With packraft in the wild: one-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers

Robert, Daniel i Grzegorz Have recently had another great packraft trip. A lot of swimming and not much walking. How to do it? See for yourself.

Recommended rafting route

The Obra water trail is accessible from Kopanica. This time I propose to start the rafting downstream, in the village of Gorzyca. This is a good starting point for a couple of reasons. The village is located relatively close to the S3 route. Well-equipped camping sites are available there. Near them you will find a bar and a restaurant specializing in home-made dumpling dishes, as well as a store. In your free time you can see a charming half-timbered church and a small palace with a park. Another advantage is that the finish line of the rafting trip is less than 4 km away.

Recommended rafting route – one-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna River (developed. Robert Bogusz)

The first part of the proposed route ends at a low pipe culvert. There are numerous obstacles along the way, including poorly visible underwater obstacles. Sometimes they force their way out onto the shore. Arriving at the causeway with the culvert, it is worth noting the plaque on the left with the inscription: “Before the war the Wilhelm Bridge, after the war the Bierut Bridge, today a pipe culvert of some prick’s idea”. The culvert is low enough that you usually have to carry your equipment at this point (on the right bank).

One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna (photo. Daniel Tokarz)

Behind the causeway begins Lake Bledzewskie. In this part of the rafting trip, head for the first bay of Lake Bledzewskie lying on its left side. At its end, a small river named Struga Jeziorna (Pieski Potok, Pieski Strumień) flows into the lake. The waters of the lake are separated from the river by another culvert. Due to the weak current, swimming against the current of Struga Jeziorna is not troublesome. After swimming 2.6 km, we enter the waters of Lake Chycina, and after swimming another section of Struga Jeziorna we enter Lake Długie. Along the way it is worth noting the beautiful landscape. We can finish the rafting trip in Zamostowo. You can also continue it, to overcome another very short section of the river, and find yourself on the waters of Lake Kursko.

The rafting trip should end in Zamostow. The village is less than 4 km from the starting point.

The water part of the proposed route is about 19 km long and generally leads through forest areas. The return after the end takes place along a road passing through the forest and among the fields.

One-day rafting down the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz)

Difficulty

The most difficult part is the section to the first pipe culvert. Numerous obstacles limit the speed of movement to about 3 km per hour. Once you enter the waters of Lake Bledzewo and beyond, there are no more obstacles of this kind. When planning the route, it is important to take into account the forecast strength and direction of the wind, which will be felt most in the lake section. In addition, one must be very careful when approaching the pipe culvert between Lake Bledzewski and Struga Jeziorna. A few meters ahead there are Larsen’s piles, not visible on the surface. The danger of damaging equipment will be avoided by approaching the culvert as close as possible to the right or left bank.

One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz)

Rafting time

About 8 hours will be needed to swim the route. It takes less than an hour to get back to the starting point after the rafting trip is over.

One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (photo. Daniel Tokarz)

Accommodation

If you plan one-day trip, you do not need to stay overnight. In the village of Gorzyca there are camping sites, a store, bar and restaurant available. The village is a good starting point for trips to Międzyrzecz Fortified Region (Pniewo, Boryszyn), Bledzewo (hydroelectric power station), Stare Dwór (post-German rotary bridge), Templewo (remnants of Soviet bunkers used to store nuclear weapons), Żubrów (picturesque ravines). It is worth noting the purity of the water after entering the Lake Struga River.

Robert Bogusz

Film report by Daniel Tokarz:

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And now a photo gallery:

One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (photo. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting along the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (photo). Daniel Tokarz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (photo. Daniel Tokarz) One-day rafting down the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (photo. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna River (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting trip down the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna rivers (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna River (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna (fot. Robert Bogusz) One-day rafting on the Obra and Struga Jeziorna (fot. Daniel Tokarz)