Spius Creek: June 29, 2008

Nice to be on Spius Creek again, this time at a pretty low level. The good thing about the lower level was a much more leisurely pace and lots of time to enjoy the canyon scenery. The bad thing was that the run took 5 hrs vs a short and sweet 3.5 hrs last time. Last year with levels on the high side more focus was needed for the whitewater and I didn’t appreciate the amazing scenery quite as much. “Turbine” was the exception – it was a lot gnarlier at this low level and was portaged by half of the group.

Spius flows into the Nicola west of Merritt. The run is about 20k through an inaccessible canyon. More info can be found in my book....

Post from last years run.

Spius Creek, June 2

Spius Creek was good fun! It's a remote +20 km run, flows from the south into the Nicola River, west of Merritt, dissecting the triangle formed by Coquihalla and Fraser Canyon. Thanks to Sandy for showing us this great run!

At the high water level this weekend Spius had several III+ bits and one IV- canyon section (Big Box Canyon), the latter is a mandatory scout which required some scrambling up a steep hill to peek into the canyon and make sure it was free of wood.
In total there are 3 canyons, the Upper (a short squeeze between cliffs), Big Box Canyon (the mandatory scout and about 500 meter long) and Little Box Canyon (nothing much - can be seen from the shuttle road). Below the confluence with Prospect Creek between the Upper and Big Box Canyons is a busy class III+ hole/boulder garden section There were also two log jams that demanded attention.

Pictures at the VKC Forum.