Trips July 28th to August 3rd

The summer is flying by, so take advantage of some of the paddling trips.

Upper St Marys has provided some fun trips over the past two weeks. Flows (17 cms) are great for begginers, and a couple of play spots provide a place for more advanced paddlers to practice skills as well. Just yesterday, a group of 10 paddlers enjoyed the Upper, some of whom had never paddled on a river before. Both they and more seasoned paddlers enjoyed some hole and wave surfing as well as a great sunset. All of the reports that I heard were positive. If those paddlers or any other ORCKA members are interested in this trip or any other trip, here is the place to leave your comments.

Trips July 21th to 27th

There is still plenty of water flowing in BC. If you have any exciting paddling adventures planned, comment on them here.

There are a couple of runs around the Elk that could make a solid day of paddling if linked together (Lodgepole to Wigwam to Elk... class III-IV/V). If anyone else has paddled any of those sections, I'd love to know what they are like. Also, if anyone is interested in planning a trip out there leave your comments.

Happy paddling!

Magrath Triathalon Needs Kayakers (friendly reminder)

Magrath is having their annual triathalon July 29 and are asking for our help. They have done some research and have found that kayakers make for the best rescue craft for triathalon swimmers. They are hoping for as many able-bodied kayakers (meaning kayakers that would most likely not create a need for rescue themselves... you should have a roll) as are willing to volunteer. This years Magrath Triathalon has a cap of 200 participants, so there will definately be a need for more than a couple of boats. We have commitment from three boaters to this point but could use a couple more. Your time would be greatly appreciated.

The commitment would be from 8 am to about 10 am at St Marys Reservoir, and I was told that we would get t-shirts and possibly food out of the deal. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know, so I can get back to Magrath with approximate numbers. Thanks.

Trips July 14th to 20th

Share your trip plans here.

Trips July 6th to July 13th

Oops... We missed a "trips" post last week.

This weekend might be a Crowsnest and Castle weekend for the Smith Brothers. If there is anyone interested in a full day of paddling or even catching portions of the adventure, let us know by commenting. Don't hesitate to comment on other trips that you wouldn't mind others jumping in on either.

Happy Paddling!

Bummer

Well after getting hammered on the lower Cameron (I got trashed in the big falls in the lower canyon and swam out into the undercut) I decided to go explore Alderson creek on foot instead of in a boat. This was probably a good idea since flows were low. Instead I figured, if lucky, it would turn into a bit of a canyoneering adventure. It certainly did. Large waterfalls with mandatory rappels. Several cliff jumps and some nice slot canyons. I will post more in a few days. Unfortunately in one of my pool jumps I made it a bit to far and my shallow landing meant I smacked my bottom good and hard on a rock. A broken tailbone is the result. I took it a bit easy on the rest of the hike out.

On the brigt side, I think a portage on river left of the must port falls on lower cameron may be a good option instead of the long hike out. It gives you a bouncy 20-30 footer at the Alderson junction. However no mor boating for me this season. Just more drywall dust from renovations.