"C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railway) Cantilever Bridge crossing Fraser River, Cisco, B.C.", (ca. 1900 - ca. 1939) by Samuel J. Jarvis courtesy National Archives of Canada.
2004 Itinerary
Last Update: 15 October 2004, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Journey completed in a Pakboat 170, thanks, in part, to the generosity of Pakboats.
La Ronge Detour | |||
| Date | From | To | Distance (air) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 May | Departure from Harbor Inn Hotel, La Ronge, Saskatchewan (13 482223E 6106424N) | Shield rock island peninsula, Nemeiben Lake (13 482222E 6130314N) | 23.9km |
| Seen off by a small group of friends on a breezy, drizzly, why-are-we-doing-this-again? day. | |||
| Wading up the Sucker (Nemeiben) River, Duncan swipes a 4lb (honest) fish from the water with his bare hands—Abi deems the fish far too cute to eat, so it's rice for dinner. | |||
| 31 May | Shield rock island peninsula, Nemeiben Lake (13 482222E 6130314N) | Rachkewich Lake (13 475268E 6155950N) | 26.6km |
| Following the "6 Portages" route back towards the Churchill River. | |||
Churchill River | |||
| Date | From | To | Distance (air) |
| 01 Jun | Rachkewich Lake (13 475268E 6155950N) | nr Hadley Island, Black Bear Island Lake, Churchill River (13 451126E 6170803N) | 28.4km |
| Disappointed—not a black bear in sight. | |||
| 02 Jun | nr Hadley Island, Black Bear Island Lake, Churchill River (13 451126E 6170803N) | Northeast end of Pinehouse Lake (13 423106E 6183089N) | 30.6km |
| 03 Jun | Northeast end of Pinehouse Lake (13 423106E 6183089N) | Sandy beach, Sandy Lake (13 400813E 6177459N) | 23.0km |
| Snake Rapids channel proves a slippery serpent for wading. | |||
| 04 Jun | Sandy beach, Sandy Lake (13 400813E 6177459N) | Small island, Bentley Bay, Knee Lake (13 379101E 6189092N) | 24.6km |
| The Churchill finally reveals itself as a river, and we're definitely going against the current...and you know it's time to pull ashore awhile when you watch the wind blow a tree over! | |||
| 05 Jun | Small island, Bentley Bay, Knee Lake (13 379101E 6189092N) | Cabin lawn, Primeau Lake (13 361391E 6197282N) | 19.5km |
| Last remnants of the great Canadian Shield are left behind—beaches can't be too far now? | |||
| 06 Jun | Cabin lawn, Primeau Lake (13 361391E 6197282N) | Undistinguished willowy island, Churchill River (13 342695E 6213224N) | 24.6km |
| 07 Jun | Undistinguished willowy island, Churchill River (13 342695E 6213224N) | Sandy cove, Lac Île-à-La-Crosse (13 328353E 6193787N) | 24.2km |
| The wind works in our favour—11.3km/h by sailing alone. | |||
| 08 Jun | Sandy cove, Lac Île-à-La-Crosse (13 328353E 6193787N) | Big Island, nr Île-à-La-Crosse, Lac Île-à-La-Crosse (13 320007E 6146413N) | 48.1km |
| Lengthy Lac Île-à-La-Crosse is completely calm—oh the joys of flat-water paddling! | |||
| 09 Jun | Big Island, nr Île-à-La-Crosse, Lac Île-à-La-Crosse (13 320007E 6146413N) | Tiny sand cove, Aubichon Arm, Lac Île-à-La-Crosse (13 311810E 6157572N) | 13.8km |
| A few hours off in Île-à-La-Crosse gives us an opportunity to do laundry, telephone family and hang out at our favourite establishment—The Northern Store. | |||
| 10 Jun | Tiny sand cove, Aubichon Arm, Lac Île-à-La-Crosse (13 311810E 6157572N) | Little Buffalo Lodge grounds, Buffalo Narrows (12 657832E 6190996N) | 46.7km |
| 11 Jun | Day off in Buffalo Narrows awaiting arrival of David Fast and Crystal Peters who will paddle with us to the start of the Methye Portage. | ||
| 12 Jun | Little Buffalo Lodge grounds, Buffalo Narrows (13 657832E 6190996N) | Sandy Beach, nr Fleury Point, Little Peter Pond Lake (12 648846E 6190324N) | 9.0km |
| 13 Jun | Sandy Beach, nr Fleury Point, Little Peter Pond Lake (12 648846E 6190324N) | "Landing" (IR 223), Big Peter Pond Lake (12 641829E 6211958N) | 22.7km |
| Our closest encounter with a moose while canoeing—it's so at ease with us nearby that we fear for the longevity of this beast! | |||
| 14 Jun | "Landing" (IR 223), Big Peter Pond Lake (13 641829E 6211958N) | Cabin lawn at bottom of La Loche River (12 616564E 6225310N) | 28.6km |
| 15 Jun | Cabin lawn at bottom of La Loche River (12 616564E 6225310N) | Cabin at junction of Kimowin and La Loche Rivers (12 609456E 6232409N) | 10.0km |
| We've dreaded the La Loche River, and it doesn't let us down—swollen water levels mean wading up to our chests. | |||
| 16 Jun | Cabin at junction of Kimowin and La Loche Rivers (12 609456E 6232409N) | Raised grassy riverbank, La Loche River (12 602351E 6241237N) | 11.3km |
| Ascending Tomb Rapids proves a masochistic delight, but the current lets-up a bit further upstream. | |||
| Meet Jean-Philippe Bellefeuille as he descends the river on his way from Jasper to Québec. | |||
| 17 Jun | Raised grassy riverbank, La Loche River (12 602351E 6241237N) | Grassy clearing, head of La Loche River (12 597135E 6252338N) | 12.3km |
| 18 Jun | Grassy clearing, head of La Loche River (12 597135E 6252338N) | "Simpson's Camp", just over 1km along Methye Portage, Saskatchewan (12 578426E 6271898N) | 27.1km |
| Ah! La Loche—who knew fried chicken could taste so good? | |||
Athabasca | |||
| Date | From | To | Distance (air) |
| 19 Jun | "Simpson's Camp", just over 1km along Methye Portage, Saskatchewan (12 578426E 6271898N) | Whitemud Falls, Clearwater River, Alberta (12 557408E 6283560N) | 24.0km |
| Leaving Crystal and David at Simpson's Camp, we set off along the Methye. Thank you Thomas M Charles of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, for creating the ultimate set of Methye Portaging wheels from an old kids bike and a barbeque stand—Simpson's Camp to Clearwater in under 7 hours (including a 1 hour lunch stop at beautiful, sandy Rendevous Lake). Good ground clearance is the key! | |||
| 20 Jun | Whitemud Falls, Clearwater River, Alberta (12 557408E 6283560N) | Engstrom Remote Provincial Forest Recreation Area, Clearwater River (12 527081E 6291081N) | 31.3km |
| A couple of ungainly thunks descending Long Rapid convince us our white-water reading and maneuvering skills need some improvement. | |||
| 21 Jun | Engstrom Remote Provincial Forest Recreation Area, Clearwater River (12 527081E 6291081N) | The Snye, Fort McMurray (12 477265E 6287594N) | 50.0km |
| 22 Jun | Day off in Fort McMurray creating this page! | ||
| 23 Jun | The Snye, Fort McMurray (12 477265E 6287594N) | Fort McKay bridge, nr Fort McKay, Athabasca River (12 462936E 6332522N) | 47.2km |
| Armed with a new bag for all the food we stocked up on, we finally leave Fort McMurray in the early afternoon. | |||
| 24 Jun | Fort McKay bridge, nr Fort McKay, Athabasca River (12 462936E 6332522N) | Confluence of Firebag River with Athabasca River (12 478913E 6401093N) | 70.4km |
| A new landscape is upon us—large sandy cliffs surround the outsides of many of the river's bends. | |||
| The current on the Athabasca is quite swift, but the water's muddy, so the clear water of Firebag River is a refreshing delight. | |||
| 25 Jun | Confluence of Firebag River with Athabasca River (12 478913E 6401093N) | Sand bar, north of Embarras landing (12 471549E 6457647N) | 57.1km |
| Watching the limp body of a dead black bear float passed us as we descend from our investigations of ghostly Embarras landing lowers our spirits. | |||
| 26 Jun | Sand bar, north of Embarras landing (12 471549E 6457647N) | Small island by Fort Chipewyan (12 492568E 6507834N) | 54.4km |
| Meet Joe O'Blenis as he attempts to paddle from the northern BC coast to Nova Scotia in one season! We feel unambitious by comparison. | |||
| 27 Jun | Day off in Fort Chipewyan | ||
| Derek from the Northern Store inveigles us in for dinner and a DVD. Those Samurai were a strange bunch. | |||
| 28 Jun | Small island by Fort Chipewyan (12 492568E 6507834N) | By small cabin, Chenal des Quatre Forches (12 473575E 6516433N) | 20.9km |
| After "50 First Dates", again courtesy of Derek, we head out feeling depressed and slightly unfulfilled—Fort Chip was such a milestone on the journey, and yet, in the rush ever onwards, we didn't feel like we really saw it. Still, the films were good! | |||
Peace River | |||
| Date | From | To | Distance (air) |
| 29 Jun | By small cabin, Chenal des Quatre Forches (12 473575E 6516433N) | Sweetgrass Landing, Peace River (12 446628E 6532426N) | 31.3km |
| Ascending the sandy cliff to get a view from the Carlson's Landing National Park fire tower (now abandoned) we see something new—it looks like elephant dung, but the distinct heel impression on the prints nearby confirms that, much sooner than we'd anticipated, we're now in grizzly country! | |||
| At Sweetgrass Landing, the copious scat, scratching post and brown, almost grizzled fur doesn't deter us from camping by the convenient outhouse and picnic table, only half asleep with Duncan clasping the bear bangers and Abi ready with the spray—it's two days before Duncan points out to Abi, on the bag that sat outside the tent, right by our heads, the four distinct, parallel lines drawn on our plastic bag—bear claw marks: inquisitive, not aggressive. | |||
| 30 Jun | Sweetgrass Landing, Peace River (12 446628E 6532426N) | Gravel and sand bar (12 429822E 6551677N) | 25.6km |
| 1 Jul | Gravel and sand bar (12 429822E 6551677N) | Small island, downstream from Boyer Rapids (12 409773E 6560483N) | 21.9km |
| 2 Jul | Small island, downstream from Boyer Rapids (12 409773E 6560483N) | Small island, south of Jackfish River confluence with Peace River (12 390410E 6538822N) | 29.1km |
| Trying to paddle up the shallow Boyer Rapids, Duncan's endlessly mistreated wooden paddle finally objects—an inch of beautiful cherry wood is lost. Abi's field-carpentry skills, and a bit of fibreglass cloth and epoxy do the trick. | |||
| 3 Jul | Small island, south of Jackfish River confluence with Peace River (12 390410E 6538822N) | Large sand bar, west of Big Slough (12 364157E 6516870N) | 34.2km |
| It's the weekend, and suddenly, after seeing no soul for days, we are passed by two motorboats and a canoe, powered by a crafty 4hp outboard zooming downstream. Now why didn't we think of that? | |||
| 4 Jul | Large sand bar, west of Big Slough (12 364157E 6516870N) | Sand bar, east side of Big Island (12 341419E 6505646N) | 25.4km |
| 5 Jul | Sand bar, east side of Big Island (12 341419E 6505646N) | Small, mid-stream sand bar, west of Fifth Meridian (11 671233E 6504889N) | 18.3km |
| Looks like the grizzly zone was short lived. Only black bear traces around here. | |||
| 6 Jul | Small, mid-stream sand bar, west of Fifth Meridian (11 671233E 6504889N) | Small island, by Fox Lake Indian Reserve (11 639966E 6482677N) | 38.4km |
| 7 Jul | Small island, by Fox Lake Indian Reserve (11 639966E 6482677N) | Small island, above Vermillion Chutes (11 619583E 6471898N) | 23.1km |
| The Peace is famous for offering only one real obstacle to boat traffic traveling from close to the Alberta-Saskatchewan border and British Columbia—Vermillion Chutes. Looked simple on the map, a quick hop over the six to ten feet high drop across the width of the river, but we screwed it up—we tried both a 6km portage and an arduous wade. The portage gave us a glimpse of what Canadian mosquitoes can really do. Once the deet was sweated off, Duncan had two by three inch patches on the back of each forearm that were completely opaqued by blood-sucking midges. Abi got off only slightly better but had the worst blisters we've ever seen. | |||
| 8 Jul | Small island, above Vermillion Chutes (11 619583E 6471898N) | Small island, near Sled Island (11 581208E 6474146N) | 38.5km |
| 9 Jul | Small island, near Sled Island (11 581208E 6474146N) | Fort Vermilion (11 557565E 6472787N) | 23.7km |
| The current took a step for the worse. When we arrived in Fort Vermillion we were told the dam at the top of the Peace River had let lots of excess water through—the same rains that flooded Edmonton. | |||
| 10 Jul | Day off in Fort Vermilion | ||
| 11 Jul | Fort Vermilion (11 557565E 6472787N) | Willowed bank, north of Prairie Point (11 530003E 6461742N) | 29.7km |
| Just out of Fort Vermillion, one of our seat bolts breaks. Luckily we've been carrying spares since Brent from Trailhead gave them to us in Ottawa, so Abi doesn't have to sit on a rucksac. | |||
| 12 Jul | Willowed bank, north of Prairie Point (11 530003E 6461742N) | Privately owned, community used, riverside BBQ & camping area (11 524649E 6438444N) | 23.9km |
| With the greatly swollen river levels, huge tree stumps are washed down the river and even the smaller flotsam requires significant dodging. | |||
| 13 Jul | Privately owned, community used, riverside BBQ & camping area (11 524649E 6438444N) | Tompkin's Landing municipal picnic area (11 492074E 6425871N) | 34.9km |
| We ride the car ferry at Tompkin's Landing that carries highway 697's traffic across the Peace River back and forth a couple of times—it runs all night and we're camped next to it. Yes all night, though we do remember a slight lull around 2.30am. | |||
| 14 Jul | Tompkin's Landing municipal picnic area (11 492074E 6425871N) | Sandy top to muddy island near Scully Creek (11 493119E 6397545N) | 28.4km |
| Pass by Carcajou and discover a miracle spring that offers clear water. As the river swells with rain, it becomes incredibly silty—we can only pass about one litre through our ceramic water filter before it needs cleaned—and when you're both drinking over four litres a day each (not including meals) it becomes a huge burden on time. | |||
| 15 Jul | Sandy top to muddy island near Scully Creek (11 493119E 6397545N) | Small pebble and dry, dusty mud mid-river island (11 496458E 6376794N) | 21.0km |
| Today, the water from another creek tastes like alkazelter. Didn't suffer any indigestion, so maybe it works? | |||
| 16 Jul | Small pebble and dry, dusty mud mid-river island (11 496458E 6376794N) | Willowy, muddy island tip just south of confluence of Notikewin River with Peace (11 495012E 6344831N) | 32.0km |
| At the confluence of the Notikewin and Peace Rivers, the current ratchets up once more and we're beginning to suffer. | |||
| 17 Jul | Willowy, muddy island tip just south of confluence of Notikewin River with Peace (11 495012E 6344831N) | Riverbank (11 491817E 6333202N) | 12.1km |
| The stronger current and a stiff headwind sap our enthusiasm and we pull ashore having had enough for today. | |||
| Duncan scrambles up a steep section of riverbank for a better view and a photo. Then he tumbles head over heels back down—no broken crown, just a few grazes. | |||
| 18 Jul | Riverbank (11 491817E 6333202N) | Dried mud riverbank downstream from Weasel Camp boat launch (11 484049E 6309264N) | 25.2km |
| 19 Jul | Dried mud riverbank downstream from Weasel Camp boat launch (11 484049E 6309264N) | Sandy Island flats (11 487969E 6289614N) | 20.0km |
| Persistent thunderstorms all afternoon shorten our day, but much nastier electrical storms that night cause us another sleepless-out-the-tent-under-the-tarp night. | |||
| 20 Jul | Sandy Island flats (11 487969E 6289614N) | Cabin tucked away on mid-river island (11 486978E 6282488N) | 7.2km |
| Tired from the previous night's storms and more rain today we can't resist a night in a cosy cabin. Who care's about the mileage? | |||
| 21 Jul | Cabin tucked away on mid-river island (11 486978E 6282488N) | Sand/mud raised area downstream from pulp mill (11 489495E 6250316N) | 32.3km |
| The river is lined with vertical cliffs on the outside of each bend. | |||
| 22 Jul | Sand/mud raised area downstream from pulp mill (11 489495E 6250316N) | Boat launch opposite Peace River, upstream from bridges (11 481669E 6231365N) | 20.5km |
| 23 Jul | Day off in Peace River | ||
| 24 Jul | Day off in Peace River | ||
| 25 Jul | Day off in Peace River | ||
| We'd intended to only have two days off, but we were still tired after running errands all day. | |||
| 26 Jul | Day off in Peace River | ||
| And today it rained all day—always keen to turn misfortune to our advantage, we quickly abandoned any aspirations of leaving and hung out eating doughnuts at Timmy's (that's Tim Horton's to you non-Canucks, Canada's laid-back answer to Starbucks.) | |||
| 27 Jul | Boat launch opposite Peace River, upstream from bridges (11 481669E 6231365N) | Island riverbank opposite Mushikitee island (11 458822E 6209903N) | 31.4km |
| A little way upstream from the Smoky-Peace River junction we pass by the site of Alexander Mackenzie's wintering post from which he set out in the spring of 1793 for the Pacific. Now it's a undistinguished bit of bushy riverbank marked by a red "NW" flag. | |||
| 28 Jul | Island riverbank opposite Mushikitee island (11 458822E 6209903N) | Cow-grazed grassy flat opposite Saddle (Burnt) River (11 429559E 6197342N) | 31.9km |
| The river narrows, the valley walls get tighter, and a series of interlocking spurs upstream towards Dunvegan hint at the stronger currents to come. | |||
| 29 Jul | Cow-grazed grassy flat opposite Saddle (Burnt) River (11 429559E 6197342N) | Small scrubby island upstream from Dunvegan road bridge (11 398816E 6198777N) | 30.8km |
| 30 Jul | Small scrubby island upstream from Dunvegan road bridge (11 398816E 6198777N) | Small, pebbled creek outflow opposite Fourth Creek (11 380243E 6215558N) | 25.0km |
| Spend the morning trying to discover what's at the allegedly historic site of Dunvegan—not much beyond the large provincial RV park, the fancy visitor centre which offers a twelve minute film and has a couple of buildings reconstructed to look like ones from the late 1800's. | |||
| 31 Jul | Small, pebbled creek outflow opposite Fourth Creek (11 380243E 6215558N) | Riverbank south of Many Islands (11 370600E 6239176N) | 25.5km |
| The river winds its way through a narrow dark valley. | |||
| 1 Aug | Riverbank south of Many Islands (11 370600E 6239176N) | Pebbled creek outflow (11 339815E 6230112N) | 32.1km |
| The current gets ever stronger, and we quickly learn that islands are to be greatly feared as they indicate an area of even greater current strength. | |||
| 2 Aug | Pebbled creek outflow (11 339815E 6230112N) | Small raised mud bank, on Alberta-British Columbia border (10 686292E 6226051N) | 26.6km |
| We camp directly on the BC border (check the coords, 120 degrees west exactly, at least in NAD 27). | |||
| 3 Aug | Small raised mud bank, on Alberta-British Columbia border (10 686292E 6226051N) | Pebbled creek outflow (10 662227E 6219923N) | 24.8km |
| How is it that an arbitrary political boundary can coincide with the geographical and fauna shift that occurs after you round the corner into BC? Suddenly the softer banks look green and verdant rather than cliffy and arid. | |||
| 4 Aug | Pebbled creek outflow (10 662227E 6219923N) | Pebbled island top, near Fort St John Provincial Historic Park (10 633971E 6230033N) | 30.0km |
| The landscape's softer but the current's ever harsher. We become very proficient at jumping in and out of pseudo-eddies caused by riverbank outcrops and overhanging trees. They're only "pseudo" because they rarely offer real respite, only a slight lessening in current. | |||
| 5 Aug | Pebbled island top, near Fort St John Provincial Historic Park (10 633971E 6230033N) | Scrubby riverbank, upstream from Bear Flat (10 608550E 6236199N) | 26.2km |
| Each morning in BC is accompanied by fog or river mist...and it rains a lot...which means the river stays swollen...which means the current stays even stronger than it might have been. | |||
| The story of the ring: Some things, which should not have been lost, have been lost. Over the winter in La Ronge, both of us lost our wedding rings, at different places, to the great white dust of the north. Amazingly, both rings were recovered when spring melted the snow, but fate obviously felt cheated—when we stopped for lunch on a large pebble bank, we pulled the canoe up firmly and started boiling some rice. Within 40min, the river had risen about 2 feet and the canoe was floating down the centre of a fast flowing channel only 50m away. Duncan chased after it, threw off his waterproof jacket (it had been raining) and dived into the chilly Peace River to swim after the canoe. It wasn't long before he caught up with it and pulled it safely to shore with the throw rope that we always leave clipped to the nose. All the contents were safe and a potentially trip-ending incident had been avoided. The cost was his wedding ring which now lies at the cold, murky bottom of the Peace River. If anyone has a waterproof, non-ferrous-enabled metal detector, some lead boots and an old brass diving bell helmet, we would be very interested in negotiating a reasonable rental rate! | |||
| 6 Aug | Scrubby riverbank, upstream from Bear Flat (10 608550E 6236199N) | Tiny peninsula tip, upstream from Halfway River (10 594994E 6230288N) | 14.8km |
| It was raining hard when we awoke, so we went back to sleep. It was still raining on and off at lunch, but seeing two kayakers, decked in their full rain gear, paddle past downstream guilted us into action, so off we set into the drizzly afternoon. But it's cold and wet—we should've just stayed in bed. Thank goodness it's beautiful here—thick green forest covering the steep, hilly (almost mountainous) riverbank. | |||
| 7 Aug | Tiny peninsula tip, upstream from Halfway River (10 594994E 6230288N) | Pebbled, thinly bushed island, just downstream from Hudson's Hope (10 570866E 6212326N) | 30.1km |
| More grizzled hair and monster scat tells us we're back in potential Grizzly country. Still haven't actually seen one yet, though. | |||
| And then we finally reach "The Gates"—vertical cliffs on each side of the river and a paddle up through a short section of real canyon. Luckily the eddies here are for real. | |||
| 8 Aug | Pebbled, thinly bushed island, just downstream from Hudson's Hope (10 570866E 6212326N) | Hudson's Hope (10 568139E 6209829N) | 3.7km |
| 9 Aug | Day off in Hudson's Hope | ||
| 10 Aug | Day off in Hudson's Hope | ||
| 11 Aug | Day off in Hudson's Hope and Fort St John | ||
| We paddled out of Hudson's Hope to ascend the final short, but difficult, section to the Peace Canyon Dam and before we'd had a chance to settle back into the canoe we tried to jump out of an eddy and launch ourselves across the river (as we'd done at every corner the whole way up the upper river) but we left our common sense a couple hundred metres behind us back in town. The current beyond the eddy was fast, and this eddy-line was a few inches high—as Duncan moaned "Oh bug*%r" and Abi shrugged, the canoe gracefully flipped. None of the gear was tied in, there were loose items scattered everywhere and we weren't wearing life jackets. Oh bug*%r indeed! As we floated rapidly down the hard-fought river, we managed to mop up most of the loose items using the listing canoe before swimming it all ashore. All we lost was a pair of sunglasses, a "La Ronge, SK" hat, a Tilley Hat ("that WAS the Tilley Hat, the best outdoor hat in the world") and our entire stove, pots and bowl set...oh yes, and a huge chunk of misplaced ego and every ounce of white water courage we'd managed to gain since starting. Shame about that Tilley Hat. | |||
| Hudson's Hope has very limited facilities, and we weren't willing to haul a huge Coleman double burner stove over the Pacific Divide, so we hitch-hiked to Fort St John to restock. | |||
| 12 Aug | Hudson's Hope (10 568139E 6209829N) | 2km downstream from Peace Canyon Dam (10 563955E 6206061N) | 5.6km |
| Getting back from Fort St John took us all morning and some of the afternoon, so it was almost 5pm before we faced the same stretch of water again. Rather than trying to ferry across them as we had attempted the day before, we crossed the river well below the grade 2 rapids and snuck a longer route around the back of some islands to avoid anything white. This short section of the Peace River, past "flowerpot" islands and between large vertical cliffs was technically harder than anything below, but was also the most beautiful section as we passed through narrow fern and moss lined grottoes. At one stage we needed to portage over a sweeper (a fallen tree laying in the water). The footing was difficult, but it was a much safer option than trying to track or paddle through the rapids at the end tip of the tree. As Duncan came over the ridge of rubble carrying the last of the gear, he found Abi, with a scarlet face, bent over the river, eyes and mouth drooling, coughing, almost vomiting up her lungs unstoppably. "What happened?". Abi couldn't talk. She recounted the story a few minutes later—she had carried the rucksac over the rocks, and laid it down to rest before positioning it in the canoe. When she noticed a strange oily substance covering the top pocket, she worried that the pack contained some leaking cooking oil (although everything like that was contained in our sealed food-barrel, wasn't it?), so she leant over to unzip the pocket and investigate. A face-full of anti-bear pepper spray greeted her inquiries. The pressurised canister had been punctured and the sticky, oily contents were spraying out through the small crack. We spent the night awake with burning hands, unsuccessfully trying to clean pepper spray off our gear—we still get a red chemical burn on our forehead when we wear our Petzl headtorch. | |||
| 13 Aug | 2km downstream from Peace Canyon Dam (10 563955E 6206061N) | On top of the W.A.C Bennet Dam (10 548966E 6208533N) | 15.2km |
| When we reached the base of the Peace Canyon Dam, we found ourselves fenced in to the dam compound. Abi walked across the dam and found Travis, who let us through and gave us instructions of how to approach the Bennet dam that was to follow. | |||
| Rounding the final bend of Dinosaur lake left us confronted by the beast—tall, vertical cliffs on each side of the canyon, and at the end an imperceivably gargantuan mound of rubble. Cut through the cliffs on the left hand canyon wall was a dinosaur-scale ski-jump ramp—the overflow spillway of the W.A.C. Bennet dam, that when activated (a very rare occurrence) draws crowds of hundreds of thousands who marvel at the jet of water shooting hundreds of feet through mid-air. We lined up the rapids below this, terrified by the massive standing waves beside us from the dam outflow (but Travis said there were no rapids?) and were relieved to scramble up a steep bank of blasted rock to arrive at the "Tunnel Number 3 Portal" that lead against a cool, musty wind into the depths of the canyon wall. Very James Bond. We carried the canoe up a flight of stairs to a series of access roads that criss-cross face of the dam and over the top where we camped. | |||
Pacific Divide | |||
| Date | From | To | Distance (air) |
| 14 Aug | On top of the W.A.C Bennet Dam (10 548966E 6208533N) | Shallow shelf at base of sandy cliff, Williston Lake (10 512790E 6214485N) | 36.7km |
| 15 Aug | Shallow shelf at base of sandy cliff, Williston Lake (10 512790E 6214485N) | Pebble and sand point, opposite Ignatieff Bay entrance, Peace Reach of Williston Lake (10 457665E 6211426N) | 55.2km |
| Over a distance of only 40km, the flooded Peace River canyon passes through the Rocky Mountains. It's a ingenious back-door through the otherwise impenetrable mountain chain, and you are rewarded with the most breathtaking section of paddling on the route so far—the mountains, initially visible at a distance down side arms of Williston Lake, reach down right to the water's edge, the tips towering 1.5km above. | |||
| 16 Aug | Pebble and sand point, opposite Ignatieff Bay entrance, Peace Reach of Williston Lake (10 457665E 6211426N) | Pebbled point by small creek outlet, Parsnip Reach (10 465478E 6170313N) | 41.9km |
| 17 Aug | Pebbled point by small creek outlet, Parsnip Reach | Inlet off Williston Lake by Mackenzie (10 491331E 6131576N) | 46.6km |
| We had decided some time ago that we were going to follow Alexander Mackenzie's route up the Parsnip River, even though it was reputed to be significantly more taxing than an alternative route via Summit Lake and the Giscome Portage. We had discovered that the three lakes that mark the summit of Mackenzie's route had been designated a provincial park based on their historic interest and to protect "very high value fall and spring grizzly habitat". After Abi's exploding bear-spray canister incident, we needed a new can—save for the large hunting knife we've been carrying since Montreal for when things really get bad, bear spray was the only defence we had. Thus we made a little side trip, a short paddle and 3km walk, into Mackenzie. | |||
| 18 Aug | Day off in Mackenzie | ||
| 19 Aug | Inlet off Williston Lake by Mackenzie (10 491331E 6131576N) | Shingle bank, Parsnip River (10 499623E 6111436N) | 21.8km |
| The mouth of the Parsnip is a maze of false channels, but we soon find a route through to the river itself which immediately sets the tone for what is to follow—no sooner had we found the river-proper than we were confronted by shallow, pebbled rapids and a reasonable head-current. | |||
| 20 Aug | Shingle bank, Parsnip River (10 499623E 6111436N) | Sandy, dried river channel around island (10 514956E 6094583N) | 22.8km |
| 21 Aug | Sandy, dried river channel around island (10 514956E 6094583N) | Large, open pebbled expanse (10 527323E 6074859N) | 23.3km |
| Luckily the difficulties on the Parsnip River are convex—the further up the river you go, the shallower the gradient and the less frequent the rapids. | |||
| 22 Aug | Large, open pebbled expanse (10 527323E 6074859N) | Mid-river island (10 542140E 6062318N) | 19.4km |
| 23 Aug | Mid-river island (10 542140E 6062318N) | Pebbled area, Parsnip/Missinka crossroads (10 561875E 6048261N) | 24.2km |
| Garry, a bear of a man who was holidaying at his trap-line in a cosy trailer, explains that at higher water levels, the river is navigable by powerboats right up to Arctic Lake, which relieves us greatly—we have no idea what to expect on this river as so few people follow this route and information is scarce. | |||
| 24 Aug | Pebbled area, Parsnip/Missinka crossroads (10 561875E 6048261N) | Arctic Lake (10 584854E 6032029N) | 28.1km |
| All the wading, tracking, and upstream paddling ascending the Parsnip River is rewarded by a spectacular view from Arctic Creek across to the Parsnip Glacier and an evening-light sun-soaked Arctic Lake. | |||
| 25 Aug | Arctic Lake (10 584854E 6032029N) | Pacific Lake (10 591514E 6027506N) | 8.0km |
| 26 Aug | Pacific Lake (10 591514E 6027506N) | Trench-of-trees, Bad River (10 601210E 6018362N) | 13.3km |
| Bad River (aka James Creek)—we set off with a spring in our step thinking "how bad can Bad River really be?". Very. Very, very bad indeed. Its tiny 15km found us hauling our canoe down six-foot beaver dams (that was easy), dragging it across endlessly shallow rocks (no paddling possible for 80% of this river—getting weary now), wading down powerful rapids tipping the canoe on its side to squeeze, like the current, between boulders (now we're wondering if we'll make it all the way to Herrick Creek tonight), and then it flattens off. Ah, nearly there, only 2km to go. We're gonna make it. But then...the "trench-of-trees"—how bad can it get? How's this: raining, dark, creek 5-10 feet wide lined with impenetrable bush, log-jams everywhere, fallen trees every 5-10m that require limboing under, pivoting over or full carries around (no portages here?), grizzly prints everywhere and the salmon are spawning. Footage of Alaskan grizzlies swiping massive salmon with their even massiver claws haunts our sleepless night. The last 1.5km of Bad River are harder than all the rest combined. | |||
| 27 Aug | Trench-of-trees, Bad River (10 601210E 6018362N) | Cabin, McGregor River (10 574543E 6010753N) | 27.7km |
Fraser River | |||
| Date | From | To | Distance (air) |
| 28 Aug | Cabin, McGregor River (10 574543E 6010753N) | Pebbled river bank, Fraser River (10 534153E 6008435N) | 40.5km |
| 29 Aug | Pebbled river bank, Fraser River (10 534153E 6008435N) | Prince George (10 518124E 5973794N) | 38.2km |
| 30 Aug | Day off in Prince George | ||
| 31 Aug | Day off in Prince George | ||
| 1 Sep | Day off in Prince George | ||
| 2 Sep | Day off in Prince George | ||
| We had lingered in Prince George while we tried to decide whether to follow the Fraser all the way down to Vancouver, or whether to take Mackenzie's overland trekking route from close to Quesnel on the Fraser River to the Pacific at Bella Coola. Ideally we'd like to do both. We decide to try as much of the Fraser as the canyons will sensibly allow (our whitewater skills have always been non-existent, and our confidence remains low) and head off early in the morning to our canoe which we've left stashed on the riverbank near the Yellowhead bridge over the Fraser River. It's gone, as are many other items of gear we foolishly left with it. | |||
| 3-19 Sep | Day off in Prince George | ||
| What we've lost: our beloved Trailhead Prospector kevlar canoe; our paddles (including two Trailhead cherry chieftains) which have survived the rigours of powering us from Montreal; lifejackets; throwropes; blue food barrel with harness; our pot-set and MSR stove which we'd owned only two weeks since we tipped; a monstrously expensive, but fabulously reliable, Katadyn Pocket water filter; water bottles and some food. | |||
| What we haven't lost: tent; sleeping bags; thermarests; clothes and valuables like passports, credit cards and camera equipment. | |||
| In a futile attempt to regain our gear, we ask the Prince George Citizen newspaper for help (Frank Peebles writes a kindly article about our predicament), we ask CBC for an interview (to which they agree), and we splatter downtown Prince George lampposts with flyers offering a no-questions-asked reward. Immediately, we receive messages of condolences and offers of canoes to borrow (or even have!) but no word on our gear. | |||
| Knowing that the Fraser River is going to be hard on any canoe taken down it, we can't accept the responsibility of potentially trashing someone else's well-loved boat by dragging it up steep valley walls etc. The Prince George second hand canoe market is very quiet, so we're forced to look into obtaining a new canoe. Being financially challenged, we abandon some pride and send an email to Alv at Pakboats asking if we can buy a canoe at a discount: miraculously, he generously agrees, and given that these ingenious canoes pack down into small sizes, postage from New Hampshire by courier is a third of the cost of getting an ex-rental canoe trucked to BC from Trailhead in Ottawa. We're excited because it may allow us to pack the canoe into a rucksac for the lengthy portages we are facing on the Fraser River (e.g. the 40km+ hike around the Moran canyon above Lillooet), and it will allow us take a canoe back to Scotland on an aeroplane rather than having to arrange and pay for shipping. Also, these are the perfect vehicles for remote fly-in wilderness trips (save tons on the cost of carrying a 16' or 17' canoe in a plane), in-the-back-of-the-car holiday trips, or even for hitchhiking on trucks across the Tibetan tundra to reach those remote lakes. | |||
| Our friends in Ottawa and at Trailhead all chip in and bus us the miscellaneous, but essential, paddling paraphernalia we've lost and, once again, we're kitted out and ready to continue. | |||
| During our stay in Prince George, we're overcome by the hospitality and help we receive from everyone we meet: Kent acts as a recipient for all the incoming parcels and shows us the historic side of town and the surrounding area (including taking us along a portion of the Mackenzie Heritage Trail); Librarian Evelyn, a complete stranger who sees us mooching around, checking email and reading magazines, invites us for dinner at her home and introduces us to husband Norm, world class paddler Lyle and his wife Marian. Lyle and Marian invite us for a much-needed, crash white-water clinic on the Nechako River. And what about the stranger, who overhearing our conversation with a CBC reporter is so ashamed that our gear was stolen in her town that she contributes some money towards the reward we're offering? She won't be refused even though it was our own stupidity—leaving the canoe and gear under a bridge—that resulted in the theft. We'd never do that in Europe, so why should Canada be different? Well, because on our journey so far, we've done so many things we'd never have gotten away with in Europe. | |||
| We're incredibly indebted to Pakboats, Trailhead, Brent and Karen in Ottawa, and the overwhelmingly friendly people of Prince George (except the swine who swiped our stuff!) | |||
| 20 Sep | Prince George (10 518124E 5973794N) | Just south of Woodpecker Island (10 521140E 5924245N) | 49.7km |
| 21 Sep | Just south of Woodpecker Island (10 521140E 5924245N) | Quesnel (10 533711E 5869408N) | 56.3km |
| 22 Sep | Day off in Quesnel | ||
| 23 Sep | Day off in Quesnel (sick) | ||
| 24 Sep | Day off in Quesnel (sick) | ||
| 25 Sep | Quesnel (10 533711E 5869408N) | Sandy flat on stony Island just south of Marguerite (10 538639E 5814846N) | 54.8km |
| 26 Sep | Sandy flat on stony Island just south of Marguerite (10 538639E 5814846N) | Beach at confluence Williams Lake River with the Fraser River (10 549792E 5779486N) | 37.1km |
| 27 Sep | Beach at confluence Williams Lake River with the Fraser River (10 549792E 5779486N) | High sand flat between trees, Toosey (10 546055E 5748507N) | 31.2km |
| 28 Sep | High sand flat between trees, Toosey (10 546055E 5748507N) | Large sand bar, south of Meason Creek Canyon (10 545286E 5724995N) | 23.5km |
| Fraser River Highlight Number 1: Portage du Baril (aka Iron Canyon). Vertical walls, hundreds of feet high on both sides of the river, for hundreds of metres around a slight corner. It's stunning and intimidating: a portage route is obvious so we walk its length to scout the canyon. At the lower end, amongst some rocks near a beach suitable for relaunching, and next to a large stone engraved with pictographs we find an iron hoop from a small barrel or casket. We immediately convince ourselves we have found a hoop from the barrel of grog that Simon Fraser cracked open to reward his men for successfully running their canoes through the canyon (hence the "Baril", or barrel, in "Portage du Baril"), so we take it with us to get inevitable confirmation and resulting letters from various important Canadian institutions pleading for our find to be added to their distinguished collections. 'Spose it may have fallen off the back of a sternwheeler, but that's not the point! Anyway, the portage is very arduous and the canyon has no rapids in it, just lots of testing boils, whirlpools and eddies, so like our hoop's former owner, we too run it successfully. | |||
| 29 Sep | Large sand bar, south of Meason Creek Canyon (10 545286E 5724995N) | Mouth of Lone Cabin Creek, below the "Cathedrals" (10 552991E 5685214N) | 40.5km |
| Fraser River Highlight Number 2: China Gulch Canyon. On the left: a huge wall, nearly vertical, of dark red, craggy rock that towers into an aggresive spike. On the right: Lower, evening-shadowed, submissive, broken cliffs. But, most importantly for canoers looking for a way through ('cos the right looks like the undulating portage from hell, and the left is worse), down the centre: rapids at the head of the canyon which can be sneaked on the right and then plain sailing with the odd boiling interruption, but we're used to that now. | |||
| 30 Sep | Mouth of Lone Cabin Creek, below the "Cathedrals" (10 552991E 5685214N) | Small sand bar, Big Bar Ferry landing (10 560710E 5670544N) | 16.6km |
| Fraser River Highlight Number 3: French Bar Canyon. As the river surges its way left into the canyon, the lazier right bank sweeps upright into a forboding vertical wall to match the already sheer left. The water levels are high for this time of year, so this one's a portage...and what a portage. All we know is that there's an old track starting from river-right above the canyon that climbs up and over and is about 2 miles long. Our topo maps show such a track so we pull ashore just below the mouth of a creek and quickly find it. In the distance, we can see a trail skirting up and across the face of the steepening right wall near the top of the canyon and assume our route lies that way. Things start well, but our path turns sharply right, straight up the ridge of a dusty spur: the slope must be 1 in 3 at least, and the footing is so loose in places it feels like walking up a sand dune. When we lung'n'leg bustingly gain the plateau above, we realise this ain't the trail we saw from below. Though we have followed the route shown on our maps, there is a significantly better route with a much more favourable gradient that starts only a couple hundred metres downstream from where we pulled off the river. Once on the plateau above, the routes converge and the track is excellant, descending some way down from the lower end of the canyon, but offering reasonable views of the lower canyon that led Fraser to name it "le rapide couvert", as the glowing orangy-beige walls are slightly overhanging on both sides. It must be a stunning ride from within. | |||
| 1 Oct | Cheated! As we packed up in the morning, we left one rucksac empty, ready to take the canoe when we started the ~50km portage around the Moran and other canyons above Lillooet. We knew the canoe-pack would be heavy (the canoe weighs 53lbs; add in extras like paddles, yoke, and a throwrope or two and you've got a heavy load) but managable, and we'd deal with it when we rolled up the boat. So we stuffed all our other gear and food into a second rucksac. The creature we gave birth to that morning came as a shock—we could barely lift it up to put it on our back, let alone carry it along a trail that may be rough and very steep in spots. We didn't have portaging wheels with us, so we decided to hitch. Traffic at the Big Bar ferry is light, but it was easy to negotiate a ride when we could simply throw our canoe in the back of Walter's truck. Walter was spending the weekend at his palatial cabin nearby with his wife Jean, and friends Roy and Vera. They let us tag along on their tour of the district, gave us lunch and dropped us that evening in Clinton, from where we would have a good chance of catching a ride to Lillooet. | ||
| 2 Oct | Hitched from Clinton to Lillooet. | ||
| 3 Oct | Day off in Lillooet | ||
| 4 Oct | Lillooet (10 575603E 5615081N) | High, sandy eddy bay, Nkaih IR 10 (10 595769E 5575568N) | 44.4km |
| 5 Oct | High, sandy eddy bay, Nkaih IR 10 (10 595769E 5575568N) | Lytton (10 601009E 5565562N) | 11.3km |
| 6 Oct | Day off in Lytton | ||
| 7 Oct | Lytton (10 601009E 5565562N) | Sandy bay, tucked behind canyon-terminating rock cliff, Kapchynalth IR 2, near Kanaka Bar (10 602480E 5553997N) | 11.7km |
| Fraser River Highlight Number 4: The CN/CP cross-over. At Cantilever Bar, the CP railroad surveyors decided to switch sides of the river. So when the CN folks built their line along the opposing bank, they were forced to switch the other way. The result is two bridges in quick succession built over a narrow, sheer-sided canyon. Unfortunately there is a very inconvenient rapid (solid grade 3 when we saw it, but with nasty, surging, frothy gunge below that made it look very scary) that forced us to haul the canoe up a very steep slope onto the train line, and lower it back down into the canyon with a rope to avoid a very lengthy portage and to allow us to float under the two bridges. More boils, whirlpools and eddies, but we're inadvertantly getting adept at playing whirlpool hopscotch. | |||
| 8 Oct | Sandy bay, tucked behind canyon-terminating rock cliff, Kapchynalth IR 2, near Kanaka Bar (10 602480E 5553997N) | Boston Bar (10 611556E 5524940N) | 30.4km |
| 9 Oct | Day off in Boston Bar | ||
| 10 Oct | Boston Bar (10 611556E 5524940N) | Right Beside CN rail line, between the old and new Alexandra Bridges (10 614619E 5506863N) | 18.4km |
| This section was always a canoe-free zone for us. We had phoned rafting companies from Lillooet a week ago to try and arrange running the crux of the Fraser Canyon by the only reasonable means, but the last rafting trip any of the companies offered was running half an hour from the time we phoned. The lady from Fraser River Raft Expeditions told us it takes the best part of 2 hours by car to get from Lillooet to Boston Bar (where the raft trip commenced), so even if we could find transportation, we knew rafting was out. But a raft trip is definitely the way to do it. Still without portaging wheels (too expensive to buy new, and the only place we knew we could rent them had already put theirs in storage for the season) we put what little excess gear we had in a bag on the Greyhound bound for Hope, packed up the canoe in a rucksac and started walking down the CP train line—this offers the best available view of the river other than actually being on it. | |||
| Fraser River Highlight Number 5: Hell's Gate. Every Canadian seems to have heard of it, and many have enjoyed the gondola ride from the highway to the pleasantly tacky tourist attractions at the cataract itself. The tree-covered valley walls are steep to the mountain tops above, and the constriction's walls look like the chevron doors of a boat lock that can no longer hold back the deluge. But diluted by human infringments (the bridge, concrete salmon ladders, railroad tunnel and numerous buildings and paths), Hell's Gate has been tamed from the monster it once was into a circus curiosity. | |||
| Fraser River Highlight Number 6: The Black Canyon. Deep and dark, black indeed. Sheer cliffs on both sides for miles. And if you were a little braver than us, with the exception of a slight rapid near the beginning, it offers fairly flat paddling (usual boils/whirlpools disclaimer applies). | |||
| After Hell's Gate both railroads have tunnels: our 1:250 map showed a long one on the CP track, but none on the CN side. So we went along the CN side. However, there were tunnels...lots of them, but they were all fairly short. There seems to have been some truce between CP and CN: they share their tracks to their mutual benefit. The CP (west) side is used by trains heading up the valley, while the CN (east) side is used for downhill traffic. And the downhill traffic races. Somewhere between our third and fourth tunnel we were passed by a train, and after that we ran through those tunnels with much greater urgency—the truth is that if a train was approaching while you were passing through a tunnel, you would be unlikely to get enough warning to allow you to escape before the train was upon you. Next time we'd take the highway, and probably enjoy the views from inside a car. | |||
| That night's camp site was definitely one of our worst: Abi made her ears bleed by jamming her fingers into them every time the three headlights of a train lit up the inside of the tent, shortly before it thundered past only 5 metres away. | |||
| 11 Oct | Right Beside CN rail line, between the old and new Alexandra Bridges (10 614619E 5506863N) | Yale (10 613688E 5490949N) | 16.0km |
| It wasn't bravery that made us put our canoe back into the water to run the lower section of the Fraser Canyon, it was our sore feet. | |||
| Fraser River Highlight Number 7: Saddle Rock. Another impressive constriction, this time around either side of a rocky citadel (grade 4, 5 or maybe 6 rapids—who cares when the numbers get that high?) followed by a long churning canyon meant another long portage onto the railway tracks and another tunnel. This one really shook us as a train screamed out of the tunnel only a minute after we had also screamed while running through with a canoe on our heads. | |||
| Fraser River Highlight Number 8: Yale. The canyons are over! | |||
| 12 Oct | Yale (10 613688E 5490949N) | Hope (10 612618E 5471036N) | 19.9km |
| 13 Oct | Hope (10 612618E 5471036N) | Matsqui Island, near Mission (10 549478E 5440742N) | 70.1km |
| 14 Oct | Matsqui Island, near Mission (10 549478E 5440742N) | Roadside layby, south bank, opposite Mitchell Island, North Arm of Fraser River (10 493880E 5449518N) | 56.3km |
| Pitched opposite Mitchell Island in a layby on a road that services an industrial park—perhaps the most concentrated industrial blob in all Vancouver—it's another campsite vying for the worst ever. Never mind the cruncher nearby that spent the whole night grinding rocks or wood, or the beaten up old Mercedes that cruised up and down the road all evening, its occupants ironically accusing us of being weirdos, nor the bountiful supply of condom wrappers, the worst was that everytime a car or lorry drove by, semi-concious Abi would, like a confused pavlovian dog, stick her fingers in her ears, breaking open her train scabs. | |||
| 15 Oct | Roadside layby, south bank, opposite Mitchell Island, North Arm of Fraser River (10 493880E 5449518N) | English Bay beach, West End, Vancouver (10 489559E 5459437N) | 10.8km |
| Under a blanket of grey sky, six unloaded super-tankers lie anchored in the bay, scattered randomly like the pieces from a game of "Battleships". The nose of our boat slides up through the mussel shells and kelp onto the sand of English Bay Beach beneath the condo towers of Vancouver's west end. A young student couple skip lectures for a romantic lunchtime rendezvous. A gay couple on holiday take photos of one another with the Pacific as their backdrop. Three winos play golf, hitting beer cans into the water with an upturned wooden crutch, and a lone middle aged man, escaping his life for an hour, drinks coffee from a baby sucky-cup staring out over the water. We step out the boat, kiss, take a couple of self-portraits holding the camera at arm's length, put on a rucksac each and walk into the city in search of a hotel, carrying our canoe. | |||
All coordinates are UTM/NAD83.
Journey completed in a Pakboat 170, thanks, in part, to the generosity of Pakboats.