Douren

• A river in the Istaros Watershed

The Douren starts in the high southern peaks of the Sentinel Range as many small streams tumbling over the mountain rocks, carrying the melting snow down, down, and north and east. These streams are rocky and full of gravel, and rush past scrubby alpine meadows with stunted pines. Occasionally, in flatter ground they pool and form marshy areas, where hawks hunt for rodents, and trout gather. Soon, the streams begin to join, and the Douren emerges in a deep valley marked by a series of cascades and narrow stands of tall fir and pine trees. As small side streams join, the river gathers force, until it reaches the Heuren Gorge, a deep but narrow gorge where the South Dunmar Road crosses the river, on a rope bridge 100’ above the river floor. For the next 40 miles, the river continues to be marked by cascades and gorges, and is difficult or impossible to cross. Small fortified homesteads dot the hills, and fish weirs (to catch the abundant river trout) are sometimes seen on the more accessible parts of the river, but it is still a wild country. The eastern bank is unpopulated, the land of wild beasts and worse. Few cross the river.