We began the New Year with several inches of snow on the ground, left over from the first snow storm of the season. While our driveway was initially impassable, it did not take much to clear it and we were back in business.
The second storm of the season hit on the 8th of January. This one dumped 9 inches, leaving a decent amount of fresh snow to be cleared. After the snow was pushed aside it gave us our first opportunity to enjoy the white stuff and we made the most of it with several snowshoe excursions.
In quick succession, on the 12th of January we were hit by another big storm, this one dumping well over 14 inches on us overnight, and adding what was already on the ground. We woke up to quite a spectacle. Erin went outside first to start shoveling and soon came back in and told me to not even bother getting up. The cleanup from this storm was difficult, but we persevered and managed to eventually get the driveway clear with the help of the tractor.
On the 18th of January mother nature mixed things up a bit and an ice storm took hold. This was a mess to clear up, but the driveway remained open nevertheless. We sat by the fire in the evening trying not to hear the loud cracking sounds as the trees around our house, now bent over by the weight of the ice, finally snapped and crashed to the ground.
On the 21st of January there was more snow, but only a few inches which seemed inconsequential to mountains of snow we had already dealt with.
On the 27th of January another massive storm hit, this one dumping in excess of 12 inches, and adding to the ever increasing amount of snow on the ground. The cleanup from this storm proved the hardest yet as we were quickly running out of places to put the snow.
After 3 days without mail (because our mailbox was buried) and spending most of the weekend continuing the big dig out, we now have a day to regroup before the next storm hits on Tuesday.
For the first morning in several days, we woke up to actual sunshine! The only difficulty was there had been a heavy dew the previous night, so everything that had been left out to dry was actually wetter, but at least we had sunshine!
After breaking camp, we paddled about 100 yards downstream to the mouth of Blacktail canyon. Blacktail is an incredible canyon made up of layers of Tapetes sandstone. As with many narrow side canyons, Blacktail ended with a waterfall. Flattened vegetation and deep rivulets gave evidence of the flood that must have pounded through the narrow canyon after the torrential rainfall.
After leaving the canyon, it was rapid after rapid. Dan swam in Forster and then we both swam in a really swirly "riffle" around mile 124. The third rapid, Fossil, was one of the most exciting of the day - it was a really long rapid with several S-curves. For some reason we didn’t follow our usual order and all of the rafts and kayakers ended up going into the rapid in a bit bunch. Dan flipped early on and ended up swimming. None of the kayakers could quite get to him because we were still in the middle of the rapid, but Dad threw him a throw bag and he and Dan pulled him on to the yellow raft in the middle of the rapid. I am not sure where his boat ended up but I think it was pulled on to a different raft. Shortly after that we stopped for lunch on a small beach. It was sunny, but really windy so it still felt quite cool.
Immediately after lunch was another unnamed rapid with one huge wave and some super-swirly water. It flipped me and I ended up swimming. I popped up, but was sucked back underwater by a massive whirlpool of water – talk about disconcerting! I actually had to kick to get back up to the surface. Tim later told me that while upside down in the kayak there was actually a moment when it looked like my whole boat had been sucked into the vortex – yikes!
The rest of the afternoon was great! We started our new "quick scout" program where we all piled on shore took a 3-5 minute look at the rapid and jumped back in the boats. We went through Specter - no problems remembered, Bedrock - also no problems except that several of the rafts passed quite close to the rock but it made for good film :-)
Next up was Dubendorff . In my opinion, Dubendorff was one of the more impressive rapids on the river. For whatever reason (probably because it had just rained for days and the river was swollen with water), the waves appeared immense and the river wide and turbulent at this particular spot. We spent a bit longer looking at Dubendorff and assessing the best route around the massive hole at the bottom of the rapid on river left. The first plan was to attempt cutting right across the tongue, but on closer look, there was concern that the current within the tongue was too strong and would be very difficult to cross. Instead, we all ended up taking the far more manageable, far right route through Dubendorff - except for Michael who braved the left route and managed to skirt the massive hole on river left. The far right route was still plenty exciting, but it kept us all – rafts and kayakers – well clear of the hole.
We kept going after Dubendorff through several smaller rapids. On our way, we passed the Beckwith group and stopped to ask about Sam's life jacket - which they returned but with no knife. We continued through Granite Narrows which is the canyon’s narrowest point at 76 feet across. It is incredible that this is the narrowest point and the river is still huge! We ended up camping at OC's. It had been one of our longer days and we had covered around 17 miles. Everyone was pretty tired, but we were able to get camp set up and a dinner of fish tacos cooked in no time. Great day!
I definitely slept better than last night when we were flooded out, but not great. I felt like I was waiting all night for the storms to start up again! Luckily the weather seems to be clearing up a bit. I dragged myself out into the drizzly morning to help with breakfast. Under Michael's direction, we made egg sandwiches with sliced oranges. We also prepared fresh tabouleh for lunch.
It turned into a cool, damp morning, but we managed to get the tents packed up and everything loaded on the boats before it started to pour. I tried to do a pre-water warm up on the beach to get ready for our first rapid of the day, Emerald, which was right at our doorstep, but unfortunately its utility was marginal. Emerald rapid had surprisingly massive waves and it wiped me out pretty quickly. A huge lateral wave rolled me right over. It was not much fun to swim on the first rapid on a cold morning, but at least I was the only swimmer. I was quickly pulled to shore and Michael helped to empty my kayak which was much appreciated. Unfortunately because the morning was cold and drizzly, I started to get cold quite quickly.
Next up was Ruby, the last of the gems. I did not see what happened, but Dan ended up swimming. I made it through as did all of the kayakers and rafts. We went through several smaller rapids and riffles before arriving at Serpentine. Sadly, Serpentine did not go so well for me and I swam after getting flipped by a large wave. Luckily, the expert rescue squad was ready and pulled me to shore. I was getting extremely cold at this point and Jim very kindly offered to lend me his farmer john dry suit. I was worried that he would get cold and did not want to accept, but my shivers outweighed my worry and we quickly changed. The farmer john made a HUGE difference and I finally started to warm up for the first time all day.
We stopped for lunch at Shinumo creek just as the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. What a reaction that got! Everyone was smiling and laying out wet clothes to dry. Before eating lunch and pumping water, we hiked up Shinumo Canyon. It was not a long hike and most of it involved walking up the creek bed through a narrow, little canyon. It was a beautiful canyon that ended in a spectacular waterfall! Several people jumped into the pool beneath the waterfall and enjoyed a fresh water shower. I was still too chilled to jump in another cold pool of water, but it was funny to see everyone’s wetsuits fill with water!
Just as we finished lunch, it started to rain again, so we quickly got back on the river. We were all wearing water clothes anyway, so it was the best place to be in the rain. We went through several small rapids before reaching Waltenberg. We stopped to scout Waltenberg and then went through. The goal for the kayakers was to ferry right to miss a hole at bottom center. I started off ok and even scored a combat roll, but unfortunately, I didn’t make it far enough right and ended up going through the hole sideways, so I was back upside down and swimming before I knew it. Jim also swam at Waltenberg after going through the same hole. Luckily for me (but maybe unluckily for him), I was still wearing his semi-dry farmer john, so I stayed relatively warm and dry even though it was my third swim of the day. All of the other kayakers and rafts made it through in good form.
As we were going through Waltenberg, the rain was pounding down and it even started to hail, but it did not last for long. Before we knew it the sun was back out and we were able to see some spectacular waterfalls throughout the afternoon. We stopped for a quick hike at Elves Chasm. It was a beautiful little spot with a lot of fun rocks to clamber over on the way back to a waterfall and a pool.
We were aiming for one of the Blacktail camp sites and were hoping to get in before dark. We ended up stopping at 120-mile campground which is just above Blacktail Canyon. It was a huge campsite with lots of room for everyone to spread out. We are getting very good at setting camp up quickly and dinner served in no time. The only thing that took a bit longer to cook tonight was the gingerbread cake, but everyone who stayed awake to eat a slice thought it was delicious!
The rain continued into the night. I woke at 3am to thunder and lightning, heavy rain hitting the tent, and a gushing sound close by. I reached for the tent floor above my pillow hoping for the reassuring feeling of solid ground, but instead I felt a bubbly texture of water under the tent – much like how a water bed feels. The bubblyness was quickly spreading in all directions from one corner of the tent. In the darkness I grabbed for my head-lamp. We had a serious problem. The tent was now quickly filling with water. A flash flood from the heavy rains meant that our tent was now pitched in the middle of an overflow pond from the newly created stream flowing a few feet away. We were now both awake and on full alert. Erin’s first concern was for our boats on the beach. She left the tent and went running off into the storm to make sure they weren’t floating away. Crouching in the tent, between the floating platforms of our sleeping pads, I grabbed our blankets and stowed them into dry bags as quickly as I could, to stop them getting wet. There was now a good two inches of water in the tent. The rain was easing, but the flood was not. We evacuated the rest of our belongings from the tent. There were now quite a few people awake. We crafted a drainage channel to release the water from the newly created pond, and we got some help to empty the water from out tent and move it to higher ground. Thunder and lightning continued until morning as we lay trying to sleep on wet sleeping pads.
The next morning was cold and wet. It had been quite a night. We had been barraged almost continuously throughout the night by some seriously fierce storms. The storms most intense moment culminated with the brightest flash of lightning and loudest crash of thunder most of us have ever experienced, magnified further by canyon walls surrounding us.
We had breakfast at 6:30am and then a delay until out next move was decided. As the storm clouds subsided, the call was made to move out. We put on wet gear and packed up our stuff, including a very wet and sandy tent.
The first rapid was not far from our camp. It was Granite rapid (rated 7-8) at mile 94. The river here is especially fierce after the storm. The rapid runs down a steep 18 foot drop alongside the canyon wall and I had decided to try and run it. Wow! I have never experienced anything like that before! I followed Andy’s lead. We entered near the wall at the top right. There were big powerful waves coming from multiple directions. You need to brace into them or they will knock you right over. Andy flipped quickly and disappeared into the swelling water. I continued on, occasionally catching a glimpse of his upturned boat amongst the white water and breaking waves ahead of me. Then a lateral hit me from one side, then the other, and then in a flash I was upside down as well. I didn’t even know what hit me. Upside down in my boat the water was turbulent. I felt my boat being pulled forcefully this way and that. I waited a couple of seconds before trying to roll. I got a gasp of air, and then I was back under. I tried again without success. It felt like I was being circulated. Now was the time to pull the cord and eject. I surfaced holding my boat, but I’d lost my paddle. The fierce water and strong currents in the rapid were swiftly carrying me downstream. I caught a glimpse of my paddle in the swelling water and quickly decided to release my grip on my boat in favor of a chance to get my paddle back. I released my boat, but now I had lost sight of my paddle. I kicked my legs and grabbed into the water where I’d last seen it. To my relief, my hand made contact and I had my paddle back. Now I caught sight of Andy who was close by. He expertly maneuvered his boat into position and I grabbed for the handle at the back. He towed me out of the rapid and towards shore as I coughed out the water I had swallowed.
Erin had been on shore and had blown her whistle to raise the alarm. Michael had gone after my boat which was now out of view. Once on shore on river right I made my way across the sand and rocks downstream to find Michael and retrieve my boat. He had pulled into an eddy on the other side of the debris fan. After my boat was drained, I was back on the water. Wow! The adrenaline was still running. Granite Rapid was an experience that I will never forget. It was the most challenging rapid that I’d ever attempted. I was very glad I’d made the decision to try it, and also slightly disappointed that I didn’t make it through without swimming.
The video below was shot by Erin and shows (at half speed) some of the action in the first part of the rapid. Andy is in the first kayak and I am in the second:
Erin put her boat on the water below Granite after portaging from camp. The next rapid of the day was Hermit Rapid were Erin swam after flipping near the top. I made it through unscathed; now with a taste for the big water. After Boucher rapid came Crystal (rated 7-10) rapid, and is one of the hardest on the river. Scouting took a long time. Lunch was followed, and then Tim, I and Jim took the sneak route down the right side and thereby avoiding the majority of the rapid. Max also took his raft down the right side and got stuck between two rocks so that he had to be pulled off.
Several more rapids followed, Tuna Rapid and Lower Tuna where I was flipped and managed to roll on my second attempt (was very pleasing). After a riffle or two, Sapphire Rapid (rated 6) was quite challenging, but I made it though. After Turquoise Rapid it was getting late and my arms were beginning to ache. We eventually found a campsite at about 6pm (30 minutes before sunset) at Emerald just above 104 Mile Rapid. After unloading the boats, I setup the tent which involved some creative guy lines to work around rocks, and Erin was on the cooking crew.
It was a great day. My best yet! I’m feeling more comfortable in my boat and in the rapids. Excellent! Now I just need to get some sleep for more tomorrow.
