September long weekend weather didn’t look good for flying so Pete came up with the splendid idea to paddle the Fraser River from Hope to Burnaby. Not too shabby to pull off a mini expedition like this with 1h preparation time but I should at least have checked my paddling gear list (went a little skimpy with cold/wet weather clothing).
We got to Hope around 1pm and one hour later floated downstream under the highway bridge. A strong current made for a nice speed between 10-14 km/h for the first 50km. In the evening we camped on one of the many sand bars just downstream from Harrison Knoll but should have searched for a spot a little further away from the access point where eager fishermen started launching their motorboats early the next morning. The river widened and slowed down considerable at Sumas Mountain; an area I named 'Mission Lake'. Our speed picked up again downstream of Mission with the ebb tide to 8-10 km/h until we got to Port Mann Bridge. By the time we reached New Westminster we were paddling against the incoming tide slowing us down to 4-5 km/h for the last two tiring hours. Should have stopped for the night at Derby Reach Provincial Park with it's nice looking camp spots by the river. Instead we pushed for home, arrived in the dark (and even had to hide from a log-boom pulling tug).
This year is one of the big sockeye salmon runs (as every fourth year is) and sport anglers were out in big numbers on the sand and gravel bars between Hope and Mission. Native fishermen and women with nets were on the river around Mission. And below Mission we saw larger commercial boats.
Downstream of Hope the Fraser is wild and untamed but after the river emerges from the narrow valley below Ludwig and Bear Mountains, human made landscape with dykes and riffraff becomes apparent. Below Mission there more signs of 'cultivation', here the Fraser turns into a working river, with mills on shore, log booms and commercial fishing boats. Below Port Man Bridge the river is busy with activity. Glad we were paddling through the New Westminster area on the Sunday of the last long summer weekend, wouldn’t want to be here in a kayak on a weekday! There are mills, log booms, tug boats, a grave yard for old ships and an old BC ferry and where the south arm splits even big tanker ships.
River in Mission: low 7:50 at 0.77m, high 12:50 at 1.33m, low 18:50 at 0.98m
Tides in Vancouver: flood 10:36 at 3.8m, ebb 15:59 at 2.7m, flood 21:53 at 4.2m
