you imagine the Ruhr area. But we know: "It's all very different".
This report first appeared in SUP 1/2019
