{"id":25113,"date":"2021-05-19T14:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T21:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=25113"},"modified":"2021-05-17T14:19:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T21:19:37","slug":"the-rannoch-crossing-preparing-for-an-open-canoe-expedition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2021\/05\/19\/the-rannoch-crossing-preparing-for-an-open-canoe-expedition\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rannoch Crossing: Preparing for an Open Canoe Expedition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rannoch Crossing is one of the most idyllic expeditions in Scotland. On the cusp of spring, the weather is gloriously bright, and hell has yet to release the midges. (Beware: they\u2019re due in a couple of weeks). In fact, this place is one of the jewels in the crown of the Highlands, and one of the most spectacular open canoe trips in Europe. The loch feels as open and exposed as the sea, but with a bizarre fishbowl effect created by the jagged peaks of Glen Coe, dwarfed by Rannoch Moor.<\/p>\n

Without a single breath of wind, the surface of the water is so reflective that the landscape and the sky merge into one as if you\u2019re paddling through the clouds. It\u2019s bizarre and surreal, and the water seems to drop away from the boat in the same way that the sky passes beneath a plane.<\/p>\n

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Social media makes it look so easy: sleeping under the stars, swimming in glacial lakes, packing your belongings into an open canoe for a multi-day adventure. Every corner\u2014even those most remote and inaccessible places\u2014of the world is available online, in as high a resolution as the human eye can see.<\/p>\n

In a way, the Internet has made true wilderness more valuable. Online, you can see the mountains, but you can\u2019t feel the wind burning your face. You can watch, from the inside of a barrel, and understand what it looks like to surf, but you can\u2019t taste the salt or feel your hand slice through the spray of water. Being in the wild is so incredibly dynamic, social media simply can\u2019t do it justice.<\/p>\n