Fraser River Slide

Sometime in late June a big landslide went into the Fraser River upstream of the Big Bar ferry. The area is so remote and the river seldom traveled so the exact date is unknown. Interesting to compare the views with what we paddled on our Chilko Lake to Lillooet river trip in 2007. The rapid that was created by the slide would have been a bit of a surprise!

The rapid was big enough to stop the upstream progress of the salmon runs. Various measures of mitigation were employed by the BC government. Although I didn't visit the grizzlies at Chilko Lake in September my photo-friends reported that the bears found enough salmon for their winter preparations.

End of the Cap Cam

The end of the Cap Cam! Its been running for over 18 years. Impressive that it lasted that long. Thanks to all the volunteers, especially Jim S. (idea+implementation), VKC/VWC for paying the bills and the fish hatchery staff for hosting!

Appearance on Google Earth

A friend discovered this photo on Google Earth. Running Bridge River 14 years ago (in my play boat ;-)). We did quite a few runs of this remote and beautiful river (really more a creek), even some club trips. And had some rather exciting moments: swims, walk-outs, a dislocated shoulder, a scary pin but in the end we got it right. Even ferried some stuff across for a couple interesting characters. Gold mining they said... really? I'm missing paddling, the clear water, exciting rapids, deep canyons but grateful for amazing times with good friends.

Nahanni and Broken Skull Rivers, July - August

In July and August we paddled Broken Skull and Nahanni Rivers in the Northwest Territories. We were on the water for 21 days and paddled 500 km. The landscape is protected as a Canadian National Park and is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. For Peter and me this was the first river trip in canoes, up to now we have only used kayaks or rafts. But our friends had lots of canoe experience.

It took 2.5 hours to fly from Fort Simpson to the put-in at Divide Lake. Amazing untouched landscape of endless mountain ranges and big river valleys of the Mackenzie Mountains under our little bush planes (a Beaver and a Cesna).

From Divide Lake we paddled on the crystal-clear Broken Skull River through alpine landscapes past moose, bears and wolves.

Highlights along the Nahanni River were the Cirque of the Unclimbables with its sky high granite towers, thundering Virginia Falls (around which we had to portage our canoes and equipment) and the canyons of Nahanni.

On the river we saw only 5 other paddlers. This was a surprise as the Nahanni is a very popular canoe destination.

The three weeks on the river were our longest ‘expedition’ so far, requiring special preparation for the food, as the weight for the plane was limited and we had no refrigeration on the river. That's why we dried and dehydrated everything from vegetables over yogurt to tomato sauce and salsa. It worked out well and was tasty, even Jiri's spam dinner!

The North is famous for its mosquitoes but except for the last few days they didn't bother us too much. But as soon as we reached the end of the canyons the pesky insects came out en masse, so bad that we skipped the last hot springs - nobody wanted to take off the paddling jackets and expose any skin.

Canoes on board

Mackenzie Mountains and no sign of humans for hours!

At Divide lake

Broken Skull below Swallow Falls

Whitewater action

Good hiking here

Hot springs

Northern river views

One of our camps on the Broken Skull

Cirque of the Unclimbables

Virginia Falls

After the portage

Porcupine

Pulpit and gate in the third canyon

Deadman Valley (fortunately no dead man found)

First Canyon

Bison crossing!

Nahanni-Liard confluence

End of the Books

I finally shipped out the last of my whitewater guidebooks - to the MEC. When we brought the boxes full of books into our basement over 10 years ago I never expected that the books would out-last our whitewater paddling adventures and that we would move onto doing different things (like paragliding).

Missing this amazing time exploring rivers and creeks with good friends but it has been replaced by different views and adventures...

Whitewater in Southwest British Columbia - March 2007

A Canoe!

Whitewater has been our favored playground for over 10 years (1996-2006) but after taking up paragliding priorities shifted more and more. 2017 was the first year without whitewater paddling and we just got our sea kayaks wet. I thought our boat-buying days were over but our friends invited us on a trip down the Nahanni and its tributary Broken Skull. I found good deal on a Dagger Venture and I drove over to the Olympics and picked it up. We spent some time outfitting the boat for the trip with spraydeck, knee pads, loops and lines. Broken Skull and Nahanni have some class 2 (at normal water levels) which isn't much whitewater compared to what we used to paddle in our kayaks but being in the much more delicate canoe with all our food and equipment for 3 weeks gives it a whole new dimension!

Packed canoe above Virginia Falls

Tatshenshini - August

We finally got to paddle our whitewater kayaks again, on the Tatshenshini River from Yukon to Alaska. It was our second trip on the Tatshenshini and the third on the lower part, the Alsek River. We spend 12 days with friends from all over the Westcoast (Vancouver, Trail, Seattle, WA Pocatello, ID and Eli, NV), most of them in rafts (so there was plenty space for our food and gear).

The Tatshenshini runs through the most glaciated mountain range of the world outside the Polar region. The high point of the journey is Alsek Lake with its many icebergs. The bergs are very scenic but may also pose a problem. Moved by wind they can block the route through the lake. Good thing that on our way down the river we met an old friend who was guiding a commercial trip. He told us about a different route to avoid the bergs.

Pilot Hans from Yakutat brought us back to civilization to Haines, Aaska with his Turbine Otter (a bush plane). Although bad weather was chasing us this was our most amazing plane flight so far, with stunning close-up views of snow covered peaks and endless valley glaciers below. The drive up to the Yukon was an adventure in itself; I watched a lynx, got stopped in the middle of the road by a bison herd, had a great northern light photo session and of course there were countless road-side bears (I stopped counting at 20).

Wenatchee - April 20

Back on the Wenatchee again! As every year, we met old friends and made new ones. Hiked the hills covered by yellow balsam root flowers and blue lupins. Listened to the wild turkeys call in the evening. I was really hoping I would get to paddle more this year. But it was not to be as I managed to tweak my shoulder again. This time it wasn’t paddling – it was from trying to catch my gliderbag as it dropped over the side of a pickup truck. Bummer!

Gates of Lodore: July 7-11

Back from the Gates of Lodore run. The first time on this part of the Green River for us. A float and no whitewater to speak of at the current low water level, but excellent scenery. We float from one canyon to the next, every single one with different looks, different layers, dotted by trees. Cool rock faces, steep and thin rock fins at Steamboat Rock and Split Mountain. Nice being on a river again with old and new friends. But it was super hot down there, up to 38oC. Good thing the water temperature of the Green River was very pleasant (and not the icy temperature of the Colorado in Grand Canyon) so we could hang out in the river until it cooled down.

Our river trip ends near Dinosaur National Monument visitor center and we stopped by to check it out. This is the femur of a 150 million year old Camarasaurus. Pretty amazing - it roamed the earth when Pangea was drifting apart. Another 100 million years before the Rockies started forming. And very considerate of the kids (in us) … its allowed to touch some of the exhibits.

Wenatchee - June 22/23

Surf is up on the Wenatchee! Its the second time in my whitewater kayak this year... glad I still remember how to paddle. I only have some pictures of Pete (on Gorilla or whatever its called) but I got plenty of wave time too. We had Turkey shoot wave all to ourselves for an hour. Too bad the yellow Balsamroot flowers have come and gone already but Saskatoon berries are ripe and deliciously sweet.

Surf is up on the Wenatchee!

Norrish Creek Exploration, August 18

Our first canyoneering adventure. Since I'm not into paddling class 5 also the only way to explore Norrish canyon. And a very cool way to spend one of the scorching summer days, when it’s just too hot to do anything else and one just wants to hide in the shade. 

Fun combination of hiking, scrambling, jumping of cliffs and swimming. We even met a paragliding friend in the middle of the canyon - guess he was as surprised as we about the meeting!

Thick wetsuits are a must, felt soled boots would have been great and next time we should also take throw rope and pin kit along. (Note to myself: bring felt-soled boots and throw rope next time.)

Wenatchee at last: July 21/22

Its been a cold spring and June was not very pleasant either. But finally the Wenatchee has come down to my personal favorite (between 7000 and 4500 cfs) and we made the trip down south. That's the latest time in the year we ever paddled the river in our 15+ years of kayaking.

Down there we met up with a bunch of VKCers and the usual Seattle folks. Good surfing, spinning, and I even caught many of the 'on the fly' waves I usually don't have such a high success rate with. A great weekend... need to paddle more often...

Oh and I almost forgot... thanks to the unseasonably late drop in river levels we were treated to Saskatoon Berries, sweeter and riper than I ever tasted before. Yeah to the Wenatchee!

Idaho MF Salmon: June 3 - 9

Detailed trip report and pictures coming soon...

High water and a tense start. We played it safe, lined the rafts through Velvet, the first sketchy rapid. The rest of the trip was sweet, good whitewater, great weather, nice hikes, excellent food, a great time with old friends and a bunch of new ones.

Wetcoast Week: Ski, Paddle, Bike, Kite

Excellent use was made of the nice weather this week. After-work activities started on Monday with a quick ski-up to the first Pump on Mt Seymour. A ditch to ground level along the ski run (to help with construction of a new lift) showed that the snow cover is still a healthy 2-3 meters. Snow was still soft on the way down at sun-set – a rather pleasant ski out for May, and not the knee-twisting deep slushiness we encountered a week ago.

Wednesday we rinsed the dust of our whitewater boats with a quick run on the lower Seymour. First time in my kayak since October (not counting a couple of pool sessions). This must have been the longest dry time since I started paddling in 1996!

Thursday we aired our wings with a vigorous kiting/groundhandling session at Queen E park.

Friday we took the bikes for a spin along the Fraser River, everything green and fresh but despite the sun air temps were surprisingly low.

Ocean River Skookumchuck – Oct 22/23

 

One of my favorite trips in fall is to drive up the Sunshine Coast and surf Skookumchuck Narrows, so I organized a VKC club trip, drummed up a crew and off we went. The weather looked marginal for camping and we joined everybody else at the Backeddy Resort, relaxing in cozy cabins, nice rooms and around a very social campfire, shared by a pod of pre-Halloween pumpkins.

As always the surfing was a lot of fun and many wide-eyed Skooks-newbies had there first rides on the wave. I got my share of wave time and was almost ready to pack up, but had to do this one last surf... when I flipped on the second wave. The water pulled hard enough on the paddle that it tweaked my shoulder. Trying to roll up I immediately realized that I couldn’t use my left arm – oh, not again! So I pulled the deck, popped out and up a distance away from boat and paddle. Theoretically the kayak provides extra buoyancy and I struggled to get to it. But as soon as I got hold of the grab loop, a whirlpool formed and sucked the boat under. Here goes another theory, I thought, and gave the boat a good push into the centre of the whirlpool hoping this would keep me out of it. No such luck. Soon I was getting sucked under too but was strangely calm, enjoying the green light filtering down from above. Fortunately the underwater venture took only a few seconds and when I popped up again, Pete was there to the rescue. 

The rest of the story took about half an hour. Pete and I in tow went for the Tour (that's how we call it when a paddler doesn't make the eddy and has to paddle through the run-out of the rapid with its crashing waves and whirlpools). Back on shore it took a couple of tries and some repositioning, but we successfully put the shoulder back in its place (all the while watching the 'surf lions'). Knowing how to deal with a dislocated shoulder is certainly a useful first-aid skill to have as a paddler. This and a bit of luck saved us from a trip to the hospital and another night’s stay on the Sunshine Coast. I was pretty bumped out about this injury, recalling the months it took to heal my other shoulder 5 years ago, but a few days later the shoulder felt way better and only one week later, I flew my wing already. But I guess I will have to lay off whitewater paddling for a while.

August Long Weekend

It seems as if summer has finally arrived! What a sweet long weekend!

With the late snow melt and high water levels this year, the Clearwater trip was a last minute decision. Finally the river came down to manageable 450 cms (= 3.5). Plan B was the Wenatchee, still above 5000 cfs (the average for this time of the year is well below 2000 cfs). But in the end we decided to avoid possible border line-ups and the usual Hwy 2 traffic jams and headed north.

We haven’t paddled the Clearwater at this level for quite a while. Huge fun wave trains on the run above the Kettle, but most of the play spots on the lower run were washed out. Lots of VKC paddlers showed up despite the late call, and everybody had a good time (except those suffering from the mosquito attacks).

A nice addition to this year's Clearwater trip was meeting former neighbors from Germany. They moved to Canada several years ago and are now owners of a bakery/cafe (Flour Meadows Bakery). Back in Germany they lived one road over from my parents place and went to the same school as I. We even have common friends. A small world!





Sunday night we headed back towards Lillooett and camped in Edge Hills Provincial Park. It’s a recently established park off the map and undeveloped except for the rustic campsite which we had all to ourselves. The park is perched on the east rim of the Fraser Canyon. Looking down in the canyon revived fond memories of our explorations around Big Bar, Watson Bar, Jesmond and of the Chilko-Fraser river trip 4 years ago – hard to believe so few people visit this stunning area.

Our plan worked out with excellent flying weather in Pemberton on Monday. I flew twice as far as I had here before (+40km), made the crossing from Owl Peak to the next ridge and on to Copper Mound - almost to Hurley Pass Road! Pretty cool to thermal up next to the snowy slopes of the ridge, peek over to Tenquille Lake, and look down onto the top of Copper Mound where we stood a year ago after hiking up from the lake.

Back on the water: Chehalis, Mamquam

Looks like the trip on the mighty Alsek rekindled the need to get on the water (combined with declining cross-country flying potential), so we met with some friends to paddle the Upper Mamquam. The lively rock gardens at the start were quite a change after the huge volume and whirlies on the Alsek, where, even if there were any rocks, one wouldn’t see them for the silt-loaded water. The rocks, good water level (55) and ‘fluffy’ rapids kept me on my toes. The last several times we paddled the run it was pretty rocky. Good fun and good start for more wet adventures!


Tudor's picture of lots of Green on the Chehalis

The Chehalis is my favorite river in the lower mainland and our weekend run reminded me why. This river always amazes with its overload of green. Everything is in some shade of it: the dark forest on the slopes, the bright maidenhair fern on the cliffs and the deep clear pools. Add in a good number of rapids at a great water level (9.55) and a good group of friends to share the fun – could there be anything better?

Well, yes ... an amazing day on the river AND a nice flight in the evening.

After paddling there was still time for a super smooth evening flight at Bridal – I don’t think I have ever flown so close to the trees. Kicking treetops, floating along the cliffs and watching a pair of falcons on the rocks – a super nice finish to an amazing day.

Alsek, June 15 -26

For twelve days we floated on the Alsek River through the northern Coast Mountains and Yukon, BC and Alaska. The river carves its way through an amazing ice-age landscape past jagged snow-covered peaks, surging glaciers and grizzlies. In June its light almost 24 hours a day, giving us lots of time for exploring, taking pictures and hanging out with a great bunch of river rats. As always after such a trip, I find it very difficult to sift through my many pictures. So for now, here is a fantastic selection from Josh Miller, a pro-photographer and great guy to do a trip with (like all the other river rats).


There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,
And the rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
And deaths that just hang by a hair;
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There’s a land — oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back — and I will.

 From: The Spell of the Yukon, Robert Service

Wenatchee, May 21 – 23

How appropriate – the poor weather on the coast coincides with the VKC Wenatchee trip! Although the water levels were just a touch on the high side (9500-10000 cfs) this turned into an excellent trip. Great to get some paddling in, meet a new crop of keen kayakers and not feel as if we missed great flying! Weather wasn't quite up to usual standard. On our first Wenatchee weekend for the season a week earlier (the river didn't come up until May 15!!!) we even hit the day that broke several rain records ... see Cliff Mass' blog). But the sun came out nevertheless and we got to enjoy the spectacle of the beautiful yellow flowers of Arrow-leaved Balsamroot.



I didn’t take many pictures (way too busy surfing, spinning… and rolling), but here are a couple from last weekend and the May-long weekend: ... (coming soon)

Vancouver Kayak Club Festival - May 1st

This was the 4th VKC Festival on the Chilliwack River. And its getting better every year. I have to confess due to the low water level and the promising flying weather... we didn’t even bring our kayaks.

Nevertheless we totally enjoyed the party, music by our friends from the band Switch, socializing with a bunch of paddling friends we hadn’t seen in a while and meeting a lot of new paddlers. The festival was a great success - excellent work by the organizers... looks like a new generation of kayakers has successfully taken over! (Good chances I can finally retire from being VKC pres at the next AGM;-).